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Tag: Faith

  • VOX FIDELIUM VOX DEI

    VOX FIDELIUM VOX DEI

    November 23, 2025 – Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112325.cfm)

    A story once told about a town which was badly devastated by severe flooding. In the process of rebuilding their lives, they also worked together in building again their damaged church. But what worried them most in rebuilding their church was their old and antique statue of their Crucified Christ that damaged its hands and feet.

    A public consultation was made as to what should be done about their beloved but damaged Crucifix. Different ideas has been expressed and debated. For sentimental value, some are for restoring the statue; though others are against it, for fear that the restoration might completely destroy the original statue. For practical reason, some are in favor of buying a new one, though most would prefer their original Crucifix.

    Then, a respected old man made a suggestion to the plenum. After hearing and reflecting on the old man’s suggestion, everyone agreed that they will honor and implement what has been suggested. Hence, they never buy a new one nor restore the old one. But they just reinstall their old and original Crucifix, with damaged hands and feet. However now underneath the Crucifix, they put a sign: “This is Jesus Christ, who died so that we may live. He is now a PWD – Person with Disability, with damaged hands and feet. Will you now be His hands and feet for others?”

    Church tradition has it that during His crucifixion and death, the last words of Jesus was: “Natapos na. It is done. It is finished”. But, what has been done?…What has ended?…Yes, in the cross, His mission, suffering and life has ended and finished. He has already done the Father’s will. He has already done His work and part in bringing out life and mercy to all. His mission is now done and finished. He has already fulfilled the salvation that God has offered all. He has already revealed to us God’s great love for us.

    But what is not done yet is the God’s kingdom here on earth. What is not finished yet is the reign of God’s presence, love, justice, mercy and peace in our lives.

    While there are still people who are suffering from poverty and injustice due to our sins, insensitivity & corruption, the mission of Christ is already done… but our mission as Christian still lives and moves on. While there are still people who are poor, deprived and most abandoned, while there are still people who are imprisoned by greed for power, wealth and prestige, like our corrupt and manipulative politicians, contractors & capitalists, our Mission or Task as Christian followers & believers is not yet done.

    Remember on the cross, Jesus did not say: “I am finished” but said:  “It is finished”. Meaning, he is not finished yet. There is yet more to come, more yet to happen for our salvation. And this time, His salvation lives on with us & through us, as His hands & feet to do what we are to do, and to be what we should be as Christians.

    So for him to continue to shower us with God’s grace of salvation, Jesus still needs us. He still needs us to be His hands and feet for others.

    He has already saved us. God & Jesus have already done their part. Now it is in us & with us to transform our lives in our world today. It is now in our person – in our hands, feet, mouth, voice and faith to be sharers of God’s graces to others. Like Simon of Cyrene who helped carry the cross of Jesus, as Christians, it is now our tasks to carry, share, and partake the victory of Christ’s Cross to others. Time for us now, not to remain followers at the distance, but to take part in the mission of Jesus towards God’s salvation.

    Today, in the Solemnity of the Christ the King, we honor & celebrate the kingship of Jesus our Lord Christ in our lives today. However, we hear from our gospel today that Jesus, our King is not only a crucified king but also a king who is rejected, insulted, dishonored, and humiliated by the people. We cannot deny in our gospel today that Jesus Christ is a harassed, rejected, disgraced, maltreated, and persecuted King. Indeed, they mockingly proclaimed Jesus as King, but a Redeemer king who cannot even redeem and save himself – a needy king without a throne, and worse crucified on a cross.

    We do need to seriously reflect our gospel today, for it challenges us to deeply understand our faith not only on His kingship but most of all our faith in Jesus Himself. We might ask ourselves: “Do we really acknowledge and believe Jesus as Christ the king?” or “Are we like, Pontius Pilate who admits or not, because the crowd says so?” “Before me, who is Jesus? Who do I say Jesus is?”. Or perhaps ask ourselves: “who and what do I believe and worship? Is it God whom we believe and worship? Or we rather believe and worship our life, work, honor, wealth, and others than God himself?”

    This is a concrete call for us Christians to look deeply into our FAITH – our own personal commitment to what and who we really believe in.

    We honor Jesus today, our Christ and our King whom people have persecuted, humiliated, maltreated and rejected – somehow a needy PWD without hands & feet. “Would you still consider him as your King? Would you recognize and bear witness to Him as Your king? Or would you reject, dishonor, and persecute him again like what the crowds did and are doing today?”

    For come to think of it, God’s kingdom  does not rest only on the title of Christ the King but on our authentic witnessing and commitment of our faith in Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of God is not in the voice of the crowd & leaders shouting at Jesus on the cross “Save yourself & save us”, but in the testimony of the good & faithful thief saying “remember me when you into your Kingdom” & in the words of Jesus “Amen, You will be with me in Paradise.”  It is Vox fidelium, Vox Dei then rather than Vox Populi, Vox Dei. Meaning, the voice of God is not in the voice of the people but rather in the voice of God’s people – in the voice of all faithful believers of Jesus Christ.

    Thus, we witness now Jesus as our King, not only because of what he has done for us but most of all on His own Faith towards the Father and for the salvation of all. God’s kingdom and the kingship of Christ do not only mean name, power, and prestige of Jesus but more so our heartfelt and wholehearted profession, proclamation, witnessing and commitment to God’s salvation through our faith in Jesus Christ. The kingdom of God then requires our total and authentic faith-commitment to Christ, same way as Christ commits Himself to us & our Father.

    Again, here in our celebration today, we Christians are called to proclaim and witness our faith in Jesus Christ. As Jesus bears witness to His great love to the Father, we are also invited to the same total and wholehearted dedication and faith in Jesus. As Christians then, we should never be ashamed to express and proclaim our faith to ourselves, to each others and to others, even amidst the noisy crowd & popular opinions.

    Today, we honor Jesus and all Christians faithful who participate in sharing and spreading God’s salvation to the world. Because of them, the Cross of Christ continues now to be triumphant, and God’s grace, presence & kingdom reign in our lives.

    However, How about us, you & I now : Will we now be His hands, His Feet & His voice for others? Will we  now be Vox fidelium, Vox Dei? Will our voice of faith be God’s voice for all?

    Hinaut pa unta. So May It Be. Amen

  • The Time of Fulfillment

    The Time of Fulfillment

    November 16, 2025 – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time          

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111625.cfm)

    How would the end of time look like? Last October, the devastating earthquake shocked many in Cebu. We have seen in the news how our brothers and sisters were trying to survive after their houses crumbled in few minutes. The aftershocks were terrifying. The scarcity of food and water became their next horror. But thanks to many generous donors, hundreds of individuals and groups rushed to bring aid to those who were affected by the earthquake.

    However, just few weeks ago, two typhoons came, Tino and Uwan. The catastrophe of both were horrifying. Cebu was struck again. Our brothers and sisters hoped to survive the super typhoon Uwan in many parts of the Visayas and Luzon. Thousands were helpless waiting for rescue at their rooftops. Many also perished and were drowned by the raging waters.

    Few days ago, +Nanay Mamai, one of the elders in our Catholic Community in Marawi died. She was one of the Christians who were hostage during Marawi Siege together with the late Fr. Chito Suganob. Yet, during her funeral wake, her nephew, +Dodong, who was her constant companion during our Sunday Mass, also died of heart attack.

    Suffering, pain, sudden deaths – these are the recurring scenarios that indeed, terrify us. Thus, many of us would perhaps express fear of the end of time and imagine the destruction of the world. There will be calamities and unimaginable tragedies.

    With all these suffering, pain and death around us, the readings on this 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time though seemed to have the same horrifying images, invite us to look and hold on to hope, to a sure hope founded in our faith in Jesus.

    The first reading from the Book of Prophet Malachi prophesied about the destruction of the evildoers. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus described the signs that will come like the powerful earthquakes, famines, plagues, wars, and persecutions.

    However, does the end of time really mean to be terrifying and horrifying?

    To answer this question let us see closely the prophecy of Prophet Malachi and the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. Let us, then, discover God’s invitation for us on this Sunday.

    The prophecy was addressed to all the Israelite who have returned from exile. However, at their return the prophet saw how the leaders had become corrupt, abusive and indifferent to the plight of the common people.

    Those words of destruction and death were meant for those who continually reject God and oppressed His people. Yet, the prophecy is also a hopeful promise to end the evil institution and the end of corruption and death.

    For those who remained faithful in their friendship with God, the words of Malachi meant comfort and strength. For to them, the Lord will come to bring healing. This will be the most wonderful and joyful time.

    In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus warns us of those who pretended like “gods.” Jesus warns us not to follow them because they only lead us to death, not to life. Jesus reminds us of the suffering in life that may come. Yet, he comforts us not to be terrified and not to be afraid. Jesus has promised to be with us always. He will never leave us alone. Jesus will walk with us and accompany us.

    At the fullness of time, Jesus will be with us in person with his power and glory. When he comes, Jesus will gather His people who believed in him and trusted him even in difficult times. His coming will be the end of the corrupt and the murderers. It will be a destruction of the powerful and arrogant, the ruthless and the violent.

    Now, the beautiful and hopeful message lies here.  The message of comfort and strength, of joy and peace is for us who are waiting patiently for the end of time. Indeed, Jesus tells us to be watchful, to prepare our hearts, for the “coming of the Son of Man” is both a future promise and a present reality.

    This is what St. Paul tells us who believe in Jesus that the end of time is not something that we should be afraid. It is not a terrifying event but it will be the most joyful moment of our life. Meeting the Lord is a moment of fulfillment of all our hopes, desires and dreams.

    Yet, it will be the destruction to what is evil. It will be the most terrifying moment for those who continually reject God and for those who pretend and act like a god.

    With all of these, what can we do then, as we patiently wait for the second coming of Jesus? God in His generosity and love prepares us daily for that wonderful moment of our life. God prepares us by making Himself felt daily and in every moment and event in our life. Jesus reveals himself in us and through us.

    Jesus’ words will not pass away, his promises will never fade. God is faithful and He is ever present with us. That is why, it is very important that we become discerning and welcoming of Jesus’ presence being revealed in us and around us.

    How shall we proceed then? There are four practical takeaways for us this Sunday.

    Be watchful. Start each day with a moment of quiet, asking God for strength and guidance. 

    Persevere. Face trials with courage, remembering that they refine and deepen your faith. 

    Serve. Look for ways to love your neighbor especially those most in need and bring light into their lives. 

    Hope. When you feel overwhelmed, turn to Scripture and prayer to renew your trust in God’s promises.

    As we are about to end the liturgical calendar and begin the Season of Advent in few weeks’ time, let us make this week more wonderful and exciting.

    Let us intensify our “Wi-Fi connection” with God, by making our prayer frequent and sincere. Hopefully, this will lead each of us to see and feel the face of God among ourselves and even among those people who are not familiar to us and events that may be surprising and strange for us.

    We hope that we too will grow in our faith and become more excited in the end of time where we will certainly meet the Lord, who is the fulfillment of all our dreams and hopes. Hinaut pa.

  • God’s Temple

    God’s Temple

    November 9, 2025 – Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110925.cfm)

    A story once told about a journalism student went to interview workers in a construction site. This is in line with her project regarding job motivations of common laborers. She asked the workers during their break time a simple question: “What are you doing?” The first worker replied, “I am carrying those heavy stones, hoping by the end of the day that I could earn some money to buy some food to eat”. The second one answered, “I am also carrying those heavy stones, so that I could have some savings for the education of my children and future of my family”. And the third worker, after wiping out some perspiration, happily replied: ‘Can you not see? I am building God’s church.”

    Three workers doing the same work but have different views and perspectives of their work. The first worked in order to earn a living; the second worked to save for the near future, while the third worked to build a church. These varied work-perspectives may also reflect on how we and others view life differently.

    We do have brothers and sisters today who are like the first laborer – trap in the rat race and vicious circle of earning a living. These people work in order to earn money in order to eat in order to work in order to earn in order to eat in order to work and so on and so forth. We might call this a futile and useless way of life, but we also know that some people today fell victim to this consumerist worldly life.

    Others may be like the second worker, who work hard for better days and for the benefit of others. We might call this a human and noble life, concern for the better tomorrow of oneself and others. Hopefully, most of us would view our life and work this noble way.

    However, we can also view our life and work like that of the third laborer, not just earning a living nor saving for the better days for others, but view his life and work both as participation in God’s work of salvation and as mission to build God’s church. This would simply mean that whatever work and endeavor we do in life and that whatever state of life we are in now, we can also regard our life-experiences now as our participation and mission with God’s work of salvation.

    This is what Jesus has in mind, when he said in our gospel today: “Destroy this temple and in three day I will raised it up”. For Him, raising the temple is not about destroy and build- scheme but it is all about fulfilling God’s salvation by establishing the Church of Jesus Christ with the collaboration of all of us, Christians His disciples.

    Meaning, we, the Church, the Christian community of Christ is a living temple of God. St. Paul reminds us we are God’s building….that you and I are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you and us. With Jesus, it is then our mission and participation to build, animate and make present God’s presence and salvation in the world today.

    Today, November 9, the whole universal church celebrates the Dedication of Lateran Basilica. This celebration is not just about the dedication of the Basilica of San John Lateran in Rome, which is the cathedral church of the pope. This celebration is all about us, Christians of the world today, united and continuing to participate in the mission of Christ of building God’s church here on earth by our Christian witness in words and deeds.

    We, Christian are indeed people of this world. We are in this world and live in this world. Everything that happens in this world affects us. But as Christians, we are not only concern with worldly affairs but we also are involved in building God’s temple here on earth today.

    Today is more than just about the cathedral – the structure, the building of the church because today is about our role & contribution in the project of building God’s people – the universal church.

    Like the Redemptorists humble beginnings in the church, may we not forget that the glory of the Church today comes from the humble beginnings & low-key efforts of us Christian faithful involve & participating in building our Mother Catholic since then, until now & will always be.

    Amen.

  • Looking at Ourselves Closely

    Looking at Ourselves Closely

    October 26, 2025 – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102625.cfm)

    “Pigeonholing, labeling or putting a person into a box” – these are expressions that tell us how we have arrived into a conclusion about a person. It is usually in a negative sense and sometimes demeaning and insulting. We experience this when people around us only see and recognize the mistake or failure or sin that we have committed. Our friends, neighbors, colleagues or even family members could believe that we are hopeless and beyond redemption.

    It is devastating to be judged by people around. Such labels make us feel less human. They make us feel undeserving of love and existence. This is because of insulting, demeaning, and degrading labels applied to us. It is as if there is nothing more in us except our sins and failures in life.

    We can also be the one who points our judging finger. We do this because of the mistakes and failures of others in their life. We could also assume as the righteous individual who try scrutinize people, searching for their faults and failures. We could be that mean person. Our main intention is to bring other people down. We shame and gossip about their weaknesses to hide our own sins. And indeed, this happens in our circle of friends, communities and our workplaces.

    I had this classmate who seemed to be always untidy. He was always late and worst would fail in his tests. Yet, when we moved up to the next grade, something surprised us about him. Though he still looked untidy and came late for class, but, his exams got better results. Every time he passed a test, there was malice in our minds. We suspected him to be have been cheating.

    Our classroom adviser could not even believe that he had the potential. Some of us even felt bad whenever he got a higher score than those who usually got high scores.

    We judged him that he did not have the capacity. We judged him of his past behavior and failures. As a result, we failed to recognize that he had actually the capacity. We refused to believe in him because we felt insecure of his capacities and potentials.

    Our expressions like, “Bogo man na siya! Tanga man na siya! Burikat na siya! Kawatan na siya!” – somehow express our insecurity behind our self-righteous words.

    The Gospel of Luke this very Sunday conveys this conscience-disturbing message to us as a Christian Community. Jesus reminds us at the end of the Gospel today, “for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

     To become self-righteous blinds us. Thinking highly too much of ourselves prevents us from asking God to show his mercy upon us. Why? because we already think that we do not need God’s mercy.

    Thus, the self-righteous attitude of the Pharisee is basically a denial of God. It was a rejection of God’s mercy because we feel that we do not need God. This attitude leads us to build invisible thick walls that separate us from others.

    We might still have that idea of condemning our brothers and sisters who were considered terrible sinners.

    On this Sunday, Jesus invites us to look closely at ourselves – to examine better our intentions, thoughts and actions. By this awareness it may lead us to recognize as well our failures and sins.

    This was what the Tax Collector showed to us. This was  also the reason why he could not look up to heaven. When he saw himself, he felt disgusted for the sins and failures he had done against God and his neighbors. He must have cheated and stolen a lot of money.

    However, looking at himself, he realized his need of mercy and the need to be converted. That same realization will hopefully lead us to also join the tax collector in praying, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

    Such prayer and humility reaches the heart of God. The Book of Sirach in the first reading tells us that “the prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal.”

    God, our Just Judge, will come to our rescue and show us his mercy when we also begin to honestly acknowledge our sins and failures. The God of Justice listens to our petitions especially when the Lord also finds the poverty in our heart. This means that our heart is empty of any self-righteousness, of any self-satisfaction and self-justification.

    As the Lord defends us and shows us mercy, we are called to be more understanding to those who failed and sinned. Not in the sense of condoning and tolerating such failures and sins. It is important that as we exercise understanding, we also need to confront each other of our mistakes and failures. We are invited to be merciful rather than to be condemning.

    Thus, to both the righteous and the sinners, God does not condemn. God rather desires our healing, reconciliation and fullness of life for all.

    This calls us to see more in the person of our brothers and sisters, to stop our harsh judgments and condemnation. We are called to stop our gossiping, image shaming, name-calling and bullying that only destroy the person of our brother or sister. Such ways of destroying a person is not God’s ways. It is of the devil.

    Today, I would like to invite you – to embrace a family member, a relative, a friend or a neighbor whom we know have sinned against us and those whom we have wronged because of our words and actions. This way, reconciliation and peace begins in us making us witnesses of God’s mercy and forgiveness. Hinaut pa.

  • Looking Glass

    Looking Glass

    September 28, 2025 – 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092825.cfm)

    A very rich man once approached a priest for an advice. He said “Father, I have a problem that is bothering me a lot. You know how rich I am. I have everything I need. I get everything I want. But how come I feel I’m not fully satisfied? There is always that emptiness & missing in me that do not satisfy. I maybe rich outside, but I am actually poor inside. What do you think of my problem, Father?”

    The priest invited the rich man to a living room and brought him near the glass window. And the priest instructed him, “Look out into the window and tell me what you see.” He said, “I see people walking around the plaza.” Then, the priest brought him in front of a large mirror and said, “Look into the mirror and tell me what you see.” “I see myself,” he replied. Then the priest explains, “You know what… both the window and the mirror are made of glass. But their difference lies in the silver paint. As you may notice, the mirror is glass coated with silver paint & the window is just a plain see-through glass. So, whenever you look through a plain glass window, you see people – you see others. But whenever you look at silver-coated plain glass mirror, you will only see yourself – not others. With the mirror, you cannot see others & you even stop seeing others – but only yourself. So, whenever we start to only concern ourselves with wealth and riches, i.e. coating our plain glasses with silver-money, we start to become blind to see others but only see ourselves.”

    Reflecting on this story and our parable today, we can say that it somehow echoes our day-to-day life experiences. Conscious of the challenging times we are going through these days – not only in our country & in our world but with ourselves, sometimes we wonder what causes the great gap between rich and poor. What makes poor poorer or desolate? What makes rich wealthier? What makes life difficult nowadays? What makes us poor or rich? What makes our life difficult or easy these days?

    This is what Jesus is trying to teach and convey us today. First, Jesus describes us that our self-centeredness makes us blind, insensitive, & unconcerned to the needs of others. Just like the rich man in our parable today, he was too full of himself that he was  not concerned about the poor Lazarus at his doorsteps. He was too full of himself that even before God, he was more concerned with himself – his own thirst and salvation that he only perceived Lazarus as his errand to quench his thirst and to warn his own family about his fate in heaven. “Send him..” the rich man said. Imagine he has the nerve to command even God for Lazarus to do his wishes. So full of himself… Conceited, & self-centered.

    Here Jesus warns us of the consequence of our self-centeredness. It makes us only see our own selves, making us blind to the needs of others, most especially the poor. Jesus maintains also that our silver-coatings taints our plain glasses. Meaning, our material possessions, wealth, and riches make us self-centered and greedy. Like the rich men in our story and in our parable, money, and earthly possessions taint and distort our perceptions of others. Our materialism makes us selfish and blind to the needs of other people, making us only view life from our selfish mirrors.

    At the same time, Jesus is telling us today that all of these, our greed, self-centeredness, and earthly possessions does not give us meaning in life and promise us our salvation. For Jesus, God has endowed us with a lot of blessings, not only for own sake but also (if not all) for others. It would mean that we are not the sole owners but just stewards or mere managers of God’s graces. The blessing & graces we have now are meant not only for ourselves but to be shared with & to others.

    We are called therefore to be partakers & sharers of God’s blessings to others. In God’s Kingdom, sharing not hoarding is the name of the game, & the way forward. In a sense, God has already given us looking glasses to see. It is up to us then how we use our glasses – either as mirrors for our selfish interest or as windows for further growth in our relationship with God and concerns for others. In other words, our mirrors – our self-centeredness makes life poor, difficult & empty inside, as well as our windows – our other-centeredness makes our life with others rich, easy, & meaningful.

    May the Lord continue to grant us the wisdom and audacity to make use of our God-given blessings be shared with others for the sake, not of ours alone, but mostly for God’s glory & other’s good now & always.

    So May It Be. Amen.