Mercy is what the world needs The Sunday after Easter is now officially called Divine Mercy Sunday. Most of us are familiar with the prayers to the Divine Mercy, specially, the 3’o clock prayer and Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. And we are also familiar with the image of the Divine Mercy – Jesus appearing to St. Faustina, with his face so full of kindness and from his heart flowing rays of red and white, the fountain of mercy. We live in a world full of hurts and pains because people forget to be kind and merciful to each other. How many words have we spoken this week that stung deeply the feelings of our family and friends? What thoughtless act have we done that disregarded the good of another person? We have just gone past Easter and yet, we see that we have returned to our judgmental, bitter and destructive patterns. The Church believes that Easter is the best way to understand the mercy of God. It is the best illustration of mercy coming from the Father.
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THE MYSTERY OF FAITH RESURRECTION OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again! A blessed Easter to everyone! The past days have been very tense. The past days have been very tiring. Imagine how we celebrated Holy Thursday and listened to the last wishes, the wishes of a dying God. Imagine how we witnessed the master wash the dirty feet of his apostles. Then came Good Friday and those who were here were moved and cried at the sight of Jesus being crucified like a lamb led to the slaughter. People kissed the cross, but not before wiping it and embracing it tenderly. Then we followed a long somber procession enacting the very burial of the Lord. Maybe we thought Holy Week is only about these tender, moving and dramatic moments with God. We felt sadness. We felt sorrow. We felt that maybe, it ends there. Tonight, we are here to proclaim the complete story of Jesus! Jesus suffered, yes! Jesus died, yes! But J
A TSUNAMI OF BLESSINGS GOOD FRIDAY OF THE LORD'S PASSION AND DEATH CARE FOR A TSUNAMI? Do you want to experience a tsunami? I’m sure that is the farthest thing from your mind, the remotest ambition in your heart. If possible, we pray that we would be spared from a tsunami and its effects. This is so because our knowledge of tsunamis is based on the experience of Sri Lanka a few years ago, and Japan, a few months ago this 2011. That tsunami was a tsunami of destruction, of loss, of death. Today there is a tsunami in the Gospel. It is an occurrence the magnitude of which we cannot fully explain or understand. We stand before a man dying on the cross. A good man dies on the cross. A famous teacher and healer dies on the cross. The Son of God dies on the cross from the hands of evil men. At first glance, we would think that this man has suffered the greatest misfortune of all. He preached only goodness and holiness and now he dies as victim o
KEEPING THE LAST WISHES OF A DYING GOD Holy Thursday My student Fr Richard Mayo, was serving in an island parish in Palawan. He became paralyzed when TB virus attacked his spinal column. Shortly after, he died, at the very young age of 30. While he was under medication, he seemed to have felt that his end was near and he gave final instructions to his sister. He said when I die, put me in a pink casket, because pink is my favorite color. During the farewell mass at San Carlos Seminary, his sister cried while giving a eulogy: Kuya, I followed everything you told me, except that I couldn’t find a pink casket. They don’t make it here in the Philippines! Of course, I believe that Richard was joking about his casket’s color. But isn’t this really what happens between the dying and the loved ones left behind? If there are last words, we try our best to keep it, to fulfill it, to make sure that the final wishes come true. This is a very special night. This is t
WE NEED A GREAT HEART Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion Welcome to this year’s Holy Week. This week, grace is all around us. Blessings are overflowing. The light of God shines in the darkness. God is in the air we breathe. If God is all around us, why is it that we do not feel it enough? If grace overflows, why is it that we do not see it working? If blessings are abundant, why doesn’t it enter our hearts? Grace enters by way of the heart. And there are two kinds of human heart, one misses out on grace, the other fully receives it. Some people have what is called anima pusilla – a small heart, a narrow heart, a stunted heart. Judas, the high priest, Pilate, the chief priest and elders, the people, the soldiers – all these exemplify the anima pusilla. Their hearts and souls were small because they closed their hearts to the person of Jesus standing in their midst. They valued their own ideas, judgments, the comments of others, more than the word
COME OUT OF YOUR GRAVE Lent5 The most difficult puzzle in life involves the mystery of dying. Who among you here want to die soon? Those who do not wish to die though, die early. Those who want to die, make it to old age. Death is a deep mystery we fear. There are Asian customs that remind people to refrain from any reference to death in occasions of merriment, lest it spoil the fun and the good luck. Death rivets our attention to God. In moments of death, even the non-religious turn solemn and reflective. The dying learn to pray and the ones left behind find answers by returning to their religious roots. Death also makes us question God. Why did God allow this to happen? Why to a young person full of potentials? Why now, when we need Dad so much? Why this way involving much pain and suffering? The gospel echoes this sentiment: could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?
MOVE TOWARDS THE LIGHT OF CHRIST Fourth Sunday of Lent (Sam. 16:1, 6-7, 10-13, Ephesians 5:8-14, Jn. 9:1-41) When I turned 40, a friend warned me: ‘Your eyesight will start to fail.’ I was frightened at the thought, for I love to read. And yet, true enough, I rely now on my reading glasses to enjoy my books. A deteriorating vision is a big nuisance. How much more then, if you are getting blind or have been blind for a long time? Blind people go through more limitations, and in our society they are victims of prejudice and discrimination too. The gospel today is such good news in our crusade against the plague called blindness. Jesus heals a man born blind. To the bewilderment of onlookers and critics, Jesus restores his sight completely. Before, he knew only darkness; now he revels in the gift of light, color, shapes, figures and movements. With light come freedom, independence and opportunity. But the gospel does not only speak about physical blindness.