OUR PARISH PRIEST

MYSTERIOUS OR PASCHAL  APPROACH TO DEATH Even in the New Testament, we can find “sapiential” words referring to death, like in the Old Testament. These may have been thoughts derived from Ecclesiastes or Sirach. But this is not the novelty! When Jesus died on the cross for us, when “one died for all” then all things changed radically and death itself became a new thing. Jesus had spoken of his death as a Passover “exodus” (Lk 9,31) and John oriented his whole gospel in a way that clearly shows that Jesus’ death on the cross is the new passover (In Latin, pascha ). The evangelist changed the meaning of the word passover (pascha) to mean the death of Jesus: Passover is the “passage of Jesus from this world to the Father” (Jn 13, 1). Passover and death of Jesus are two words intimately united in the minds of the first Christians. Jesus’ Passover derived from his suffering ( passio ) and is called such because of the even...

FIRST-BORN… FAVORED? Ephraim in the Old Testament could really boast of his great fortune. As second son of Joseph (slave boy, later prisoner who became Egypt’s governor), he was exceedingly surprised that his dying grandfather Jacob, bestowed on him, not to his older brother Manasseh, the special paternal blessing. Jacob’s action was in turn, a déjà vu of his own experience. His own father Isaac too, imparted his benediction on him, the frail younger son, and not on his older, brutish brother Esau. Why was Ephraim so preferred? He was described as a modest and not a selfish man. Deeper than this, the choice of Ephraim by Jacob, as that of Jacob by Isaac, forms part of the mysterious action of God. The Lord works unexpectedly, shining the spotlight on the dark horse, the underdog, and the little guy. In so doing, God confounds the reasoning of the intelligent but successfully manifests the movements of his heart. This is just how the Lord acts on behalf of ...

PANGANAY… PABORITO?   Sa Lumang Tipan si Efraim ay may dahilan upang magbunyi. Pangalawang anak siya ni Jose (dating alipin at bilanggo na naging gobernador ng Ehipto), at nagulat siyang pinili ng kanyang naghihingalong lolo na si Jacob na sa kanya igawad ang bendisyon sa halip na sa kanyang kuyang si Manasseh. Tila “replay” ito ng buhay mismo ni Jacob. Sa kanya din inilapat ng kanyang amang si Isaac ang pagpapala sa halip na sa kanyang kuyang si Esau. Bakit si Efraim ang napili? Sinasabing siya ay mabuti at hindi makasarili. Higit pa dito, ang pagpili kay Efraim ni Jacob, tulad ng pagpili kay Jacob ni Isaac, ay bahagi ng mahiwagang kilos ng Diyos. Kumikilos ang Diyos na nakabibigla, nagtututok ng liwanag sa taong hindi inaasahan, sa taong nasa ilalim, sa taong minamaliit ng iba. Dahil dito, hindi madaling maunawaan ng katuwiran ang kilos ng puso ng Diyos. Pero ganito kung magtrabaho ang Panginoon alang-alang sa mga bale-wala ng mundong ito. L...

BEING-FOR-DEATH The responses of biblical wisdom do not differ much form those of other profane or secular wisdom. A discipline in some universities is dedicated to the study of death, called Tanatology. It studies the different ways of looking at death based on various cultures and religions. Epicurus said that death is a false problem. He said: “When I am (alive) death is not yet here; when I die, then I am no longer here.” So we do not need to be on guard. It is enough not to think of it.  St. Augustine anticipated the modern philosophical reflection on death. “When a person is born, there are so many guesses: will he be handsome or ugly, rich or poor; will he live long or not… But it is not said: will he die or not die. This is the one thing absolutely certain in life. “When we know that someone is sick of enema (incurable in his time), we say: What a poor man! He must die! He is condemned; there is no remedy. But should we not sa...

AMBISYOSO KA BA? Magpakatotoo tayo. Mababakas natin sa kahilingang iniluhog ng magka-kuntsabang magkapatid na Juan at Santiago sa Mabuting Balita ngayon ang ating mga sarili. Nais nilang makiparte sa luwalhati ni Hesus kaya eto at nagkukusa silang mag-alay ng serbisyo. Pero sa kanilang isip ang luwalhating ito ay kapangyarihang makalupa at materyal. Mga simpleng mangingisda sila kaya ang maging “Punong Ministro” at “Presidente” ay lubhang kaakit-akit na tukso para sa dalawa. Nagalit ang iba pang mga alagad nang marinig ang kapangahasan ng magkapatid. Bakit? Dahil naunahan sila ng dalawa. Habang nakikita ng mga alagad ang tagumpay at kasikatan ni Hesus, bawat isa ay naghahangad na mabahaginan ng impluwensya, popularidad at kadakilaan ng Panginoon. Kahit pala ang mga pinakamalapit na kasama ng Panginoon ay hindi ligtas sa patibong ng ambisyon. Pero teka, masama ba’ng mag-ambisyon? Mali ba ang mangarap ng magandang buhay, matayog na kalagayan sa lipu...

ARE YOU AMBITIOUS? Let’s be honest. In today’s gospel we clearly see ourselves in the request of the stealthy brothers James and John. They wanted to partake of Jesus’ glory by volunteering to be his closest allies when he finally assumes his glory. The two imagined this glory in terms of earthly and material might. Simple fishermen that they were, to be prime minister and president of the Lord’s kingdom was a temptation that proved to be so irresistible. The other ten disciples were enraged when they heard of the brothers’ conspiratorial attempt to gain power. Why? It was because these two beat them to it! Observing Jesus’ rise to prestige, the other disciples too, harbored intentions of partaking in the power, fame and glory of the Lord. Even Jesus’ closest aides were not immune from the lure of ambition. Is it wrong to be ambitious? Is it wrong to dream of a better life, a higher status, or a more glamorous position in society? After all, isn’t...

What do we learn from the educational or sapiential approach to the phenomenon of death? Death is not only the end of all attempts to be at home in this world. It is also the end of all knowledge or erudition. We need to learn the “wisdom of the heart” to become wise, to know, to prepare, to accept our death. The Old Testament books that present to us the “wisdom” of death are Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Sirach, Wisdom. Let us look at samples of their “wise” teachings on death and dying. Psalm 90:12 – “teach us to count our days and we shall gain wisdom of heart” Ecclesiastes 3 opens the section on death with the words: “a time to give birth and a time to die” (v. 3). It ends with: “both were made from the dust and to the dust they both return” (v. 20). In Ecclesiastes 12 it says: “Vanity of vanities… all things are vanity!” (v. 8). Why are we born? Why do we die? Where do we go after death? Al...

NEWEST SAINTS: POPE PAUL VI AND ARCHBISHOP OSCAR ROMERO FIRST POPE TO VISIT THE PHILIPPINES, NOVEMBER 1970 POPE VISITING TONDO, MANILA WITH CARDINAL RUFINO SANTOS, FIRST FILIPINO CARDINAL AND ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA  POPE'S WOULD-BE ASSASSIN RESTRAINED (the first modern assassination attempt on a pope happened in Manila) (watch:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udGDMLUTtVk) AND THE MAN WHO SERVED POPES  IN THEIR VISITS TO THE PHILIPPINES THE GREAT FR. ALBERT MEERSCHAERT, CICM, (MASTER OF CEREMONIES FOR THE POPES IN MANILA) (http://ourparishpriest.blogspot.com/2010/08/tapos-na-ang-boxing-simple-thanks-to-fr.html)

SERYOSONG MAKIPAGSAPALARAN Si Peter na isang batang Katoliko ay lubos na humanga sa mga santong nag-akay ng mga tao papuntang langit. Kinaibigan niya ang mas batang si Danny at kinumbinsi ito na sa ilalim ng kanyang paggabay, ihahanda si Danny na tumanggap ng First Communion para ito makapasok sa langit. Lumunsad sa pakikipagsapalaran ang dalawa, isang adventure na idinaan nila sa sports. Hindi lubos na naunawaan ni Peter na iba ang relihyon ni Danny (Hudyo) at na bilang na ang mga araw ni Danny na may kanser. Ang mahalaga para sa magkaibigan ay gawin lahat upang makamit ang pangarap nilang langit. (mula sa aking paboritong pelikula, “Stolen Summer”) Mas seryoso pa yata ang dalawang batang ito kaysa lalaking lumapit sa Panginoon sa mabuting balita ngayon. Sa simula tila masigasig para sa Kaharian, nagtanong siya kung paano makararating sa langit. Inilahad ng Panginoon ang mga Utos ng Diyos at nakita niyang madali itong gawin. Pero nang nag-level up na si He...

SERIOUS WITH THE QUEST Catholic boy Pete learned of the amazing feat of the saints who helped bring people to heaven. He befriended a younger boy, Danny and convinced him, under his mentoring, to consider receiving Holy Communion so he could get to heaven. Together the boys went on their “quest” to get closer to God, an adventure that took the form of a triathlon test for the younger Danny. Pete did not fully understand that Danny was of a different religion (Jewish) and that he was dying of cancer. All that mattered was that the two were willing to do everything they could to reach their goal. (remembering the wonderful US indie film “Stolen Summer”) These two boys appear to be more serious with their religious aspiration than the man who approached Jesus in today’s gospel. Initially appearing zealous about the Kingdom, he asked the Lord what the conditions were for obtaining eternal life. Jesus offered to him first the way of the commandments and he fou...

APPROACHES TO DEATH We have two ways of considering the reality of death: We can look at death in the “educational” perspective, that is, in such a way that death teaches us something valuable. This method is also known as sapiential method of looking at death, because here we are concerned about the wisdom (in Latin, sapientia ) behind death. We find this approach in the Bible but we also find it in philosophy, the teachings of other religions and in poetry. They too, look for the meaning of death or the meaning behind the event of death. Based on our experience of death in our families, for example, we are forced to ask what the passing away of a head of the family, or of a cherished child, means for those who are left behind. Another way of looking at death is the “mysterious” perspective. This is also called the paschal approach to death, and is exclusive to Christianity. The word “paschal” refers to the events the passion, death and ...