OUR PARISH PRIEST

HIS FACE NEVER CHANGES The other day, I saw a picture of myself. It was posted by a college friend and showed me walking on the beach with my friend way back in the late 80’s. It was before I entered the seminary. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had the fullest, thickest and waviest hair. I was so slim but healthy. No wrinkles on the forehead. Just plain young me! Anyone who saw the picture asked: is that really you? I’m sure it happens to you, too. Go back to your photos of yesteryears and I’m certain you too, sported a different hair, a different style, a different look, back in those days. Many times, we were also a different person, with different outlooks and attitudes in life. Our pictures change through the years. Our image changes as we grow old. As we celebrate Trinity Sunday, we actually celebrate the picture, the image, the very identity of God. One thing is sure: God’s face does not change. From the beginning, God is Father, Son a...

THE SPIRIT WILL DESTROY, THE SPIRIT WILL BUILD AGAIN Fire: such an amazing, mysterious element. On the one hand it is dazzling as it gives light. On the other, it is frightening as it can cause pain. There is a Filipino saying that says: it is better to fall prey to thieves than to fall victim to raging fire. Fire consumes everything in its path. A row of houses becomes a heap of ashes, a beautiful hillside becomes a barren desert, a beautiful body becomes a mass of disfigured flesh – when fire rampantly burns. But fire does something amazing and necessary. We need fire to cause change in the world. The burnt hillside soon becomes ready as a fertile plantation. From the ashes of burned-down houses emerges a new village. Raw meat and vegetables become ready for food. Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Spirit. One of the symbols of the presence of God the Holy Spirit is fire. He came down on the apostles in tongues of fire! The S...

LET YOUR FIRE FALL! COME HOLY SPIRIT! TRANSFORM US SO THAT THE WORLD MAY BE RENEWED

THE GOD WHO LIFTS US UP Easter - Ascension Sunday Czarina Gatbonton had every reason to rejoice. She was crowned Bb. Pilipinas – World (Ms. Philippines - World). A young, lovely lass from a fishing island of Malolos, Bulacan, the brown-complexioned girl was a mirror of rustic but elegant beauty. She spoke Tagalog during the question-and-answer round, the first ever contestant to use the native language. But what the judges thought was “cool”, many Filipinos perceived differently. You-tube remarks ridiculed her color and said she looked like a house maid. Others taunted her for speaking in the native tongue and called her unsophisticated. But that’s how Filipinos are – we love to put down people who ascend to higher levels in life. We are experts in discrediting, destroying and discouraging one another. The Gospel shows that this is not God’s attitude. As we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, we see a God who never puts us down. We see a God who u...

RECEIVE HIS PEACE Easter - Sunday 6 Let me share with you some images I experienced last week: …A woman sitting by Manila Bay looking far out at the sea, looking pensive and troubled, alone and sad: I’m sure she was afraid to return home alone that night with that big problem in her heart. …An old parishioner suffering in the ICU of a hospital due to old age and lingering sickness: I can only imagine the fear she has of all the medical procedures she has to undergo painfully each day. …Our parish office found forcibly opened in the morning and the contents of drawers and cabinets ransacked in search of cash: how can you tell me to sleep contentedly when even the church is not spared from intrusions like these? There is one thing that woman by the bay, that sick person in the hospital and you and I desperately seek for – peace. And everybody knows it is not easy to find peace if you have problems, sickness or threats to security. Today, the Lord com...