OUR PARISH PRIEST

ANG UNANG SAKSI Sa Pagkabuhay, ipinahahayag natin ang sentro ng ating pananampalataya – na si Hesus na ipinako sa krus at namatay ay buhay na muli! Aleluya!   Kristiyano tayo dahil sa pananampalatayang ang Anak ng Diyos ay makapangyarihan laban sa kasalanan at kamatayan. Umaasa tayong magiging kaisa tayo ng kanyang tagumpay mula sa mga mapapait na karanasan ng ating paghihirap at dusa na kaakibat natin sa ating landas ng buhay. Ngayong Pasko ng Pagkabuhay, habang sinasariwa natin ang himalang ito, inaalala natin mula sa Mabuting Balita (Jn 20:1-9) ang isang nakakatuwang katotohanan. Nabuhay si Hesus at si Maria Magdalena ang unang saksi. Ang daming puwedeng unang makakita sa kanya. Bakit hindi si Pedro at ang mga alagad? Bakit hindi ang mga Pariseo at eskriba upang maniwala sila? Bakit hindi ang mga Romano para magsisisi sila? Bakit hindi ang mga Hudyo upang mapawi ang pagdududa? Pero kay Maria Magdalena, isang babaeng dating nasa kamay ng m...

  THE FIRST WITNESS At Easter we proclaim the center of our Christian faith – that Jesus who was crucified and died on the cross rose from the dead!   We are Christians because we believe that the Son of God is victorious over sin and death. We hope to join him in his victory as he releases us from the negative experiences of daily suffering and agony that we meet along the way of life. On Easter morning too, as we recall the miracle of the resurrrection, we remember from the Gospel (Jn 20: 1-9) an interesting fact. Jesus is risen and he has appeared to Mary Magdalene. So many people could have seen him first.   Why not Peter and the other apostles? Why not the pharisees and scribes so they would believe?   Why not the Romans so that they would repent?   Why not the people who witnessed the crucifixion? But Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, a woman who was released from the clutches of the devil. As a woman, her testimony...

PAGPAPAKASAKIT NI HESUS, PAGPAPAKASAKIT NATIN Ang Linggo ng Palaspas ng Pagpapakasakit ng Panginoon ay isang makahulugang simula ng mga Mahal na Araw o Semana Santa. Bilang mga Katoliko, maraming nakakakuha ng atensyon natin. Abala tayo na mabasbasan ang mga palaspas natin. Humahanga tayo sa mga prusisyon at mga ritwal. Nilalamon tayo ng maraming tradisyon sa tahanan at kapaligiran tuwing ganitong panahon. Subalit ang tunay na kahulugan ng Mahal na Araw, ng Linggo ng Palaspas ay wala sa labas ng ating puso. Ito ay nasa loob natin. Ang Pagpapakasakit ni Hesus ay pagpapakasakit din natin. Sa katunayan, dumaan si Hesus sa pagpapakasakit niya dahil nais niyang yakapin ang nakikita niyang pagdurusa na dinadala ng kanyang mga kapatid araw-araw. Ang tunay na kahulugan ng Pagpapakasakit ni Hesus ay ang ating mga pagdurusa na inuugnay natin sa kanyang paghihirap. Nakikita natin ngayon si Hesus, may pasang krus, nakadipa sa krus, namatay sa krus. Pero hindi k...

HIS PASSION, OUR PASSIONS This Palm Sunday of the Lord’s   Passion is a very meaningful start of Holy Week. Many times as Catholics, we are distracted by the many events of this dramatic week. We are preoccupied with the palms we bring and wave around for blessing. We are awed by the processions and the rituals in the church. We are swallowed up by the so many expressions of piety at home and in the neighborhood. But the real essence of Holy Week, the real meaning of Palm Sunday is not outside of us.   It is something within us. The Passion of Jesus is our passion too. In fact, Jesus had to go through the passion because he wanted to embrace the passion he saw his brothers and sisters were undergoing each day. The true significance of Passion Sunday is our own passion linked to the Lord’s Passion. We see Jesus carrying the cross, crucified on the wood, and dying on the cross. And yet, Jesus looks at us and sees much the same thing is happen...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrPAZbD6fG0&index=5&list=RDC-8TD0HaLfg

UNLESS THE GRAIN DIES One of the most poignant moments in life is when you consider your death. We are not ready to die because we do not want to enter into the pain of loss, suffering, separation, oblivion which death lay before us. Yet who can escape death? Everyday we experience a little dying as we exercise patience for a loved one, serve a weak member of the family, make sacrifices for the good of others, lose ourselves in the process of loving, and deal with the surprising turns of life.   We are not ready to die and yet, God makes us prepare for it through the little dying we must do each day. The question therefore is not to escape the experience of death but how to make our dying meaningful. In the gospel (Jn12: 20-33), Jesus likens himself, and us, to a grain of wheat that has no choice but to fall to the ground and die, in order to bear fruit. In the second reading today (Heb 5: 7-9), Jesus is shown as struggling in th...

ANG TRIGONG NAMAMATAY Isa sa pinakaseryosong panahon ng buhay ay kung kailan iniiisip mo ang iyong kamatayan. Hindi tayo handa para dito dahil ayaw nating pumasok sa hirap ng kawalan, pagdurusa, paghihiwalay, pagkalimot na tiyak na laan sa atin ng kamatayan. Pero sino ba ang makakatakas sa kamatayan? Bawat araw, may maliliit na kamatayan tayong dinaranas tuwing magpapakita tayo ng pasensya sa isang taong malapit sa atin, tuwing maglilingkod sa isang may kailangan sa ating tulong, tuwing kakalimutan natin ang sarili para sa isang minamahal, at tuwing haharapin natin ang mga sorpresa ng ating buhay. Hindi nga tayo handang mamatay, pero ang Diyos mismo ang naghahanda sa atin sa tulong ng mga maliliit na kamatayan bawat araw. Kaya ang tanong ay hindi paano takasan ang kamatayan kundi paano gawin itong makabuluhan. Sa Mabuting Balita (Jn 12: 20-33), inihalintulad ng Panginoong Hesus ang sarili sa isang butil ng trigo na nahuhulog sa lupa upang mamatay up...

PABORITONG EBANGHELYO Hindi makakalimutan ang pagdalaw ni Pope Francis sa ating bansa ngayong taon. Maraming kasaysayan ang iniwan niya sa Tacloban. Sa unang pagkakataon, nagmisa ang santo papa sa gitna ng isang bagyo. Sa unang pagkakataon, nagmisa ang isang santo papa suot ang kapote or raincoat. Sa unang pagkakataon, nagbuwis ng buhay ang   isang Pilipinang kabataang volunteer upang maging matagumpay ang pagdalaw ng santo papa. Pero makasaysayang lalo ang mga salit ang santo papa. Hindi niya ginamit ang kanyang nakahandang talumpati. Galing sa puso ang kanyang mga salita. Simpleng mensahe, para sa isang simpleng mga tao. Mahal kayo ni Hesus! Sa krus, kasama kayo ni Hesus! Maigsi ang homily niya pero tila ito ang pinakamagandang homily ng taong 2015. Sa ebanghelyo ngayon, Jn 3: 14 ff, narito ang paboritong sipi sa buong mundo. Simple ang mensahe pero napakalalim ng kahulugan nito. Ito ang mensaheng iniintay at inaasahan ng lahat ng tao. Habang binaba...

MOST FAVORITE GOSPEL Pope Francis was surely an unforgettable visitor to our country this   year. He set many records in his visit to the typhoon-ravaged land of Tacloban. There for the first time a pope celebrated Mass in the midst of a raging storm. There for the first time, a pope celebrated Mass in his new outfit, a raincoat. There for the first time, a young Filipina volunteer gave her life for the success of the pope’s visit, dying after a metal scaffolding fell on her due to the strong winds. Most unforgettable though, and truly historical, was how the pope delivered his homily. He did not use his prepared text. His words were spontaneous, straight from the heart. his message was very simple, to a people who were very simple too. Jesus loves you! On the cross, Jesus joins you! It was a short homily, but it was the best homily one ever heard this 2015. The gospel today, John 3:14 ff, is the most favorite gospel all over the world. It contains a ...

ANG GALIT NG DIYOS AY PANANDALIAN Gusto natin ang isang Diyos na magiliw kaya nga may mga larawan tayo ng nakangiting Kristo, nakatawang Kristo, at masayahing Kristo.   Ito ang mga larawang nakakabighani sa ating atensyon ngayon. Sa ebanghelyo, Jn 1: 13-25, hindi itinatago sa atin na may kakaiba pang mukha si Hesus – ang galit na Hesus!   Sobra ang galit niya na sumabog ito, gumawa siya ng lubid na hagupit at inilabas niya ang kanyang galit sa mga bagay na nagiging tampulan ng pansin sa templo. Nagtakbuhan at nagtako tiyak ang mga tao upang hindi mapahamak pagdaan ng Panginoon! Ano ang nangyari at ang maamong Hesus ay humantong sa di mapigil na galit? Upang maunawaan ito, balikan natin ang unang pagbasa, Exo 20: 1-17, kung saan sinasabi na ang Diyos ay mapanibughuin, seloso, naiinggit din. Nagalit si Hesus dahil nagselos siya; nagselos siya para sa kapakanan ng Kanyang Ama. Nagalit si Hesus dahil hindi na ang Diyos ang sentro ng templo. Naroo...

HIS ANGER LASTS A MOMENT We love a friendly God, and so we have the laughing Christ, the smiling Christ, and the jolly Christ. These pictures of Jesus are more appealing and attractive to the young and old of today. The gospel, Jn 2: 13-25, today doesn’t keep from us another facet of Christ, the angry Christ. He was so angry that he needed to make it explode, by making a whip of cords and venting his ire on the objects being sold and exchanged in the temple area. I can just imagine how people must have hidden themselves so as not to be found in Jesus path. What transformed a meek and mild Jesus into someone with uncontrollable rage? To understand this, we need to recall the first reading, where we read about a jealous God (Exo 20: 1-17).   Jesus was angry for he was jealous; he was jealous for his Father’s sake. Jesus became angry becase God was no longer the center at the temple. The people were close to the sanctuary, and yet, theye were blind t...