Today we celebrate the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. Yes, what is being revered is the “chair” or the cathedra of our first Pope. This feast reminds us of the importance of our unity with the Bishop of Rome, now under the leadership of His Holiness, Pope Francis.
As Catholics, let us pray for our Pope, to always remember him in our prayer. When he was elected as Pope, the first thing he asked to the people was to pray for him. Let us continue that for he indeed needs our constant prayer so that Christ may always give him the strength and that the Holy Spirit may guide him and bless him with wisdom.
These past few days, Pope Francis has been in difficult times due to his illness. Countless Catholics are praying, and we join this multitude of people, praying for the healing and recovery of Pope Francis. Yet, even in this struggle, the Pope remains a beacon of hope for us. He constantly reminds and shows us that “faith is not about fear but love; that leadership is not about power but service.”[1]
Being true to the mission given to Peter, Pope Francis continues what has been entrusted to the “cathedra of the Pope,” that it is of service and self-giving.
As members of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, let us also support the Pope’s initiatives and his pronouncements in building closer relationships with all our brothers and sisters across the globe that is in showing mercy and compassion. This is very evident in the ministry of Pope Francis and how he expressed his closeness with all the suffering.
Moreover, for us individually, the story of Simon’s confession to Jesus posts a call and a reminder to us. Let us closely look a bit into the attitude of Simon Peter and his relationship with Jesus.
Simon was quite hesitant, doubtful and sometimes inconsistent. In the scriptures we find him having doubts as he was invited by Jesus to walk on water. He was also called by Jesus to get behind him because he refused to believe that Jesus should undergo suffering. He ran and hid himself when Jesus was arrested and even denied him three times when he was questioned by the people.
However, what was redeeming for Simon was his “openness” to the invitations of God to him. This explains to us why he immediately followed the Lord when his brother Andrew brought him to Jesus. This openness of Simon allowed him to intimately recognize and know Jesus in the most profound way. That is why, when Jesus asked his disciples about their perception of him, it was Simon who was so bold in professing that Jesus is the “Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
Simon did not depend on others perception of Jesus who might have thought that Jesus was merely a teacher or some sort of magician. Simon had a personal encounter with Jesus and recognized the Lord.
Though Simon was an imperfect disciple but God revealed himself to him because Simon was open to God. And thus, Jesus called him to follow and to serve him in the best way he could serve God. This attitude of Simon earned him to be named by Jesus as Kephas or the Rock, a responsibility given to him by the Lord to lead the Church.
This is the message for us now. God knows that each of us is not perfect, yet, our God calls each of us to accept certain tasks in our community. We don’t have to be perfect to be a youth minister, an animator or coordinator, or lector, server, or religious or priest etc. Remember, God never called perfect people. God choose the wounded, the broken, the weak, the fearful and doubtful, the imperfect ones to become His friends and fellow workers.
Like Peter, God sustains us, he strengthens us and transforms us into mature, faithful and joyful persons if we are also open to God’s call and invitations. We may learn how to open ourselves to God and to be more accepting of his invitations to each of us. Jesus assures us that when we put our trust and faith in him, he will never leave us and will always be with us. That is his promise. Hinaut pa.
(A Moment of Reflection: A Talk – with Christ the King College de Maranding, Campus Ministry Office)
There are three important words that I want you first to remember as we reflect today the message of Pope Francis on the occasion of the World Day of Peace published on January 1, 2025.
First, FORGIVENESS. Second, PEACE. And third, HOPE.
These three words served as the central theme of the message of Pope Francis addressed to world leaders and to all people of good will, including you and me. We have to understand then that the challenges and invitations set by Pope Francis are not only applicable to people who play important role in political, economic and cultural arena of our society. The call towards the path of peace is call to all.
Hence, the theme of Pope Francis’ message reminds us now, “FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES: GRANT US YOUR PEACE.”
As I join you in this short recollection, watch first this short video of the message of Pope Francis.
From that short video presentation, it tells that Pope Francis invites us to look at the challenges that our world is facing today. These challenges are particularly those that endanger the survival of humanity and the whole creation because of human greed and manipulation for power, wealth and control.
But how shall we look at these realities?
We can actually look at it from the perspective of anger and hatred because of the injustices yet, that will only lead us to the cycle of violence. We can end up towards arm struggle and rebellion. Nevertheless, it will not lead us to peace but only towards more suffering and despair.
We can also look at it with apathy and indifference. Well, the many issues and realities happening around the world are not directly experienced by us. Each of you here is not living on a war zone. You are not unemployed. You don’t have children who are undernourished, experiencing severe hunger on a daily basis. You don’t have overwhelming debt that will take you more than a lifetime to pay. And so, passivity and looking at these realities with indifference would be very easy for us to do. Yet, such attitude would only make our hearts calloused and numbed at suffering of others even with those who are nearest to us.
Pope Francis proposes to look at the realities of the world, as well as of our own experiences of suffering from the perspective of hope, of having a heart full of hope.
Now, for us to better understand and have a good grasped of what the Pope reminds us, let’s have a step by step moments of reflection of his message. The entire message is actually divided into four sections. In each section, let us also recognize its relevance in us, in our own context, work and status especially to you as a team of Campus Ministry in your college.
Going back to that proposal of Pope Francis to look at the realities of the world from the perspective of hope, it triggers us to also ask, how? How do we look? And where should we start? This brings us into the first section of the message.
The First Section
LISTENING TO THE PLEA OF AN ENDANGERED HUMANITY (A CALL TO LISTEN)
Pope Francis brings to our awareness as he greets every man and woman, and especially to those whom felt more connected – the downtrodden, those burdened by their past mistakes, those oppressed because of being judged by others, those who are desperate and hopeless.
This is each of us! These are the experiences of many and perhaps of those students under your care. The many burdens they carry and issues they face in their own lives. This means that suffering is experienced by everyone. This is the significance of the sound of a ram’s horn (in Hebrew, jobel) calls us to listen.
This is why the Jubilee Year of Hope becomes more relevant to each of us, individuals and as a community of faith. This is an invitation again for us that our hearts be filled with hope. This hope leads us and moves us to aspire and work for forgiveness and reconciliation, for freedom and healing.
That is why, the Jubilee Year of Hope is meant to echo throughout the land (cf. Lev 25:9 – to every hearts and to every homes and communities) so that God’s justice will be restored in every aspect of life.
We are called to listen and recognize now the many “desperate plea for help.” These include the exploitation of our natural and human resources in the guise of progress and profit. Pope Francis affirmed what St. Pope John Paul II called as “structures of sin” committed not only by principal agents but also by many of us who participate indirectly because of our support or because of our indifference.
Indeed, this is a call for us to listen – to heed the plea for help of the suffering humanity for example the “inhuman treatment towards migrants, environmental decay, confusion caused by disinformation, refusal to engage in any form of dialogue, and the immense resources spent on the industry of war.” These are all “distinct yet interconnected” to each other. Do we also find these in our context? Maybe not all, but perhaps some of these.
By acknowledging the forms of suffering in our own context, then, it calls us to work for justice. And what Pope Francis wants us to realize as well is “the cultural and structural changes” from us so that change will endure and will not be passive. This brings us now to the second section.
Second section
2. A CULTURAL CHANGE: ALL OF US ARE DEBTORS (A CALL TO HUMILITY)
After looking and recognizing at the many realities present in our communities, Pope Francis leads us to also realize the many gifts that are already in us. Yet, the many resources that we enjoy are not meant for us alone or for the “privileged few” in the case of the those whose hearts have become so wealthy and entitled.
Pope Francis wants us to grow in gratitude, he said, “without gratitude, we are unable to recognize God’s gifts.” Certainly, we won’t be convinced as well that we are actually gifted. We will not be confident of what we have, as well of the potentials and talents that we already have. Meaning, without gratitude, it leads us to bitterness and despair. Look at how a person, you might have encountered one already, whose heart have grown ungrateful – the person becomes so stingy of many things and so mean to people around him or her.
Indeed, when we become ungrateful this also leads us to easily get irritated or even feel unfair at the blessings of others. It makes us entitled but corrupt, even when we have received so much, in our practices because our heart is not convinced that what we have are God’s grace.
We have to understand then, that God’s grace cannot be earned. It is a pure gift not because of our good deeds and qualities but undeserved and unmerited. That is why, the Lord would not abandon the sinful humanity, or no matter how sinful we have become, because God’s infinite mercy is a gift. In fact, God reaffirmed this “gift of life by the saving forgiveness offered to all through Jesus Christ.”
This is how we discover the central teaching of the “Our Father.” As Jesus told us to pray : “Forgive us of our trespasses,” the Pope reminds us to recognize our collective sins that we are all indebted to the Father and with one another.
Hence, we rely now on the mercy of God who forgave our debts, through Jesus. And through him, the gift of life, being renewed gives us hope for one another. In consequence, Pope Francis appeal echoes to every heart – “the appeal for solidarity, but above all for justice.”
Hope becomes more alive in us now because it opens us up and lead us towards that cultural and structural change. The cultural change happens in our way of life, in the way we relate with one another and in the way we look at the world from the perspective of hope. Eventually, through this cultural change then structural change happen and begin to recognize that we are all brothers and sisters, we have a shared and diversified responsibilities and that we are not enemies or business competitors.
This leads us now to the third section.
Third Section
3. A JOURNEY OF HOPE: THREE PROPOSALS (Call to Action)
This change in us begins in our hearts. This also fuels and renews our hope, of our journey of hope, as being emphasized in this Jubilee 2025. Acknowledging God’s constant grace and mercy to all, makes us again realize God’s infinite generosity and love because we are forgiven.
Yet, let us not also forget the challenging words in the Lord’s Prayer, “as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Forgiveness becomes a reality in us as we also learn to forgive others. From such grace, hope and peace shall overflow in our hearts. That overflow will only become concrete from our own experience of forgiveness and generosity,
In fact, Pope Francis also said, and I quote, “Hope overflows in generosity; it is free of calculation, makes no hidden demands, unconcerned with gain, but aims at one thing alone: to raise up those who have fallen, to heal hearts that are broken and to set us free from every kind of bondage,” end of quote.
This is the best gauge for us as we express our generosity to others. And so let us be mindful also of our attitude when our generous actions (things that we give like of materials resources, presence, our personal time and talents) are fueled by our personal agenda or selfishness then, our generosity is not from hope. Rather, it is from corruption.
From here Pope Francis leads us to the path of peace with three proposals as our call to action.
First, Forgiveness of International Debt. “Reducing substantially, if not canceling outright, the international debt which seriously threatens the future of many nations”, said Pope Francis. This is a call to world leaders especially of rich countries to be in solidarity with neighboring nations.
Second, Abolition of Death Penalty. This means that we are called to have a firm commitment to respect for the dignity of human life from conception to natural death. Through this commitment, we promote a culture of life that gives every man and woman the hope of forgiveness and rehabilitation, freedom and healing.
Third, To Establish a World Fund aimed at Eliminating Hunger. This is to use a “fixed percentage from armament investments to establish a global fund to eradicate hunger, facilitate educational activities in poorer countries to promote sustainable development, and to combat climate change.” This means that, certainly, war is for profit, for business and thus, it is an industry. Political conflicts or ideological beliefs or territorial disputes can easily be manipulated by profit-oriented groups in order to create war and so gain immense profits. Yet, what the world needs are not bullets but food and water, education and home.
These three proposals though aimed at the world leaders and all those who play significant role in our global village, however, ourselves and those at the grassroots remain significant so that we may be able “to pave new paths of peace together in our communities.”
This brings us to the final section.
Final Section
4. THE GOAL OF PEACE (Towards Freedom)
Pope Francis quoted Saint John XXIII who convened the Second Vatican Council in 1962, “true peace can be born only from a heart ‘disarmed’ of anxiety and the fear of war.”
This means that the goal towards peace is first directed at our own hearts that are perhaps trapped in despair and hopelessness because of our failures, or hearts thickened by indifference and selfishness, or hearts traumatized by abuse and oppression, or hearts covered with pretensions that everything is okay but not realizing the realities around, or hearts filled with worries and anxieties because of the thought of “nothing might be left for me, then I have to accumulate more” or the thought of “nothing is for me, I am pitiful” or having a heart that is constantly threatened by tensions, conflicts and wars. Then, our hearts are indeed troubled.
Yet, know that the Lord brings us peace, grants us pardon and gives us freedom. What we are called to do now is to disarm our heart from whatever shackles of pain, trauma and imprisonment it is suffering from.
Pope Francis wonderfully expressed the call towards freedom in these words, and I quote, “May we seek the true peace that is granted by God to hearts disarmed: hearts not set on calculating what is mine and what is yours; hearts that turn selfishness into readiness to reach out to others; hearts that see themselves as indebted to God and thus prepared to forgive the debts that oppress others; hearts that replace anxiety about the future with the hope that every individual can be a resource for the building of a better world.”
Indeed, each of us now is a resource in building a better world. Your position as educators puts you now at the pedestal in your own context to realize peace. Pope Francis even continued to express that “disarming hearts is a job for everyone.” So that, as we heed the call to disarm our hearts, then, it will inspire us and give us hope to also become a catalyst in disarming the hearts of people around us even through our simple gestures “such as a smile, a small gesture of friendship, a kind look, a ready ear, a good deed” or having an understanding heart over a troubled student, or having a welcoming hand shake for anxious new students, or un-judging (without judgment) attitude towards a colleague who is emotionally sensitive.
These are small steps, simple gestures yet will also become powerful and effective as we hope to build a community in loved with peace.
And so as I end this reflection let us pray together the prayer for peace composed by Pope Francis at the end of his message.
PRAYER FOR PEACE by Pope Francis
Lord, grant us your peace!
Forgive us our trespasses, Lord,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
In this cycle of forgiveness, grant us your peace,
the peace that you alone can give
to those who let themselves be disarmed in heart,
to those who choose in hope to forgive the debts of their brothers and sisters,
to those who are unafraid to confess their debt to you,
and to those who do not close their ears to the cry of the poor.
Amen.
Points for Reflection towards the Path of Peace
Look and Listen: Recognizing the Cry for Help in my own context
As an educator/religious/seminarian – what are the different pleas/cry for help that I can identify which I encounter with myself, with my students or community?
Embracing our Gifts leads us to Gratitude and Generosity
What resources/gifts/talents do I have that I can offer for others and for my community?
Call to Action: A Commitment to make
What do I need to change in me? What do I need to disarm from my heart? (attitudes, beliefs or perspectives)What concrete actions I can commit to promote peace?
The XXVI General Chapter of the Redemptorists recently concluded its deliberations on October 7, 2022 after it convened on September 11 in Rome. Three statements were given during and after the Chapter which should make us Filipino Redemptorists reflect on where we are today and the challenges we face in the future which we should face squarely during our incoming Provincial Chapters.
First was that of Pope Francis. On the first of October, Pope Francis addressed the delegates and he offered to them these words of inspiration and exhortation:
“Do not be afraid to tread new paths, to dialogue with the world, in the light of your rich tradition of moral theology. Do not be afraid to get your hands dirty in the service of those most in need and of the people who do not count…
In your Constitutions there is a very fine expression, where it says that the Redemptorists are available to face any trial to bring Christ’s redemption to all. Availability. Let us not take this word for granted! It means giving oneself entirely to the mission, with all one’s heart, dies impendere pro redemptis, unto the final consequences, with a gaze fixed on Jesus.
The Church and consecrated life are living a unique historical moment, in which they have the possibility of renewing themselves to respond with creative fidelity to the mission of Christ. This renewal passes through a process of conversion of the heart and mind, of intense metanoia, and also through a change of structures. At times we need to break the old pots, inherited from our traditions, which have carried a great deal of water but have now fulfilled their purpose. And breaking our pots, full of affections, of cultural customs, of histories, is not an easy task; it is painful, but it is necessary if we want to drink the new water that comes from the wellspring of the Holy Spirit, the source of all renewal.”
After reading his statement, he had an impromptu address in which he said:
Photo from http://www.catholicnewsworld.com/
“I was struck by a phrase your group said: ‘Leave your comfort zones and go out on the mission.’ I wonder, what are the comfort zones that a congregation has, that a province has, that a community has and that each one of us has? Ask yourselves that question, because it was said that each person accommodates the vows as he pleases. And so, you can practice poverty with a bank account, you can practice chastity with a companion, and you can practice obedience by talking and deciding what you want. These are very distorted forms. But the one that always produces a distortion in the three vows is comfort. That is where the evil comes in, in trying to be comfortable, to be at ease, to live a bourgeois life, without going out, and going out on the mission…Each one of us must analyze our own temptation to be comfortable. We all have that temptation; we all face that temptation.”
From such statements, clearly Pope Francis is exhorting all of us to reflect on where we are today in terms of our mission and lifestyle and to be engaged missionaries truly immersed among “those in need and the people who do not count.”
Second was the statement of Fr. Rogerio Gomez CSsR, our new Superior General who sent this to the Union of Redemptorists of Brazil on October 12. While this statement is meant for his confreres in Brazil, it might as well be addressed to all of us Redemptorists, for in the document, he highlights the complex and challenging times in which we live and asks for courage from all of us:
“We are experiencing a phenomenon to which we must be very attentive: the erosion of democracy, the use of religion to manipulate reality and to impose fear and exclusion on the poor. This reality should make us think. We must be wise as children of light,’ says one of the excerpts from the letter.
The spread of fake news can be related to the sin against the eighth commandment: ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness!’ It is an enormous disservice to the truth.”
“How can we believe in the true God and defend weapons, persecute traditional religions, destroy Mother Nature, and not invest in public health, education, science and social policies for the benefit of the poorest and the country’s development? How can we believe in the motto ‘the truth that sets us free’ (Jn 8:32)? However, we live with the flood of lies that deceive people and create reality.
How is it possible to speak out against abortion yet advocate the death of blacks, indigenous people, homosexuals, and women, the death penalty, cover up domestic violence, reaffirm machismo, promote prejudice against northerners and minorities, and cause social mistreatment? The teaching of the Church is evident in affirming ‘the inviolability and dignity of life from conception to natural death (JPII Evangelium vitae, 2)’.”
Third is the recent letter of Fr. Gomez to all Redemptorists around the world, issued on the Feast of St. Gerard last October 16 addressed to everyone in the congregation from superiors to Council members, Secretariats to Formation Teams, professed and lay missionaries and even the formandi. In this letter he affirms the important role of the Brothers in the congregation, but is in crisis owing to lack of promotion and attention and calling on everyone to find creative ways to recruit and form Brothers to reverse the present reality of their dwindling numbers.
All these are framed within the call for the coming sexennium, namely that we all strive to be missionaries of hope in the footsteps of the Redeemer. There are many reasons why sometimes we feel discouraged owing to the sad global realities (the impact of climate change, the repercussions of the pandemic, wars and conflicts, consumerism, secularism, individualism, etc.), the national situation (return of dictatorship, unchecked corruption, patronage politics, inflation, rising prices, etc.) and even dynamics within our own congregation.
But we are supposed to be children of the light, filled with hope that God never abandons His people. However, that hope can only be nurtured if – through following in Jesus’ footsteps – we are truly able to witness to plentiful redemption which is reflected in our faithfulness to the mission of serving the most abandoned, and sharing a community life lived not in affluent comfort but following the model of Jesus and his disciples.
We pray that the Provincial Chapters that will be unfolding in our two units would lead us to the path earlier taken by St. Alphonsus, St. Clement, St. Gerard and all our confreres who through the years since we were founded followed in the Redeemer’s footsteps!
A DOSE OF GOD TODAY 