Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Tag: Resurrection

  • BELIEVE

    BELIEVE

    March 22, 2026 – Fifth Sunday of Lent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032226.cfm)

    While consoling Martha at the death of Lazarus, Jesus in our gospel today of  said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Do you believe in this?”

    “To believe and not to believe Jesus as the resurrection & the life?” is the very basic question of our Christian faith. Each and every one of us is confronted at every moment of our life, from birth to death, from womb to tomb with this question: “Do you believe in Jesus as the resurrection and the life, or not?” This is the very question we are confronted with: as to our parents – from the moment of our conception; as we are, as we grow and mature as a person until our deathbed; and as to our loved ones, at the moment of our death.

    We do believe, as followers of Christ, in Jesus Christ, our resurrection and our life. Whenever we say “Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again,” we proclaim the mystery of our faith. Yes, as Christians, we believe in Jesus Christ. We believe in the death, resurrection and the parousia (the 2nd Coming) of Jesus Christ. And, in the Apostles’ Creed, we profess our faith in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. This would mean that our faith in Christ lead us, followers of Christ, to believe that like Jesus, after death we will rise again, and someday we will share in His eternal life.

    This is clearly expressed in our practice and traditions regarding burials. Since we may raised the question: “Why all the elaborate ceremonies, maintain memorial parks and cemeteries, yearly visits & the mass intentions for our beloved dead, …. if we don’t believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting?”

    This is what we believe. This is our faith. For some, like the Sadducees, this is crazy and ridiculous. For others, this is absurd and unbelievable. But for us, this is mystery of our faith, the core expression of our faith. This is the meaning of our being Christian. Resurrection and eternal life are the meanings of Christian life and death.

    Our faith-conviction in the resurrection of the body and life-everlasting then means that, we believe in Jesus, who has died, has risen and will come again as the Resurrection and the Life. And because of His death and resurrection, to believe Christ and follow Jesus is worth living and dying for, as shown to us by faith of our martyrs, our saints, & our beloved dead. His death, resurrection, and promise of eternal life offer us Life – giving us hope, meaning and cause to live in this present world. That is why we honor our beloved souls and saints, because they have lived and died faithfully believing in Jesus Christ, the Resurrection and the Life.

    By their very Christian examples, we witness their faith, giving us hope, and meaning in our life and death. Believing in Jesus Christ then is our fundamental option, our core choice and response to God’s love.

    As a priest, I have the opportunity and privilege to witness people’s faith. Parishioners and faithfuls ask for my blessings and my presence in their suffering and sickness, in their joys and sorrows because simply they believe. Sick people in their homes or hospital ask for a visit, communion or anointing because they believe. We attend mass because we believe. In confession, I hear not only the sins of the penitent but also the resolution and faith to come back to the Lord. For me, these are faith-encounters, opportunities, where I witness what we believe as we proclaim our faith.

    As St. Augustine says, “Faith is to believe in what we do not see, but the reward of faith is to see and enjoy what we believe.” Thus, as the Lord asked for our faith, like Martha, pray we respond: “Yes, Lord, I come to Believe that You are the Christ.”

    Perhaps then in preparation for our celebration of the Paschal Mystery of Christ this year and as always we grapple with life’s questions, frustrations, and challenges, may Thomas Merton’s prayer of abandonment express our true heart’s desire before our Lord whom we believe most….

    My Lord God,

    I have no idea where I am going.

    I do not see the road ahead of me.

    I cannot know for certain where it will end.

    Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

    But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.

    I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.

    Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

    So May it Be. Amen.

  • ONE HEART AND MIND

    ONE HEART AND MIND

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • What makes our heart unbelieving and hardened?

    What makes our heart unbelieving and hardened?

    April 26, 2025 – Saturday in the Octave of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042625.cfm)

    When a terrifying and agonizing event happen in our life, it overwhelms our heart and mind. Such a horrible experience brings us into a state of shock, confusion and disbelief. Persons who are recently in a traumatizing experience may manifest anxiety and fear and other spontaneous strong emotional outbursts. There may be flashbacks of that terrifying event and thus make the person to withdraw and isolate from others.

    To protect oneself, a possible coping is to shut down that memory of the past. Hence, it makes the heart unbelieving and hardened towards others.

    Such human experience was the very state that the disciples of Jesus went through. They were in a state of shock and disbelief after the horrible event that happened to Jesus. And so, they retreated and hid themselves because of fear. They locked themselves in a room to protect themselves. Yet, when Jesus fulfilled his promise to be with them through the gift of his resurrection, their hearts remained closed.

    Indeed, they could not believe it. They could not even accept what has been reported by Mary Magdalene. They would not even accept the testimony of the two disciples who went to Emmaus and reported that the Lord appeared to them.

    The disciples must have been filled with guilt. They were ashamed for fleeing and hiding when Jesus was arrested, tortured, and killed. Peter denied Jesus who earlier said he won’t. The very experience and those days were just disheartening. They too must have felt that there was no more hope for them. Their courage was gone. Their spirits dampened. These were devastating, and so, they became unbelieving and their hearts hardened.

    The terrible death of Jesus, killed in the most shameful and painful way, was beyond their expectation. Yet, it happened. The Lord told them he would suffer and die. He also told them he would be raised on the third day. Despite this, they were all unprepared.

    And when Jesus was raised and appeared to other disciples, their minds and hearts were closed because they were too afraid. They stayed in their grief and sorrow, nursing their fear and shame.

    However, the Lord appeared to them all and confronted them. As the Gospel of Mark told us, “Jesus appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart.” Yes, the Lord confronted and challenged them by rebuking them. It was the Lord’s way of making them wake up and move forward. They have been staying in that disposition and attitude that was already unhealthy and unhelpful for them and for others.

    We too could find ourselves having such kind of disposition and attitude. When we stay too long in our grief, we nurture our own emotional wounds. Feeding our fears with anxiety further escalates the issue. Such dispositions of the heart and mind make us more submerged into fear and anxiety, leading into sin and darkness.

    We remind ourselves, it is okay to grieve. It is okay to be afraid after a painful experience. It is okay to feel down and discouraged after a failure. It is okay to feel lonely and alone. It is okay to be sad and not feeling okay.

    However, when we are already staying too much in these human emotions and even reinforcing these emotions with our unhealthy coping and nursing them. Then, that is not okay. It is not alright. These attitudes would lead us farther from others. We would move even farther from our true selves and the grace of God.

    Today, the Risen Jesus, through the gift of His Resurrection, we are called to confront ourselves, to confront our friends and one another when we are going in those unhealthy and life-sucking state of life. Let us allow the grace of the resurrection to give us hope, courage and a new way of looking at things and looking at our life.

    We move forward and move on, knowing that the grace of God is with us, and that the presence of Jesus assures us that there is life, and that there is hope, always. Hinaut pa.

  • PISTIS

    PISTIS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Alleluia. The Lord Has Risen, Indeed. Amen.

  • Witness in Person

    Witness in Person

    April 13, 2023 – Thursday in the Octave of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041323.cfm)

    To be a credible witness, one must have a on-hand experience of the incident. For a witness to be reliable, one must have a personal encounter of what was going on & had happened as the event unfolds.

    Our readings today are all about witnessing & being witness.

    People in our first reading in the Acts of the Apostles believe not only because of what Peter & John preached & proclaimed about the risen Lord Jesus Christ, whom they condemned & crucified in death but also because they themselves see for themselves the cured lame man & the miracle happened to him. People repented & believed because they witness for themselves God’s miracle in curing the lame man happened right in front of them.

    In the same way the disciples came to believe because they themselves experience the risen Lord appeared before them. It is the Lord in person, who showed himself to them – with His wounds, hungry for food, & whom they fed & listened to anew to His message & challenge of faith & repentance. Because of their first & on-hand experience of the risen Lord in person, they are now as the Lord says: “Witnesses of all these”. The people & the disciples believe because they witness in person for themselves & now become as personal believers and witnesses of our risen Lord Jesus Christ.

    We cannot give what we do not have. We can only share what we have. In the same way, we cannot be credible witnesses if we have not witness for ourselves the incident. Through the witness & witnessing Peter & John, people came to believe in the risen Lord. By our testimony of our witness & witnessing of our faith, other people in effect will also believe & experience for themselves the risen Lord in our lives today.

    We now are witnesses of the Lord’s resurrection to the world. Since we are gifted now with the witness & faith in the risen Lord, we are now proclaimers & sharers of God’s salvation through the life & resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ in our world today.

    May these Easter Season make us more aware of the appearances & revelations of our risen Lord in our lives now, so that we may share anew His messages & graces for our world today, especially during these pandemic times. So Help Us God. So May it Be. Amen.