A RAY OF LIGHT DOWN UNDER In these days, the Lord has given me the chance to travel to the continent “Down Under” not only to see the way of life of the people there, to admire the opulence of the society, to wonder at the secularism prevalent in the attitude of the people and to witness the great respect and protection of nature in the vast rustic and provincial terrains. I was brought here also to acquire the spiritual inspiration of seeing our Filipino clergymen doing great service to a people so hungry for shepherds who come in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! In the Diocese of Bunbury now live three of my friends who voluntarily left the comfort zone of the Filipino Catholic Church, where priests are respected, admired and many times pampered by their parishioners – young and old alike – and turned their sights on a diocese the size of Mindanao, where Catholics are scattered across many towns and farming villages, many of them, indifferent to their faith. In a conv...
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TRANSFIGURATION EXPERIENCE IS FOR US Second Sunday of Lent What comparison can we make for the Transfiguration? Is it like posing for your graduation or for your wedding portrait? If you have pimples, the photographer will cover it up. If you have less hair, the computer can add some more at the top. If you are dark-skinned, the final product can give you fair complexion and rosy cheeks! When you hang your picture on the wall, you will see a different you – a transfigured you! The Transfiguration of Jesus on Mt. Tabor was a vital experience in his life and it has far-reaching consequences for our spiritual life as well. Jesus went up the mountain, not alone, but with his apostles Peter, James and John. Today, he goes up again, this time bringing all of us to witness the event and appreciate its meaning. What does the Transfiguration mean? If we look into its theology, we will see that the Transfiguration confirms the identity of Jesus. The brilliance of Je...
HOW TO THWART TEMPTATIONS Lent - Sunday 1 Watching the game show “Deal or No Deal” clearly illustrates to us the workings of temptations. A person is offered 100,000 pesos but is tempted to get much more. Staking everything on future unwise moves, he finally brings home 5 pesos. When you know how to stop and when to stop, everything will be okey. If not, you’re dead. Everyone of us is enticed by a temptation or more in life. Every temptation is custom-made for us. It is suited and fitted to the kind of person we are and to the desires of our hearts. Temptations attack us where we are weakest. Some people are easily drawn to vices like gambling, drinking or illicit affairs. Others are prone to harbor ill-will and hatred against others. There are those who are just plain lazy in life. We find people whose life revolves around their own petty, closed, greedy selves. The Gospel shows us the Lord Jesus suffering his own temptations. In his earthly ...
LENT: MARGARET SILF
LENT: GREEN SHOOTS IN THE DESERT Lent is a time to remember we are desert people—called to risk following Jesus into his desert and our own. Deserts come in many guises: geographical and spiritual, searingly hot or witheringly cold, bathed in all-exposing light or swathed in impenetrable darkness. Whatever its character, the desert leaves you with little choice but to attend to the call to go deeper, to journey closer to the core of your being. If you stand still and ask for the grace to put down a deeper root, God will not fail to surprise you with new possibilities. from Margaret Silf
IN ALL THINGS, LET US TRUST THE LORD 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time I met two sick young men some days ago. The first was a teenager who jumped from his school building’s third floor hoping to end all his miseries. He did not die but suffered one crushed leg and another that entered the pelvic area. I touched his face and asked him if he had many problems, if there were many things he harbored in his heart. In response, his tears flowed. The other one is also a young man, just about to enter high school but is already undergoing chemotherapy. People expected him to become weak, lose his hair and deteriorate. But in fact, he is gaining weight, his hair is blacker and thicker and his face is as bright as ever. Doctors are amazed at the fast pace of his recovery. What is the difference between these two boys? The first one, from a broken family, relied on his own powers to solve his problems. The second, helped by his family and friends, continue to storm...
NOT TEARS BUT LOVE AND MEMORY Christian Gabriel D. Capinpin's First Death Anniversary Feb. 6, 2010, Heritage Park, Taguig City, 3pm Mass Remember last year when we were in this same chapel together? That was the time when the ashes of Christian were finally brought to its final rest. Last year the mood was tense and the ambience was sad. People were trying to stifle tears but nonetheless they flowed. People were trying to focus on beautiful memories but the pain of separation was too difficult to overlook. We were here last year to say goodbye and, as no goodbye is pleasant, we were crushed in spirit as we came and as we left. Filipinos most instinctively and creatively devise ways to ease the unseemly part of definitive farewells. We mourn for a year. We allow our minds and hearts to exhaust all longing, regret and sadness through a long period of ritualized remembrances of the one we love. It is all right to wear black or neutral or plain...
FOR SUCCESS, PARTNER WITH JESUS 5th Sunday, Ordinary Time A few years ago, I was in a boat in the Lake of Galilee, together with some of my parishioners during a pilgrimage. It was a quiet Sunday morning and the calm waters were refreshing to the soul. As we read this same gospel, I began reflecting on the message of the Lord. What was the Lord trying to tell me, to tell us, as he revealed himself in this miracle to the disciples. Then it dawned on me that the Lord is not satisfied with failure. As he listened to the woes in the words of Simon Peter, Jesus was disturbed. This was not how things should be. The sea, not yielding a rich catch of fish? For him it was absurd. God has planned human labor to be richly compensated. So Jesus challenged Simon to venture once again into the deep. What followed made Simon shake with amazement and unworthiness. He just had the biggest catch of his life. Finally Jesus was satisfied because the plan of God materia...