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Tag: Relationship Status

  • Faith Status

    Faith Status

    February 11, 2021 – Thursday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021121.cfm)

    In social media, one may publicly publish one’s relationship status. This is more than just about our civil status or legal relationship status as single, married, engaged, widow or separated person, but more so about a short description of the state of one’s relationship with significant others in the society. And there are many ways people would describe in their profile their own relationship status in social media. Not only the usual “in-love, committed, happily married,” others would even post some double meaning descriptions like, “complicated, looking & searching, available, negotiable, available but non-negotiable, negotiable but non-available” among others.

    All of these are just but reflections that fundamentally as human persons, we are in relationship with others. By nature we are not solitary alone being, but social beings – social animals who are in relationship with others & one another. Our creation story in our first reading today is a reminder that God has created us as related & inter-related with our world & with one another. Lahat tayo ay magkaugnay. And God knows that it is not good for us to be alone, & thus, he looks for our suitable partners in life. Human social being as we are, somehow, we should have our own relationship status in life that would describe the state of our relationship with an-other & others.

    Social being as we are, we should also however, be reminded that we are spiritual being. As much as we are in relationship with others, we are also in relationship with God. If we have a relationship status, we should also have our own faith status that would describe the state of our relationship with God in life.

    We may realize the need for faith status beyond relationship status in our gospel today. Surely Jesus & the Greek woman shares distinct social & relationship status. Di sila magkaugnay. Dili sila mag-abot. By culture, birth, civil status, race, and gender, there are both unsuitable to one another. However, both share the same quality of faith. By their relationship with God, they can relate with one another. They share the same deep faith in God regardless of their relationship & social status, and in effect, healing & miracle happened.

    While we concern ourselves with our social life & relationship status, perhaps we should also consider our faith status? What is the state of our relationship with God? How would we describe the state of our relationship with God? How is our spiritual life?

    Today, we honor our Lady of Lourdes. The apparition of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception at Lourdes, France is a constant reminder of our Mama Mary to us that we do have our spiritual life, that we are in relationship with God, that we have & should grow in our faith status in life & only through then miracles & healing do happen in our world & life.

    May we grow in Faith.

    So Help us God. So May it be. Amen.

  • Relationship Status Update…

    Relationship Status Update…

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    June 7, 2020 – Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/060720.cfm)

    What is your relationship status? The state of your relationships – your being with others? 

    Social media netizens nowadays have the option to post in public their own relationship status in their profile. This is more than just about their usual civil status of being single, married or separated, but more so about the description of the present state and quality of their relationship with an-other special person: be it in-love, complicated, available, committed and others. (perhaps same way as MU: mutual understanding and SS/DU: Sikit-Sikit/Dili Uyab, as we used to describe before).

    As others may concern about their relationship status, we might as well consider our relationship status at the time of social distancing in today’s pandemic world. Quarantine and social distancing have rendered us nowadays isolated and distance from others and with one another. And surely this has affected the quality of our relationships with others: be it too/less close or far; too/less deep or hollow, too/less presence or absence. Social distancing during pandemic has deeply and uniquely affected our social relationships. While it may have shaken and threatened our family, community and love life to possible break-up, dryness and dying, we could not deny also that our distance from and/or being “stuck” at-home with them may have also re-ignited, rekindled, renewed, and deepen our relationships with another. So also as we consider our relationship status during these times, healthy for us to consider our faith status – our relationship with our God: on how social distancing have affected the state and quality of our relationship with God.

    Today, first Sunday after Easter Season, is Solemnity of Most Holy Trinity or simply called Trinity Sunday. More than just a reminder of our Christian faith in the Triune (the three in one) nature of our God, our celebration today invites us to reconsider our relationship status with God. 

    In our gospel, (as the key text and core message of St. John’s gospel), Jesus gives us the description of the status and quality of God’s  relationship status with us. God is so in-love with us that He gives us His Son to believe and follow, for us not to be condemned in life but to have eternal life with Him. With these words, we can highlight here two points to describe the quality of God’s relationship status with us: God is in covenant with us and God is in collaboration with us. 

    The word covenant roughly  means “coming together”. To describe God’s relationship status with us as “in-covenant” would mean that God “comes together” with us – God is one, in community, in loving marital relationship with us, because He is so in love with us. Moreover, the word collaboration would also roughly mean “working together”.

    To describe then His relationship with us as “in-collaboration” would mean that God “works together” with us – God is in sync, tandem, partnership with us  by offering us to adopt and be co-responsible for His Son in our life and faith. By His Love for us, God is in relationship with us, and by giving us His Son, God is responsible for us and with us. This is how blessed we are and should be, for God is in covenant relationship and in collaborative commitment with us. 

    Now, what is and should be our relationship status with God? 

    Moses wished that though we may stiff-necked and wicked, God may “come along in our company” and “receive us as (His) own”. Paul prays that “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, BE with all of Us.” It is thus the hope and prayer of the forefathers of our faith, and still now, that we also may be “in covenant” and “in collaboration” with God – that our faith, our relationship status with God is in sync also with God’s status with us – however righteous, limited or stubborn we might be.

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    A wise man once said, “Each one of us are but angels with one wing. We can only fly by embracing one another.” True enough, this saying not only affirms our limited human nature of being one-winged, but more so highlights our spiritual nature of being angels. Our present life then is and should be in relation, in sync & in tandem with God and one another, so that we can sore and rise above to the occasion of living our lives to its fullness as we journey back to our heavenly home, and share in God’s offer of eternal life with Christ. 

    Ironically to protect and keep us safe, our pandemic world rendered us now limited, restricted, set apart and distanced from one another. However, our natural longing to be social – to be one and together with one another and God offers us breath, life, hope and support in the during these trying and difficult times. And putting value anew, upgrading and working out to improve the quality of our relationships status (our being with God and others) could somehow alleviate and bring more purpose and meaning to our present predicament.Though limited angels with one wing may be and due to pandemic realities now set apart from one another, may we always keep the faith, and come and work in one – together with our Triune God, as He is forever in covenant and collaboration with us. Amen. 

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