OUR PARISH PRIEST

BUKAS NA LIHAM PARA SA IYO, PANGINOONG HESUS Panginoong Hesus, nakakalunos naman po ang salaysay ng pagtanggi sa inyo ng mga tao sa mabuting balita ngayon. Ang hirap isipin na matapos ang kanilang paghanga, heto na at nagsimula na silang manghusga sa inyo. Una, hinanap nila ang inyong pinanggalingan at natunton nilang si San Jose ang iyong ama sa Nazaret ay simple lang, karaniwan lang, walang ipinagmamalaki. Pangalawa, hinihingi nilang pasayahin ninyo sila sa pagpapalabas ninyo ng mga himala sa kanilang harapan. Mahirap unawain kung bakit hindi ninyo sila itinuwid agad at sinabing ang tunay ninyong ama ay ang Diyos Ama sa langit at si San Jose ay ama-amahan ninyo lang sa lupa. Hindi ko maintindihan kug bakit hindi ninyo na lang sila pinagbigyan ng isang himala. Madali lang yun sa inyo, Panginoon. O baka naman, ipinapakita ninyo sa amin kung paano kumilos, o mas maigi pa dun, kung paano kami dapat magnilay bago kumilos, kapag nasa gitna ng pagtanggi o kapag

AN OPEN LETTER TO JESUS Lord Jesus, the gospel today is a heart-rending narrative of your experience of rejection. Imagine, after the initial wonder and amazement at your teachings and healings, the people now start judging you based on their narrow standards. First they look into your origins and realize that based on their inquiry your father was the Joseph they knew, a simple man, a commoner, a nobody in the community. Second, they demanded that you please them by performing wonders before their very eyes so that they would believe. That you did not correct them and say that your real father was the God in heaven and that Joseph was merely your legal or foster-father is something hard to understand. That you did not comply with their wish to do miracles is beyond me. You could easily have done both, Lord. Or maybe, you are modeling for us how to react, or better still reflect, when you face rejection or when your faith is challenged. Your story

LORD, REPLACE TERROR WITH PEACE, UNITY AND PROGRESS! eternal rest for the slain, healing for the wounded, peace between Christians and Muslims, protection for the weak,  respect for religious plurality, and brotherhood among Filipinos... we pray, O Lord! pictures: thanks to photos made available online by many news services...

BY FERDI FUENTES (+) Be sincere than a hypocrite Be authentic than untrue Be better than good Be a cooperator than a competitor Be hopeful than hopeless Be reading than gossiping Be right than wrong Be competent than ineffective Be a food producer than a consumer Be fair than greedy Be early than late Be clean than dirty Be happy than sad Inspire than discourage Praise than criticize Plant than cut trees Reuse than abuse nature Walk than ride Smile than frown Have less than more Have a pure heart than material possessions Serve than be served Pray than waste time Blaze a trail than stand still Be a CHILD OF GOD (filipino: tagalog)   MAS MAMATAMISIN KONG Maging taos-puso kaysa mapagbalatkayo Mag

MAHAL MO BA ANG SALITA? Sa tuwing may pagdiriwang Katoliko tulad ng prusisyon o iba pang tradisyon, ang daming bashers na nagsusulputan sa social media. Wala sa Bible ang Nazareno, sabi nila. Gawa lang ng tao ang Santo Niño, sigaw ng ilan pa. Ang hindi nila maintindihan, o ayaw intindihin, ay basta tatawagin na lang nilang labag daw sa Salita ng Diyos. Sanay na tayong mga Katoliko sa ganitong pagtuligsa at diskriminasyon ng mga tao, ang iba sa kanila kalapit at kaibigan pa natin sa personal na buhay. Alam nating ang komento nila ay mula sa kamangmangan. Ang bintang nila ay resulta ng maling impormasyon. Sino ba ang higit na matapat sa Salita ng Diyos kundi ang simbahang nagbuo, nag-ingat at nagpapahayag nito mula pa noon hanggang ngayon, dalawang libong taon na? Pero sa totoo lang, habang ang mga Protestante, born-again, at iba pang mga sekta ang nagpaparatang na labag tayo sa Bibliya, ang simbahan natin ay hindi nga kilala bilang maka-bibliya.

DO YOU LOVE THE WORD? Each time there is a Catholic festival like a procession or some tradition, bashers from all over social media sprout like wild mushrooms. They denounce the devotion to the Hesus Nazareno as unbiblical. They ridicule the Santo Niño as mere human invention. What they do not understand and do not care to understand is branded negatively as against the Word of God. As Catholics we have grown accustomed to this prejudice and discrimination of these people, some of them even close to us in our daily and personal lives. We know their criticism springs from ignorance. Their accusations are a product of misinformation. For who can be most faithful to the Word of God than the church that produced, safeguarded and proclaims the same Word from the beginning until now. The truth however is that while Protestant churches, Pentecostals, Evangelicals and other sects refer to themselves as biblical, our church is not primarily

dito ka ba nagcha-charge? Ano kaya kung ituturing mo ang Bibliya tulad ng pagturing mo sa cell phone mo? Kung lagi mo kaya itong dadalhin sa bag o bulsa mo? Kung lagi mo itong babalikan sa bahay kapag nakalimutan mo? Kung lagi mong sisilipin ito para makakuha ng messages? Kung hindi ka mabubuhay na wala ito? Kung ito ang ibibigay mong regalo sa  mga anak mo o mga kaibigan mo? Kung ito ang kapiling mo sa mga travels mo? Kung ito ang unang dadamputin mo sa tuwing may emergency? Kung dito ka magcha-charge kapag nanghihina ka na? Kung ang bukambibig mo ay “nasaan kaya ang Bibliya ko?” kaysa “nasaan kaya ang cell phone ko?” Sa Bibliya, hindi ka mapuputulan ng signal at hindi mawawalan ng subscription dahil… Sa Bibliya, walang babayaran prepaid man o post-paid… Si Hesus na ang nagbayad para sa ating mga kasalanan. Sigurado kang hindi niya hahayaang ma miss

BY FERDI FUENTES (+) Be the solution than the problem Be an active player than a mere spectator Be useful than useless Be simple than complicated Be a man of deeds than a man of empty words Be busy than idle Be a man of integrity than a man of dishonesty Be a good citizen than an instant celebrity Be a peacemaker than a trouble maker Be a friend than an adversary Be loving than uncaring Be grateful than complain Be a giver than a receiver Be pro-life than anti-life Be heroic than a coward (filipino: tagalog)   MAS MAMATAMISIN KONG Maging lunas kaysa maging problema Maging aktibong kumikilos kaysa maging tagapamasid Maging kapaki-pakinabang kaysa maging walang pakinabang Maging simple kaysa maging magulo Maging kilala sa gawa kaysa maging kilala sa salita lamang Maging abala ka

ANG HINDI MATAPOS-TAPOS NA PAGREREGALO   Santo Nino de Atocha Madalas banggitin na ang dahilan ng pagdiriwang ng Santo Niño ay kultural, dahil mapagmahal tayo sa mga bata dito sa ating bansa, at napakaraming bata sa paligid! Sinasabi ring ang dahilan ay espirituwal dahil tinatawag tayo ng Panginoon na maging tulad ng mga bata sa ating pananampalataya. Ngayon naman hanapin natin ang teyolohikal na dahilan (kahulugang batay sa aral ng pananampalataya) kung bakit mahalaga sa ating mga Pilipino, sa buong simbahan, at sa sinumang nagpapahalaga sa dangal ng tao ang debosyon sa Santo Niño. Bagamat tapos na ang Kapaskuhan, hindi maikakailang ang diwa nito ay nananatili pa rin. Higit pa dito, ang mensahe ng Pasko ay umaapaw pa rin sa mga pista hanggang sa Epifania (o tatlong Hari), at maging sa mga unang buwan ng bagong taong dumating. Ang lubhang malalim (o kung tawagin ay teyolohikal) na mensahe ng Santo Niño ay parang sa Pasko: ang kahanga-hangang pagp

GIFT-GIVING CONTINUES...   HOLY CHILD JESUS OF ATOCHA We often say that we celebrate Santo Nino for cultural reasons because in the Philippines we love our children… and there’s just so many of them around us! We also say this feast is based on spiritual reasons since the Lord himself calls us to become like little children. Let us now reflect on the theological reason why this day is important to Filipinos, to the church, and to all believers in humanity’s exalted vocation and dignity. While the Christmas season is officially over, it cannot be denied that its spirit still lingers. More than this, the message of Christmas, which spills over into a succession of feasts leading up to epiphany, continues to reverberate in our hearts as break-in through the new year. The deeper meaning (theological message) of the Feast of the Santo Nino is the same as that of Christmas: the admirable exchange (in latin, admirabile commercium ) has taken place.