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Tag: easter

  • A Defiant Hope That Brings Joy

    A Defiant Hope That Brings Joy

    April 5, 2026 – Easter Sunday; Sugat

    Acts 10:34a, 37-43Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Colossians 3:1-4 and Luke 11: 27-28

    Happy Easter! We celebrate Easter in a way that is both beautiful and deeply moving, the traditional Sugat, the encounter of the Risen Christ with His Mother, Mary. It is a moment where sorrow meets joy, where darkness gives way to light, and where grief is embraced by hope.

    And this is very close to our reality. Many of us know what it means to live with unseen burdens. As Filipinos, and especially here in Marawi, we celebrate Easter in a context that is different. There are limits, there are fears, there are moments when expressing our faith is not as easy or as open as in other places.

    Moreover, some of us carry personal struggles, uncertainty about the future, pressures in studies, family concerns, and even silent battles within our hearts.

    And so, the question of Easter becomes very real for us, “Is hope still possible? Can joy still be found?”

    The Sacred Scriptures revealed today answers us clearly, and that is, Yes. And so let us discern God’s invitations for us this morning.

    In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter proclaimed that Jesus, who suffered and died, has been raised by God. This is not just a story but a testimony. A truth witnessed by those who encountered Him. The resurrection is God’s declaration that evil, suffering, and death do not have the final word.

    In the Letter of Paul to the Colossians, we are reminded: “Seek what is above, where Christ is.” This is not an escape from reality, but an invitation to see life differently by living with a heart anchored in Christ, who is alive.

    In the Gospel of Luke, we hear a simple but powerful truth: “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” This means that true blessedness, true joy, is found not just in seeing, but in believing and living the Word.

    This brings us to the heart of our celebration, of the encounter between Jesus and Mary.

    Mary, the Mater Dolorosa, had every reason to remain in sorrow. She witnessed the suffering and death of her Son. She carried grief that no mother should ever bear. And yet, in the resurrection, she becomes the first to receive the joy of hope fulfilled.

    This encounter tells us something powerful that joy does not erase suffering, rather, it transforms it.

    This also tells us that the resurrection of Jesus is a defiant hope, a hope that stands even against darkness, a hope that refuses to die even when everything seems lost.

    Indeed, we may feel that our situation is difficult. We may feel small in a place where our faith is tested. We may carry doubts, fears, or even disappointments. But Easter tells us: God is more powerful than our fears. God is greater than our failures. God’s love is stronger than death.

    And like Mary, we are invited not just to witness this joy but to embrace it.

    To be an Easter people means to carry this hope into our daily lives. It means choosing to believe even when it is difficult. It means choosing joy even in uncertainty. It means becoming a presence of hope for others. Because the resurrection is not only something we celebrate, it is something that we live today.

    So let me leave you with two simple and concrete invitations:

    First, hold on to hope. When you feel discouraged, when you feel like giving up, remind yourself: Christ is risen. Do not allow darkness to define your story.

    Second, share the joy of the resurrection. In your words, in your relationships, and in your daily life be someone who brings encouragement, kindness, and hope to others.

    Today Mary meets her Son not in sorrow, but in joy. And that same joy is offered to us because Christ is risen and in Him, hope lives, and joy begins again. Hinaut pa.

  • ONE HEART AND MIND

    ONE HEART AND MIND

    April 29, 2025 –  Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042925.cfm)

    The joy of Easter caught the heart of the disciples of Jesus. The community of faith truly believe in the Risen Jesus and in God’s power that defeated death and darkness, forgiven sin and shame.  This is the liberating power of God’s mercy that gives freedom and peace to many hearts and minds.

    This was the very life of the early Christians. Their fears, guilt and shame were all replaced with joy, concern for one another, and hope. In fact, the joy and wonder of Easter was transformed into concrete resolutions and actions in living as a Christian community.

    The Acts of the Apostles showed to us Christians today how the gift of joy in the Resurrection of Christ could radically change the way we live our life. This is even manifested on how each one treated one another with fraternal concern, trust and charity. We have heard how the disciples of Jesus felt God’s assurance and security that went beyond material wealth. This was the reason why the disciples began to share generously their material wealth with those who have none and who were needy. Each member of the church had enough because each one contributed and shared.

    The apostles, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, distributed what had been shared “to each according to need.” Selfishness and self-interest were gone. Greed and corruption have no more space. Abuse of power vanished. Indeed, as the Acts of Apostles reminded us, “the community of believers was of one heart and mind.”

    This is the spirit of Easter that tells us how the Christians believed in Christ’s presence among them. Faith in the Risen Jesus when truly lived and manifested in our words and actions would transform us, our community inside and out.

    However, this kind of attitude and culture of sharing and letting go of possessions did not last long. We realize that selfishness and insecurities came into the picture again. People began to advance their personal interest over the others and have taken advantage at the expense of the needy and the poor. We are indeed fickle and can be easily tempted and driven away from God and from others. Yet, despite the life that we live now as Christians of the 21st Century we are still called to re-live the way the first Christian lived out their faith.

    Certainly, as a Christian community today, we are still called to live the spirit of Easter by generously sharing what we have to those who are in need. Letting go of all our material wealth at this present age would be next impossible. Yet, to joyfully give and share our resources, talents, our presence and capacities are what the Risen Jesus calls us today.

    And again, we gain the courage to live out such faith in us when we too welcome and embrace the Spirit of God. This is what Jesus expressed to Nicodemus in today’s Gospel. “To be born from above” or “to be born of the Spirit” is to allow the Lord to transform us from within. A heart that is gripped with hatred or resentment, or with selfishness and greed, with shame and guilt – is not hopeless at all. God’s mercy and offer of the fullness of life bring freedom and life to us.

    Let our hearts, then, be filled with the joy and wonder of Easter. Let our hearts be filled with gratitude to God who has been so good to us. And may the peace the Christ brings to us this Easter, make us joyful and generous givers in our community. Hinaut pa.

  • PISTIS

    PISTIS

    April 20, 2025 – Sunday of the Resurrection of our Lord

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042025.cfm)

    Our gospel today proclaims that the disciple saw and believe …. Though they did not understand yet.

    When was the last time you find yourself in this situation? Seeing & Believing, yet not understanding. Though it happens to us occasionally, we do have experienced situations in our lives that we find ourselves seeing & believing, though not yet understanding what is happening.

    Come to think of it. Just for these past few recent years, we saw and still seeing a lot of challenging things happening in our lives. We have witnessed lately to life-threatening & life-changing experience of massive infections, sickness, & death caused by Covid pandemic that rendered our lives. Constricted with lockdowns, quarantine, protocols of social distancing, isolation & immunization. We saw also the devastating effects of the natural disaster of typhoons, heavy rains, landslide, & flooding into our livelihood. We saw also the influx as well as the lack of humanitarian & government response. We see also the threat of world war & the political turmoil in both local & global level. We have seen & still seeing the best & the worse of humanity & the world unfolding before us.

    As we saw & still see a lot of things happening in our lives lately, we also yet to understand why all these things are happening to us. We still yet to understand the sense, meaning, or purpose of the life we had & having, are now being challenged & changed. We are yet to understand the losses, worries, anxieties & fears that we have gone through a lot those years. We are yet to understanding why we idolize (make God of) others to somehow save us, while we also demonize (make devil of) others to blame of our present predicament.

    As things happen & still happening, and we not yet understanding all these, be as it may, we cannot help but find ourselves believing not only on our own & other’s capacity to rise & respond to the occasion & be responsible for all these. Above all, we cannot help but find ourselves bowing & knelling down in humility before God, believing that He has better plans than what we had, in store for us in our life ahead.

    Consider then that, in our gospel today, as they witnessed themselves the passion, death & burial of our Lord, the disciples had just lost hope & meaning of their very life – Jesus Christ. And worse, in the midst their hopelessness & despair, what they saw then is an empty tomb. Jesus was not only gone, but worse His dead body is also gone missing. Their experience of empty tomb & missing body may have been devastating, non-sensical & incomprehensible to them. But they saw & believe, without even understanding yet. They see & believe. They have seen & will forever believing.

    Same way as disciples of Jesus-then, this is also how we will now experience the Lord’s resurrection into our lives now & always – by trustingly seeing & believing in God’s Plans for us, though not understanding yet.

    Easter, the Season of Our Lord’s Resurrection, challenges us then to trustingly see & believe, even yet to understand the life we are going through at this moment now & will about to happen, for our God has a lot better life in store for us ahead.

    As we celebrate the Lord’s resurrection this year in our lives, we are invited to view anew the things that are happening to us now & about to happen ahead in the near future, in Faith in God & with Our Risen Lord Jesus Christ. For in Greek the word “Faith” is (PISTIS), which means trusting the person of risen Lord than just believing even without understanding.

    Be reminded then that Easter season is our yearly reminder of God’s everlasting love for us. God assures us that “I have love you with an everlasting love”. His love for us then is from eternity to eternity. He loves us long before & ever since from the beginning, until now & always be forever. And as Henri Nouwen would say: “Life is just a little opportunity for us during a few years to say, “I love you too, My God.” What we have and having now then is just our short chance in life to trustingly see & believe in His love & to love Him in return.

    Though life nowadays may not be comprehensible, or no-sense at all, we do know deep inside & in faith that there are more better life yet to be seen & believed with Our God & our Risen Lord Jesus Christ.

    So, Brace Ourselves. Abangan. For there are more yet to come & to happen, as the Lord has risen into our lives now & always.

    Alleluia. The Lord Has Risen, Indeed. Amen.