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Tag: Holy Week

  • God’s Caress of Mercy and Friendship – Part 2

    God’s Caress of Mercy and Friendship – Part 2

    Mercy and Friendship transform us

    To see the goodness in us as God sees it, can be a struggle. It can be really difficult and might even next to impossible for others. We might recognize the innate goodness in us but we might also forget about it and so fall again into self-pity, guilt and shame.

    Time and again, these feelings of  shame, guilt and fear may struck us and we will realize how broken and unworthy we are. God has been so good to us and yet, we are sinners, unfaithful to God. This is how we encounter ourselves and so encounter God as well.

    But such encounter with the Lord would reveal to us that each of us, does not earn God’s favor and grace. I cannot and will not earn God’s mercy because God grants it freely and generously to you and to me. Friendship with God is also offered freely. We are not forced to accept it. We are rather invited to embrace that friendship. And our friendship with Jesus, cannot be broken,[1] as Pope Francis said. Indeed, it is from this mercy and friendship with Jesus that we are also being transformed, healed and reconciled.

    This reminds me of St. Paul’s realization of being transformed by mercy and of friendship. Paul said, 1 Cor 15:8-10.

    Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me.
    For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
    But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God [that is] with me.

    As Jesus revealed himself to Paul whose name was Saul at the beginning, Paul saw his own shadows. Paul was in fact in disgrace because as a Jew, he felt so righteous, and he persecuted those who believed in the risen Christ. He brought many Christians to prison and even to their death. But his encounter with Jesus turned his life upside down. It began when he was on his way to Damascus and Jesus appeared to him in a vision.

    Yet, he found the Lord without condemnation against him, but only with love and forgiveness for him. That encounter with Jesus brought him to see how wrong he was. Moreover, that very encounter of Paul with Jesus, was also the beginning of their friendship. And that friendship led Paul to commit himself to the risen Christ to be an apostle to the Gentiles, and that through the grace of God, not earned but freely given.

    Aside from friendship with Jesus, Paul also realized the value, the importance and the holiness that can be found in our human friendships. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul acknowledged how this gift of friendship sustained and saved him. In Phil 4: 13-16, Paul said,

    I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.
    Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress. You Philippians indeed know that at the beginning of the Gospel, when I left Macedonia, not a single church shared with me in an account of giving and receiving, except you alone.
    For even when I was at Thessalonica you sent me something for my needs, not only once but more than once.

    Indeed, the presence of our friends in our life would truly make difference.  Well, it is usually with our friends that we share our deepest thoughts and dreams, our fears and confusions, our pains and sorrows, our joys and successes. Sometimes, our friends know more about us than our immediate family members.

    Why? It is because friends allow us to be who we are. We find with our friends a space to be fully accepted and embraced. Friends also unconditionally support us and understand us when our homes do not provide that for us. And this is because of our shared experiences, shared stories and shared dreams. These are some reasons that connect us intimately with our friends and that make our hearts truly grateful.

    Paul in this letter to the Philippians recalled such gratitude in his heart for the gift of friendship he had developed with the Philippians. Paul who was in prison and in many difficulties, was comforted by the thought that his friends remembered him and cared about him. His friends sent material resources that he would need. This was not just the first time because even during the travels of Paul to preach in other cities, the Philippians expressed their generosity and support by providing his needs for the journey. Paul said it intimately, “it was kind of you to share in my distress.” The thought of being remembered by friends had given Paul assurance and confidence despite the suffering and persecution he faced.

    More than this friendship, Paul also expressed that what sustained him was his friendship with the Lord.  Paul expressed it in this way, “I have the strength for everything through him (Jesus) who empowers me.” This friendship with Jesus was the very reason of that friendship he had with the Philippians.

    This gives us a picture of our capacity to give oneself, to be generous and kind in order to express our support and love for our friends. Moreover, this also makes our heart to be truly gracious for the gift of friendship we have.

    Interestingly, Simon Peter had his own story of encounter also with Jesus. Luke 5: 4-10.

    After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.
    They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking.
    When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

    This encounter made Simon realize his own sinfulness. Simon was told by Jesus to “put out into the deep waters and lower his nets” even though they had been fishing all night and caught nothing. This tells us that Jesus invited Simon to dwell deeper into his own life and to lower down his comforts, to leave behind his uncertainties and anxieties, fears and guilt. This became possible because of that friendship between Simon and Jesus. The Lord was able to challenge Simon, and Simon trusted because the Lord was his friend. Indeed, when Simon did all those, what he found was God’s goodness and tremendous love and generosity symbolized by the great catch of fish.

    This moved Simon to beg Jesus to depart from him because Simon had become aware of his sins, failures, fears and insecurities. However, this realization became the entry point of Jesus to transform Simon. This was how Simon gained another name, Peter, or Rock because he was commissioned by Jesus for a mission.

    However, Simon Peter who was an impulsive man also stumbled along the way. During the Passion of the Lord, we recall how Simon Peter denied Jesus, three times. This brought deep sorrow to Peter. Because of his fears, he denied the Lord and refused to be with Jesus in those painful and traumatic moments.

    With his leadership, after the death of Jesus, Peter and the other disciples hid themselves because of their fear of the Jews. They were terrified because the same fate might also happen to them. However, most of all, they were frustrated and very disappointed with what happened to Jesus. They believed that Jesus would liberate Israel from oppression and suffering from the Roman invaders. Many disciples must have expected that Jesus will raise an army and start a revolution. They could have dreamed that one day they will be seating on a golden throne near their master. However, all those dreams and desires were shattered because Jesus was condemned by his fellow Jews and was crucified by the Roman soldiers.

    Peter and the other disciples left their old life to follow Jesus. But Jesus was condemned to death, what will happen to them now? Peter surely also asked this question. “What will happen now?” Jesus is dead and they have no one else to follow.

    Thus, this failure that caused them so much frustrations and fears moved them to go back to fishing – to their old self, to their old habits, and not stepping forward because their dreams were shattered, expectations broken and hope was taken away.

    Nevertheless, God has his own way of calling us back again. Let us remember how Jesus called back his friends after they retreated to their old selves. Let us read this Gospel passage.

    John 21:3-7

    Simon Peter said to the other disciples, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
    When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.”
    So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish.
    So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea.

    Now, Jesus appeared on the shore but the disciples did not recognize him. That night they caught nothing. This only tells us that when we also succumbed into darkness and sin then we will surely lose our way just as what happened to Simon Peter. But Jesus would never give up on his friends. Remember that!

    Lord is ready to meet us wherever we are now. The Lord shall come and meet us in our dark moments, in times of our depression, sadness and sickness, even in times of great confusion and doubts, and in times of failures and frustrations. The Lord is always ready to do that because he wants us to live free from those.

    Now, what was also interesting was on how the beloved disciple recognized Jesus. In fact, it was him who first recognized Jesus and told Peter about it. This tells us also, that once we have become intimate with Jesus, our heart will always desire for Jesus. This beloved disciple of Jesus, who had become so familiar with the Lord, recognized Jesus with joy.

    This inspired Peter to respond immediately and to come near to Jesus. Again, this was symbolically done. Peter let go again of his boat, that is, of his old self. He jumped confidently into the sea of past failures and frustrations because he knew that Jesus was waiting for him on the shore. This was how Peter showed us that there is indeed “grace beyond our failures and God’s mercy beyond our sins.” Peter embraced that grace joyfully by encountering Jesus on the shore. Again, it was not earned but freely given.

    There is also another moving encounter of Peter with Jesus that gives us more perspective on how mercy and friendship with God will transform us. Allow me to read to you this biblical event in the Gospel of John 21:15-17.

    Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
    He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
    Jesus then said to him a second time,
    “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
    He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
    Jesus said to him the third time,
    “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
     Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to Jesus, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep.

    During the funeral wake of my Papa, my mother told me about a conversation with my 5-year-old niece. She playfully asked my parents, “Tatay, do you love Nanay?” Asking my Papa if he loved Mama. And then she asked in the same way her grand mom, “Nanay, do you love Tatay?” This happened just a week before Papa died in 2019.

    In the eyes of my niece, perhaps what she was doing was a mere play of asking questions and relaying the answer to both of her grandparents. Yet, the question entails commitment and faithfulness.

    The question of Jesus to Peter essentially involves commitment and faithfulness. The three questions of Jesus were not of condemnation and judgment against the unfaithfulness of Peter. However, the question, “Do you love me?” was an affirmation that Peter was loved and forgiven.

    Thus, the question of Jesus, “Simon, Son of John, do you love me more than these?” refers to that attitude of Peter. Jesus was basically asking Peter, “Simon, do you love me more than your fishing career? More than your fears and doubts? More than your sins and guilt? More than your insecurities? More than your dreams, desires and personal wants?”

    Positively, Peter understood what Jesus was asking. Jesus asked three times to tell Peter of the great responsibility and also of the joy of the meaning of loving his dear friend, Jesus. To feed or tend the lambs and sheep basically means, “Take charge to care and love others.” This reminds us of Peter’s capacity to care and love others as Jesus did on the cross.

    To each of us today, the Lord also asks us, “Do you love me more than these? More than your insecurities and fears, more than your personal wants and ambitions?” Then, the Lord also asks us to take the risk of loving him, who is our dear friend, by being able to love others, to become courageous and confident in loving others. Remember, it is in taking the risk of committing ourselves to love others that we too shall find our true selves.

    The Lord knows that each of us has that capacity to love and take care of others. Never be afraid then, never be afraid to love. Never be afraid to express your care and affection towards others. It is in this way that like Peter, we will be able to follow Jesus, who invites us today, to express our love and care to others in the most concrete ways as we have experienced it from our dear friend, Jesus.

    These are stories of encounter with a merciful God and of friendship that led to transformation and to a mission. Indeed, real encounter with God’s mercy and friendship would strip us from our pretensions and masks. Such encounter makes us true and without pretensions to see how sinful and unworthy we are before God.

    Yet, it is in this moment of openness and honesty that we find God more merciful and forgiving to us.  Let us remember this, it is when we own and claim our weakness, sinfulness and failures to God that we are also being strengthened, forgiven and empowered by the Lord.

    Thus, for this second part of the recollection, these are the invitations for us.

    First, we are called to be fully aware of our own sinfulness and failures, to take responsibility of our sins. Thus, stop blaming others. This, certainly, needs an amount of humility and honesty from us.

    Second, we are invited to allow the Lord to transform us through his mercy, friendship and forgiveness. We can seek God’s mercy and affection then, by our constant devotion to the Eucharist, in receiving his grace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and by reflecting and seeking wisdom from the Bible.

    Third, we are called to let God empower us by allowing God to make us His own instruments of mercy, friendship and reconciliation. God calls us and empowers us in the way we live our life now. We are called to become God’s witnesses as parents, as professionals, as leaders in our community, as workers or vendors, as children and friends, as students and as young people, as senior citizens.

    PRAYER

             God of Mercy and Friendship, you have constantly reveal to the world your unconditional love. Through your Son, our Lord Jesus, this love is fully manifested. Grant me now the courage to love and to commit my whole life in loving and in giving so that I may become your own instrument of mercy and friendship in my own home, among my friends and in my community. Amen.

    [1] Pope Francis, Christus Vivit, n. 154, 65.

  • God’s Caress of Mercy and Friendship – Part 1

    God’s Caress of Mercy and Friendship – Part 1

    (This is the talk given during the Holy Week Reflection on Holy Monday, April 3, 2023 delivered at St. Clement’s Church, Iloilo City.)

    Are we being punished? Are we being condemned because of our sins? Has God abandoned us? Has God given up on us?

    When Covid-19 hit us in 2020, we were all afraid and anxious. The world seemed to stop, and the many restrictions of our movements contributed so much to our feeling of being isolated and helpless. With this health crisis, economically or financially, we were being challenged in many ways. Many have lost their jobs and the most vulnerable among us were those who worked and earned on a daily basis and the poorest of the poor, the homeless and street children.

    Likewise, every day many were haunted by anxiety of being infected by the deadly virus, or we might have been so worried for those family members and friends who were at the frontline fighting against the virus and ministering the infected. Or we might have been sobbing and grieving in those days because we have lost a family member, a close friend, or a colleague because of the virus.

    In total, there are about 761,071,062 cases worldwide of covid infections,[1] and a total of 6,879,644 deaths worldwide as of March 26, 2023. (Last Update)

    On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine and this war brought economic challenges worldwide especially of the inflation of oil which affected us here in the country. This war continues until now which already affected 14 Million people being displaced[2] , with 140,000 infrastructures destroyed, with 15,000 people missing and 42,295 deaths.

    Just last February 6, this year, a 7.8 magnitude of earthquake struck southern and central Turkey as well as the northern and western Syria which affected 24 million people[3], 2.5 million displaced persons and 56,00 deaths.

    At the local level, at least in this post-pandemic time, no natural disaster has greatly affected the whole country except Odette in 2021 or any war that has ravaged the country. Yet, what is alarming, aside from the inflation of commodities is the rise of poverty level in the country. According to the recent DSWD Listahan 3, that survey found out that there are 5.6 million Filipino Families living in poverty.[4] In terms of individual persons, there are 2 in every 5 Filipinos who are poor. This is equivalent to 30 million poor Filipinos which is 27% of the 111 million population.

    These are just some figures and images of suffering in the world and beyond these, there are more pain, suffering, and deaths unknown to us, not covered by statistics or by many news media. There are many who suffer in silence.

    Thus, we ask again, are we being punished? Are we being condemned because of our sins? Has God abandoned us? Has God given up on us?

    Talk 1

             God’s Caress of Mercy and Friendship. This is the over-all theme that I would like to share with you tonight. We understand “caress” as an action that expresses, closeness, affection, love, concern and gentleness.

             As Pope Francis said in one of his homilies, “God forgives not with a decree but with a caress.” And with mercy, “Jesus too goes beyond the law and forgives by caressing the wounds of our sins.[5]”

    Mercy has touched the Pope so much that he led us into the Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2015-2016. Thus, Pope Francis affirmed that “mercy is God’s identity card[6].” Indeed, Mercy is the name of God.

             Again, Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation called, Christus Vivit  addressed to the Young People and to the Entire People of God, he wrote, “Friendship is one of life’s gifts and a grace from God. Through our friends, the Lord refines us and leads us to maturity.[7]” This is how friendship that we have developed helps us to grow and become the person God wants us to be.

             Moreover, an author, Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, wrote a section of his book with its title, Friendship is Liberating Too, that, “Friendship can save us. Loving, challenging friends who can melt our bitterness and free us from the need to be angry are as critical within the spiritual life… To neglect friendship is to court bitterness and perversion.[8]”

             This explains to us how friendship also plays a role in making ourselves free, free from anger and hatred, from bitterness and corruption that will only bring us into isolation and sadness.

             Hence, as I journey with you tonight, let us refresh our hearts and minds with scriptural texts that would bring deeper into God’s caress of mercy and friendship.

             I would like to invite you now to the story of Jonah.

    Jonah 1:1-3

    The word of the LORD came to Jonah, son of Amittai:

    Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it; for their wickedness has come before me.

    But Jonah made ready to flee to Tarshish, away from the LORD. He went down to Joppa, found a ship going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went down in it to go with them to Tarshish, away from the LORD.

    Jonah was quite rebellious to God because he was sent by God to do something, which he did not want to do.  If you remember, Jonah did not like this assignment to go to Nineveh because he hated the people. They were Assyrians, the traditional enemies of Israel who oppressed and attacked them. These Assyrians were known to be brutal invaders.

    That is why, Jonah was so against God’s plan of sending him there to call them for repentance. Jonah was anxious that the people might believe in God and thus, God might show mercy to them and spare them from death.  Jonah wanted this people to die. He wanted revenge against these people whom he thought were Godless. This was all because he was angry and he disgusted those people.

    Yet, this is what really happened. When Jonah called the people to repent, they repented and believed in God and that was why, God showed mercy to them and saved them from death.

    Jonah’s attitude may not be far from many of us who cultivate a narrow and vindictive mentality.[9] Like Jonah we too might have asked God, How could you love worthless, good for nothing people Lord? How could you show mercy to those who do not even recognize you as God? How could I also be merciful to them when they oppressed my people?

    We might also find ourselves wishing suffering and death to those whom we hate, especially those who have caused us so much pain. We might have wished and cursed those people who did something terrible to others too. When a violence and or a crime is done to an innocent, we might have demanded also the same violence and crime to perpetrators. Like Jonah, we too might have believed that justice is attained through a gruesome death to our enemies. Like Jonah, we also could tend to believe that God should not show mercy to those who have hurt us, to our enemies and people who did terrible things to the innocent.

    Yet, with Jonah, the people of Nineveh and God, there is something very interesting here. Jonah was totally honest to God about his thought and feelings against Nineveh. Jonah was comfortable enough to complain to God, to express his dismay and anger over this people. Jonah even tried to escape from God and argue with the Lord. And the Lord God, listened to him, the Lord God accompanied Jonah and allowed Jonah to grow and become mature as a person and as a prophet by being able to recognize his own limitations and biases against others. The Lord challenged Jonah to see beyond himself, beyond his pain and frustrations and to recognize that God’s mercy and friendship are for all.

    Now, this exchange between Jonah and God expressed closeness and intimacy and that is evident in Jonah’s confidence to express himself before God. Is it not friendship at all? It is! Jonah was a friend of God. God is Jonah’s closest friend. And it is in this friendship that Jonah was called, challenged and was transformed. In a way, Jonah was the first to receive that caress of mercy and friendship with God which the Lord wanted Jonah to share with the people of Nineveh.

    This helps me to realize now that God’s mercy and friendship are not limited to any group of people. God is a God of everybody, of bad and good people, of sinners and righteous, of criminals and law-abiding citizens.

    God showed this concretely to us in the person of Jesus, the ultimate sign of God’s mercy and friendship with us. Pope Francis reminds us, “Friendship is so important that Jesus calls himself a friend: ‘I do not call you servants any longer, but I call you friends.’(Jn 15.15)[10]” Thus, in Jesus, the Father tells us that we are never abandoned, that there is always hope and goodness in each of us no matter how broken we are, and sinful we have turned to be. God always sees goodness in us, because we too are God’s friends.

    This is the same invitation that we have heard from Jesus when he addressed the adulterous woman brought by the scribes and Pharisees. Like Jonah at the beginning, the scribes and the Pharisees were filled with so much hatred and anger. This made them to become condemning towards the woman. With this attitude, they refused to give another chance and opportunity for the woman to change and to redeem herself.

             Thus, they wanted to stone her to death as what “the law” told them to do. But what did Jesus do? Listen now to the Gospel of John chapter 8, verses 7 to 11.

             John 8:7-11

    But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

    Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.

    And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him.

    Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

    She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

    This is what Jesus showed to the woman. Jesus said, “I do not condemn you. Go and sin no more.” God has delivered his judgment, showed His mercy and offered friendship. Jesus freed the woman and was commanded to sin no more and not to go back to her old sinful self. She had, surely, found her way to freedom and peace in Jesus.

    Pope Francis in his homily on this Gospel story said, “Jesus forgives. But here, there is something more than forgiveness because Jesus goes beyond the law. Though Jesus was pure and the only person who is worthy to cast the first stone against the woman, but Jesus did not because he showed mercy.[11]”

    Mercy, as the Pope says, is difficult to understand. “Mercy does not erase sins. It is God’s forgiveness that erases our sins. But then, mercy is the way in which God forgives.[12]”

    Thus, unlike the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus saw more in the person of that woman. The limited awareness and refusal of the Scribes and Pharisees to see more, prevented them to discover that there was always hope in every sinner, and that there was more in a person’s weakness and imperfection. This is how Jesus defends us, sinners from the just condemnation of death.[13] Again, (because) God always sees goodness in us and offers us his friendship that we may be renewed and find peace in his presence.

    PRAYER

             God of Mercy and Friendship, I am confident that it is not your desire to punish and bring us to condemnation, but to caress us with your love. Allow my heart to be ever closer to you, to grow in faith and affection towards you. As you see goodness in me, let me also see the goodness in others that I may learn to caress with mercy and friendship. Amen.

    [1] https://news.google.com/covid19/map?hl=en-PH&mid=%2Fm%2F02j71&gl=PH&ceid=PH%3Aen

    [2] https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=war+in+ukraine

    [3]https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=earthquake+in+turkey+and+syria

    [4] https://www.rappler.com/nation/filipino-families-living-in-poverty-2022-dswd/#:~:text=Sign%20in%20to%20listen%20to%20groundbreaking%20journalism.&text=MANILA%2C%20Philippines%20%E2%80%93%20There%20are%20over,Welfare%20and%20Development%20(DSWD).

    [5] Pope Francis, The Name of God is Mercy: A Conversation with Andrea Tornielli, translated by Oonagh Stransky (New York: Random House, 2006), xii-xiii.

    [6] Ibid, 9.

    [7] Pope Francis, Christus Vivit: Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of the Holy Father Francis to Young People and to the Entire People of God (Philippines: Paulines, 2019), n. 151, 64.

    [8] Ronald Rolheiser, OMI., “Friendship is Liberating Too,” in Forgotten Among the Lilies: Learning to Love Beyond Our Fears (USA: Doubleday, 2005), 34-35.

    [9] Jonah, Introduction, The New American Bible.

    [10] Pope Francis, Christus Vivit, n. 153, 65.

    [11] Jonah, Introduction, The New American Bible, xvi.

    [12] Ibid.

    [13] Ibid.

  • Knowing and believing the person we love

    Knowing and believing the person we love

    April 5, 2023 – Wednesday of the Holy Week

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040523.cfm)

    Judas sold his friend and teacher. The Gospel recounts to us that one of Jesus’ close friends sold him to the chief priests. Why would Judas do that to the person who only showed kindness and generosity to him and to the people?

    Judas though, was chosen to be one of the close friends of Jesus and disciples had these two attitudes that motivated him to betray the Lord and to sell him for thirty pieces of silver.

    First, Judas never believed that Jesus is the Lord and the Messiah, the Son of God who is sent into the world to redeem the world and save the people from their sins and evil ways. Judas never believed in Jesus but only thought that Jesus was a mere teacher. Thus, Judas never called Jesus as Lord but only Rabbi, which means teacher.

    Second, Judas did not have a close, personal and intimate relationship with Jesus. Because Judas never believed in Jesus as Lord, it also followed that Judas had never developed that close relationship with the Lord. Judas actually failed to build true friendship with Jesus and so failed to recognize God in Jesus.

    These attitudes of Judas may also be present in us. When we do not believe or refuse to believe in Jesus as our Savior and Lord, who has come to love and forgive us, then, we too shall have the difficulty of not being able to build a personal relationship with God. Failure to recognize God in our life leads us to an estrange relationship with God.

    This is also true with our human relationships. Failure to believe in the person, to a friend, to your beloved, to your husband, or wife  or child will lead us to a distanced relationship. This failure in knowing the person and building personal and intimate relationship with the person will lead us to easily discard the person. It will be easy for us to hurt them, to cause them pain, to cheat on them, to betray them, to leave and abandon them – because after all, we are never committed in that relationship.

    Thus, we are called rather now to know better the person that we are in relationship with, our friends, our beloved and all those people around us because it is in knowing them that we also come to recognize their importance and believe in them. And again, this shall also move us to commit ourselves in that relationship by developing a close and intimate relationship with others and with God.

    May Our Mother of Perpetual Help guide and inspire us in our relationships and to truly believe in Jesus and to build personal and intimate relationship with him. Kabay pa.

  • Take a Stand

    Take a Stand

    April 5, 2023 – Holy Wednesday

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040523.cfm)

    Worse than their disobedience – for eating the forbidden fruit, Adam & Eve commit the sin of not taking responsibility for their actions. When God asked them why they disobeyed Him, they blame not themselves but rather each other & the snake. Simply put, they don’t own up their promise & responsibility for their actions. They don’t take responsibility for their mistakes. In effect, sin happens & sinfulness abounds – remains to exist. Same way, whenever we don’t own up our promises & our actions, & most especially continue not to take responsibility for our mistakes, we hurt ourselves; we hurt one other; we hurt others; & we ultimately hurt God & our Lord Jesus Christ.

    Today is Holy Wednesday, also known as Spy Wednesday, because of the treachery & betrayal of Judas Iscariot. As this story preludes the suffering, eventual persecution & death-caused by Judas’ betrayal, the passion of our Lord is about & also caused by irresponsibility of the other disciples. When Jesus told them that one of them would betray Him, they, even his betrayer, asked, “It is’nt me, is it, Lord?” Here they concerned themselves not so much of taking responsibility for Jesus & defending Jesus, but rather on suspecting who among them is the said betrayer, except themselves. Rather than taking responsibility for Jesus, they concern much on their self-image & finger pointing for someone to blame.

    With this, Jesus said: ‘You said it’, “Sugid mo, sinabi mo”. Here Jesus is not about who is the betrayer, but asking His disciples-then & us-now to take a stand & be responsible for our promise & action to Him. So, rather than be concerned about whether you & I, or one of us is & has been a Lord’s betrayer to blame, Jesus wants us to CLAIM & SAY to ourselves: “IT IS NOT ME” (period). By our sins, yes, we may have at times betrayed him, but this time on we may promise ourselves: NOW, I choose not to betray you, Lord. I stand & take responsibility for You, whatever may happen.”

    Today is more than just about our possible betrayal & abandonment of the Lord, but moreso, about our commitment in owning up & taking responsibility to follow and stand for the Lord in our lives, so that we may not remain a burden but rather be His responsible disciple of His passion.

    So Be it.

  • Total surrender to God and putting our life in Him

    Total surrender to God and putting our life in Him

    “Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)

    The Seventh of the Seven Last Words of Jesus on the Cross.

    Shared by Bro. Froilem Bonn Barreto, CSsR, on Good Friday, Siete Palabras

    When I was informed to be the seventh sharer for this Siete Palabras, I asked myself silently, why me? What will I say since it is going to be live-streamed on Facebook. However, my formator told me that the seventh, which is “Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit,” fits me well. Trusting in the support that was given to me by my formator, I accepted this task to courageously speak in front of you about my reflection and to share something about my life. 

    One of the most challenging and difficult times in our life is when we get into an experience where seemingly life does not allow us to breathe, and when life seems so unfair. When this thing happens, it does not meet our expectations. It does not let us see the beauty of life. This experience only brings us pain and misery instead of joy and comfort. 

    Like the rest of you, I too, have my own share of life’s ups and downs. I joined the seminary right after I graduated from high school. I enjoyed my seminary formation. However, as the old saying goes, “life is not a bed of roses.” 

    It was in 2002 when my life started to change. I was then a fresh graduate from college, working as a faculty member in a college institution when my mom passed away. She died of cancer at the age of 43. With my mom’s untimely death, things changed. Her death would mean missing a lot of things: her, waking us up early in the morning and cooking our meals. For me, I would surely miss her putting a hand towel on my back when I would sleep because I sweat a lot. 

    I believe that the words of Jesus “Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit,” invite us to re-examine our relationship with God. 

    I was not done yet in grieving over my mom’s death when another unpleasant surprise beset my family. In December of 2006, while on a mission exposure, around 2 a.m.,  I received a phone call. A  woman on the other line was crying, and it took her a while until she was able to tell me the reason for her call – my aunt said that my father died of cardiac arrest. I was speechless. I did not know how to react. The first thing that I thought was my siblings. What I remembered then was that I caught myself picking and packing up my stuff because I wanted to go home. With my parents’ death, life will never be the same. 

    Growing up without my parents was a life filled with uncertainties. It felt like groping in the dark. I was anxious most of the time but I pretended to be strong. As the eldest in the brood of six, I was forced to take up a responsibility that was too heavy for me. I left the seminary and embraced anxieties and the responsibility to become a mother and a father not only to my siblings but myself as well. 

    It was difficult growing up without those people who are supposed to be there for their children. I was faced with a whole lot of concerns and issues ranging from personal, psycho-emotional, financial, and a lot more. And so, I braced myself. I worked hard from being a faculty member to being a customer service representative to being a resto-bar singer. On my rest days, I sang at weddings and other occasions just to augment the salary that I was receiving from the company. 

    But often, I caught myself complaining to God. In my moments of solitude, I kept on telling myself, had only my parents lived, we would never have experienced this kind of life. This particular experience created in me a feeling of resentment towards God.

    In my prayer, I questioned him, “What kind of God are you?”, “What have we done, Lord, to deserve this?” Is the offering of my life to follow you not enough that in exchange, you are treating me like this? It is unfair! 

    In other words, I blamed God. I blamed him for everything. I was at the brink of losing my faith. I stopped going to church. And, what I disliked the most during those times was when people would come to us and comfort us by saying, “God has a purpose for doing this” and “God has a reason for everything.” Such insensitive comments! 

    I would react by saying, “kindly stop over spiritualizing things.” But like any other telenovelas, the story continues, the drama anthology continues. In 2006, a sister of mine, closest to me, was diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease that has no cure at all. A health condition that is slowly killing her. She has been in and out of the hospital. She has two lovely and adorable kids. And thinking about her health condition bothers me a lot. In my prayer, I asked God, “Lord, please don’t allow her children to experience what we have experienced growing up without a mother.” I even shared this with my formator in one of our colloquiums. I expressed to him my fears and anxieties over the things that are beyond my control. 

    My dear brothers and sisters, Jesus’ last words are very powerful and compelling, I asked myself, why despite his agony, the humiliation he experienced, and unbearable pain on the cross, Jesus never blamed his Father. He instead uttered these words like a perfect prayer from the depths of his heart “Father into your hands, I commend my spirit.” 

    “Into your hands, I commend my spirit” is part of the psalm traditionally believed to be written by David and prayed by devout Jews. No wonder Jesus himself uttered these words before he breathed his last.  It is a prayer of complete surrender, a prayer of unwavering trust to his Father. Jesus entrusted himself to his Father. “Father, into your hands, I commed my spirit” speak of a deep level of intimacy of Jesus with his Father. This line demonstrates what it is to be in a relationship with God. We see here that trust is such an essential element in a relationship. It is where a relationship should be anchored. We can only entrust something when we trust the other. There can be no genuine relationship when trust is absent. Trust brings a relationship to a deeper level and we see this concretely in the life of Jesus. No amount of pain, humiliation, and persecution prevented him from fulfilling his mission. This is because Jesus trusted his Father wholeheartedly.

    Oftentimes, when we are faced with problems and difficulties, when we are carrying heavy crosses, our human tendency is that we lose track of our faith. We rely much on our human capacities and strengths. We become too focused on our suffering and pain, on what we can do to the extent that our energies are depleted, and we become exhausted. We start to complain, self-pity, regret, become anxious about what the future holds, and perhaps blame others, or even blame God. Jesus has given us a glorious example of total surrendering to God. 

    I believe that the words of Jesus “Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit,” invite us to re-examine our relationship with God. 

    Do we trust God wholeheartedly? It is so easy to say I believe in God, and I trust in Him when everything that happens is favorable to us. The real test of faith is when life offers us exactly the opposite, “Do we still manage to say, Yes Lord, I trust in you?

    Trusting God does not remove our pains and suffering but transforms the meaning of these things in our life. Our faith and trust in God will sustain us as we go through this life, like Jesus whose trust in God sustained him in and through his sufferings even up to death, his death on the cross. 

    We continue to ask for the grace of God to strengthen our faith, to trust in His words, “come to me, all who labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you  rest. .. for my   yoke is easy, and my burden light.” God is indeed faithful to His promises. 

    Let me end this sharing with a song that speaks about total surrender to God and putting our life in Him. Let this be my prayer for you and your prayer for me as we continue this journey called life. 

    Click here for the full video (https://www.facebook.com/OMPHRedemptoristDavao/videos/2986892808037601/)