Be Filled with Hope

MY PERSONAL REFLECTION:

“The Contradiction of Stewardship”

My reflection on the 15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1.     The first reading gives me the assurance that God’s Word and His promises are true.  One could imagine with the prophet Isaiah with the vision of dew drops coming from heaven and spreading themselves and nourishing a verdant earth.  So is the Word of God. The assurance is clear that what He promised He will do.  But will the Son of Man find faith on the earth when He comes again?  Have we forgotten about the reality of the second coming and the truth about the resurrection?  Why is it that as if all our plans are directed on earthly concerns?  Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto thee, says our Lord.  For the pagans seek for money and food, but we are reminded that God knows that we need of all of these.  Are we in doubt of God’s providence that we take into our own hands our lives and future?  We have to be reminded that our charitable work and even our social action is the product of a deep spirituality and not vice-versa.  We should not mistake “integral evangelization” so called, as emphasis on social justice and anti-poverty alleviation.  Some said, an empty stomach is not capable of receiving the gospel, so they say they have to fill the stomach first.  But I beg to disagree.  This is a wrong notion.  In the Bible we read that Christ first preached the gospel to the people and confirm it with miracles of healings.  It was only after the preaching that He multiplied the loaves of bread and the fishes. Let us make our Sunday worship the most beautiful.  Let the Church and her priests attend to the sacraments and the teaching of the Word of God.  Only after doing an excellent job on this can the feeding of the literal bodies is done.  For even the daily food that we eat is a token of God’s providence and not solely by our own effort.  For without Him we can do nothing.

2.     Reflecting on the second reading – I was impressed by the thought that the Sin of Humankind is so great that even the whole of creation was affected and was corrupted because of original sin.  The corruption of material things is a sign of our own struggle with sin and suffering.  These thoughts move us to come to the foot of the cross and behold what redemption it took to bring us to the door or paradise.  For we behold Him, the pledge of our redemption.  His grace sowed hope in our hearts.  Each time creation is renewed we are given hope that God will someday bring to a close the cycle of decay and bring us to the glorious redemption of our Bodies to be in God’s Kingdom.  Let us be filled with hopeful thoughts and trust in His grace all the time.  Let it be by prayer and supplications.

3.     In the gospel reading for today, I was initially confused when Our Lord said, “To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Does it look that the master was unmerciful to take away even the little things that remains with the least of these men?  I don’t think so.  I got the idea that perhaps our Lord was telling us that as Christians we are expected to be fruitful to abound with fruits.  The Lord emphasizes the gravity and the importance He places on stewardship.  Once he entrusts us with something good then we have to capitalize on it.  For anyone who hears the Word of God and keep it will have an abundant life in Christ.  Let us thank the Lord for giving us this grace to see and understand and let us ever pray that we will always have this grace.

Be filled with hopeful thoughts this Sunday!

THE BREAD THAT CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN

A Personal Reflection on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord

1.     The solemnity of Corpus Christi reminds us that the Eucharist is the summit of Christian life. It is the culmination of our religious experience and practice as revealed by the historical experience of the Church.  The two disciples on the road to Emmaus, felt that their hearts were burning while discussing with Him the events in Jerusalem and How the Lord, yet unrecognized by them, expounded to them the scriptures and how it should be fulfilled by the Son of Man.  The acts of the breaking of the bread finally opened their eyes.  Applying these thoughts to contemporary issues, it can be  observed  that our liturgy, the Mass, is arranged in such a way that the Word precedes the liturgy of the Eucharist, the proclamation of  the Word instructs but it is only in the Eucharist that Christ gives himself to us Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.  Christ told the unbelieving Jews that unless they eat of this bread and drink of His Blood, they have no life in them. 

2.     The Church has grown steadily in the appreciation of this great mystery.  The richness of her rites and liturgies has demonstrated the love and adoration for the Eucharist.  There is however, an erroneous belief or perception which says that the bread of the Eucharist is supposed to be eaten and not to be looked at.  This erroneous belief led some to minimize if not neglect the adoration and exposition of the consecrated Host.  I would suppose that this erroneous belief is protestant in origin but sadly for a time it has had its influence on some segment of the Church especially after the confusion that ensued after the Second Vatican Council when the liberals had their free ride in the reforms being undertaken as if to legitimize their erroneous beliefs.  Akin to this erroneous belief is the practice of relegating the Blessed Sacrament on the side or hidden corner of the Church away from the altar.  As they said it was a confusion to put together in one place the repository of the Host and the place where the act of transubstantiation happens.  But I would opine that it is more confusing to place the Blessed Sacrament on the corner of the altar in full view of the faithful while the Mass is being held at the altar.  But I am glad that today in renovations and in many churches where the Blessed Sacrament is displayed; they have brought back the Blessed Sacrament at the center of the altar.  In some churches, I have observed that they have a place where they put the Bible on one side and the Blessed Sacrament on the other side.  I would think that it is illogical to create a repository for the Bible side by side with the blessed Sacrament because it creates confusion.  The Real Presence is a true presence of the whole person of Christ, while the presence of Christ in the proclamation of His word is not as the same as the Real Presence.  In the proclamation of the Word Christ is present because he is the origin of the Word, He is the logos.  It demonstrates His omnipresence.  But the Eucharist is indeed a Real Presence because it is Christ Himself offered as a sacrifice of Calvary but in unbloody manner.

3.     I refuse to take the idea that; the Bread is to be eaten and not to be looked at.  The practice of exposition of the Sacred Species for adoration is not an aberration, but rather the practice of doing so is the product of the long collective experience of the Church and her growing appreciation and love for the Holy Eucharist.  It is also an appreciation for the Most Holy Sacrament that produced such intimacy between the Lord and His Bride-the church.  This practice became popular during the time of St. Thomas Aquinas.  The angelic doctor has composed numerous prayers and hymns on the adoration of the Eucharist.  This practice also arose as the church’s affirmation of the real presence which at that time was being challenged by the heretics. 

4.     Imitating the two disciples at Emmaus, let us open our eyes that Christ may fill us with faith to believe and accept. Amen. 

MY THOUGHTS ON PENTECOST

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS: “My thoughts about Pentecost”

1.      The Holy Ghost is the proof of Christ presence in the church and the enduring promise of his Second Coming.  His presence proves to us that we have the foretaste of what it is to be in the life of God.  One of the greatest proof of his enduring presence is Love.  We saw that during Pentecost the infant church were filled with love, they shared everything.  They sold the things that they have, laid it down at the apostles feet to be distributed to the poor and be shared.  They were steadfast in the celebration of the Eucharist daily, which they called the breaking of the Bread.  Life is a journey through time.  The church as a human organization also journeys through time. Through this journey it is possible that somehow we can become lukewarm.  If we read in the Book of Revelation Chapter 1we read about the messages of Christ to the seven churches of Asia.  Some were faithful while others were not.  As we journey in this faith let us pray and be vigilant and listen and obey to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.  The infant church of the New Testament is a living proof and is model picture of what the church should be.  IT IS NOT THE CHURCH THAT WE WOULD WANT TO SEE, BUT IT SHOUD BE A CHURCH THAT WHAT CHRIST WOULD WANT TO SEE.  I am amused to see some dioceses or even parishes formulate their own vision, mission and objectives (VMGO), as if the church is a corporation.  The church may be ahuman organization but it is divine in origin so it is not the human members that should formulate the VMGO, but it should be the gospel and the will of God.  Are we following ourselves or are we following Christ?

2.      In a special way I saw ecumenism as the work of the Holy Ghost.  We should however distinguish between false and genuine ecumenism.  When two groups of people seek to overcome their differences with sincerity and try to honestly communicate with each other to reach a level of understanding that is what we call ecumenism.  The prayer of Jesus was “that that they maybe one just as we are one”.  If we are animated by the Trinitarian love, we shall be move to seek ways to come to unity with our brothers and sisters.  The bitter division at the great schism in the eleventh century and the protestant reformation has rend the body of Christ.  As Christians we should listen to the voice of the Holy Ghost to heal and to mend the bitter division.  As Christians we must support our Pope in fulfilling the Petrine ministry of fostering unity in the church, in confirming the faithful in their faith and to be a tower of strength.  True ecumenism is not syncretism but it is a genuine desire to understand each other and to honestly work to overcome divisions.

3.      Pentecost also offers us the hope and the faith that with the help of the Holy Ghost, we can cleanse ourselves and that the church would be cleansed of the sin that plagued some of her members.  To overcome the issues of child abuse and financial mismanagement.  Far from being negative these are opportunities for us to cleanse the church with the blood of the Lamb.  The Holy Ghost will always be there to help and to renew the face of the earth.

"Until the end of the Age"

My Personal Reflection for Ascension Day.

          In the pre-Vatican II Roman Liturgical Calendar, May 29 is supposed to be the Ascension Day counting forty days from the celebration of Easter.  But in the revised calendar Ascension Day is celebrated Sunday.  Whatever the reasons for such changes may not be as important for us now, but what is important is the eschatological significance of the Christ’s Ascension into heaven.  Allow me to share some of my personal reflections on this topic.

          The ascension of Christ into Heaven being the first fruit is of so much significance for us Christians.  Jesus of Nazareth the Christ was the new Adam prophesied in the Old Testament and by His testimony declared that He came to fulfil the Law and the prophets.  “Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world!” exclaimed John the Baptist.  On that morning of the resurrection, Mary Magdalene was about to touch Jesus.  But Jesus forbade her and told her “touch me not for I have not yet ascended unto my Father and your Father, but go tell my Brethren.”   Like the ancient Hebrews Christians believed in the resurrection of the body.  There is a tendency among the heretics of ancient times and even today to spiritualize the resurrection because of the incomprehensibility of the idea that a corrupted body can still be restored to life.  Here lays, the call of faith. Only the apostles and a few others witnessed the resurrection.  Why was this important event exclusively given to a few? Perhaps the most obvious reason is to make us inheritors of the Kingdom of God by faith.   St. Paul, in his theology gave a primary role to the resurrection of the body and even said that without this central tenet of the gospel, we are the most miserable of all men.  For why would we accept suffering and humiliation for the sake of the gospel if we are not going to be rewarded with what we seek for? –eternal life.  We carry the cross not for the sake of carrying it but as a means to obtain what we seek for. Sometimes there is a tendency to relegate this very important doctrine to oblivion.  As if after death men and women would simply become disembodied spirits.  But this is not the case.  St. Thomas Aquinas, that erudite Dominican borrowed the hylophomorphic theory of Aristotle to give us a glimpse as to why the resurrection of the body is necessary.  The being of man is like matter and form.  Every form has matter and every matter should take on form.  So is man.  Man cannot be a man without the body.  Hence, there is the necessity of the resurrection.  This is the reason why we pray for the dead because we believe in the resurrection of the body. 

          The ascension of our Lord into heaven defines the hope that we have.  Just as the angels said, that the way you see Jesus ascended and taken up into the clouds so will be the second coming.  Christian living is more contextualized when we see things in the light of Christian eschatology or in the light of the end times.  Our Lord said: “I am with you always, until the end of the age.”  These parting words define the way we should live.  How easy it is be waylaid by the trivialities of this world.  How easy it is to be waylaid by the concerns for social justice that we forget that this world has been judged and that Christ commands us to look forward to the coming Kingdom of which He will finally inaugurate at Hs second coming – a time when we shall sit at the banquet of the supper of the Lamb. Have we forgotten that whatever things we do for others, the charities, the fight for justice and the way we defend the poor are suppose to be the reflection of the values of the Kingdom of God implanted in us and which we are hoping for?  Today some people think that the end of everything is on this earth.  That if we could make this earth better then we have established God’s Kingdom.  This is the pitfall that held some Christians trapped in worldly ideology.  Imagining as if Christ came to establish an earthly Kingdom.

          If only we could see what is stored for us in the new heavens and the new earth.  But human as we are, we simply cannot comprehend these things until we reach the beatific vision.  God, however, in His goodness has not left us helpless.  But He gives us the faith to comprehend and to cling to this hope in the promise given by God through Christ.  For there is a hell to shun and a heaven to gain.  Heaven was gained for us by Christ and that should be our goal.  May the Ascension of Lord remind us of the need to trust in Him, for He is with us till the end of the ages.  This promise is not in vain but a living promise that we affirm each time we partake of the Eucharist – Christ’s pledge of salvation for us.  Of which we are eternally grateful.

          

The Loneliness of Sin: My Good Friday Reflection

The  Image of the Crucified Christ used for Good Friday Liturgy
@ San Juan Bautista Church,
Tabaco City, Albay Philippines

            “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).  The Scripture said that our Lord before he died on the Cross cried out in a loud voice –“My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?”  Has anyone ever imagined what it is to be wholly forsaken and to be totally lonely?  Has anyone felt what it is to be abandoned by the one you love?  Such is the lot of sinners.  God has nothing to do with sin and the person who sin will experience this desolation.  The Bible said that all men have sinned and was never able to measure up to the standards of God.  And the wages of sin is death (separation from God, desolation, abandonment), [ Romans 3:23 , 6;23].  Most of us sometime in our lives have experienced some form of loneliness or the feeling of rejection.  But for someone who have undergone such humiliation and suffering, the feeling of abandonment is terrible.  Christ on that Good Friday, became “sin” for us in order to offer himself for us a ransom.

            These words of our Lord signify the vicarious nature of his Sacrifice on the cross- “Because Christ also died once for our sins, the just for the unjust; that he might offer us to God, being put to death indeed in the flesh, but enlivened in the spirit.” [1 Peter 3;8 Douay-Rheims version].  We can never truly understand the mystery of sin, but it is a real experience for all of us.  I am often met with looks of scepticism whenever I tell my friends that original sin has made us all enemies of God.  The simple test is this –let us examine our thoughts, why do we love to do the things we know is contrary to God?  Why do we want to gossip and hate our enemies?  Why do we do those things that are contrary to goodness and sound reason?  Are we meant to be this way?  Original sin has clouded our sense of ourselves and it has clouded the image of God in us.  Darkly through a glass we see dimly this image, obliterated by shadows.  But the image of God though obliterated by these shadows (sin) is still alive.  And being separated from God because of these shadows (sin) we feel a sense of alienation and we feel a sense of enmity with ourselves, with our neighbours and with God our Father.  All have sinned and come short of the standard set for us by God.  But here Christ offered Himself to us as a ransom.  He made Himself as the bridge that restored our friendship with God so that we may regained the blessed status we lost in Paradise. 

But the work of salvation is a work in progress.  Conversion is a process, salvation is our goal.  Salvation is a promise that all converted received.  But it is a process.  This is best prefigured by the Sabbath, for in six days God work but on the seventh day He rested.  The history of salvation is also like the week and the Sabbath.  When Christ preached the gospel and accomplished the work of salvation, He accomplished it once and for all.  That is why the paschal mystery is the apex of the history of salvation.  The whole cosmos and history and time converged on this event.  That is why in the light of eternity (timeless existence), Christ is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end.  He is begins and finishes the race for us.  This whole process is best expressed by the sacramental life of the Church.  Baptism initiates us into the life of Christ and restores us to our blessed state, and cancels the punishment due to the sin of Adam and Eve.  But this is not a once and for all event, it is a process; we need to grow and mature and live perseveringly. 

As I grow in my faith, I began to see that my faith in Christ is best lived within the Church, for within the Church Christ accomplishes the work of salvation through the ministration of the sacraments.  Baptism initiates us to Christian life, confirmation strengthens us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that we can fight evil and sin.  Penance offers us the door to reconciliation whenever we fail and stumble.  Priesthood sets apart young men chosen called by God and the Church to minister to the people of God.  Marriage helps Christians to build strong families and find expression of the union of Christ (Groom) and His Church (Bride).  And finally the anointing of the sick prepares us for our final journey – death is the last of our enemies to be defeated, but Christ through His resurrection has defeated death for us.  As we prepare for our final journey the Church helps us to be at peace in the hope and faith that we shall rise again on the last day.

            Personally, I consider the Crucifix is one of my favourite sacramental because it expresses the saving and redeeming work of Christ.  This is in fact the meaning of the Mass.  Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we proclaim His death till He comes again.  That is why the crucifix is one of the most important paraphernalia in the celebration of the Mass.  It should be place at the center, the symbol and focal point, as in “ad orientem”, facing to the east.  For Christ is our sun, the rising and our hope.  It sad to note that in some of our churches the crucifix has been banished into the sideline and in some have all together disappeared.  Perhaps because of the mistaken notion that the crucifix causes fixation with suffering.  They said that Filipinos are so fixated with the images of suffering that is why they say we are not emancipated.  To me this is a wrong notion.  Perhaps this idea of removing the crucifixes at the center of our liturgical celebrations is a product of an academic thesis, but the crucifix is the potent symbol of our redemption.  It is the image that symbolizes the heart of our salvation.  Just as Moses raised up the image of a serpent on a tree that healed the Israelites, so Christ (His Corpus) crucified on a tree raised up on calvary, provides healing for all of us.  For Christ’s crucifixion is not a defeat, it is the symbol of victory.  For on that tree Christ on our behalf redeemed us, and with that once and for all sacrifice offered Himself to God as a propitiation for our sins.  It satisfied and pacified the Divine indignation against sin, for God is Holy and He is a consuming fire.  With Christ hanging on a Tree the divine indignation is pacified and once more we are made friends with God.

For how shall I thank the Lord for all the things He has done for me – I will take the chalice of salvation and praise the Lord.  For even if I walk in the shadow of death, I will trust in the Lord.

“How does it feel to be inside a tomb?”

MY PERSONAL SUNDAY REFLECTION, FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT, April 6, 2014

Gospel: John 11:1-45

“How does it feel to be inside a tomb?”

By Herbert B. Rosana

I wonder how it feels to be inside a tomb.  Perhaps, even when I am dead I would not experience what it is to be in a tomb.  But the tomb where spirits are in prison is the kind of burial that makes one either hope for deliverance or wrench in despair.

The message of this Sunday’s gospel reading revolves around the miracle that Jesus did when He raised Lazarus to life after being buried in the cave for four days.  Martha speaks about the hope of the resurrection of the body of which our Lord affirmed positively.  We know that we will see our brother Lazarus in the last day when all shall be resurrected to face judgement. But here our Lord, in order to affirm the message of the gospel said that Lazarus’ death was meant to demonstrate the power of the Son of God and the power of His message.  Thus even in a temporal way Christ has demonstrated His capability to deal with the mundane problems of life.  That is why Jesus demanded faith from Martha and Mary.  Because of these Christ demonstrated His power over death, sickness and whatever form of human affliction.  The resurrection of the dead is a fundamental belief of our faith and that we should affirm positively if we want to be saved.

Reflecting on the message of the gospel, and connecting this reflection on the opening statement I have made, how does it feel to be in a tomb? Only we could guess.  Perhaps it is awful, dark and miserable.  But as a natural consequence the dead will never know.  Sometimes there is also a spiritual form of death and many times we find ourselves in this kind of death and “entombment”.  How miserable it is to live in sin, especially the sin that separates us entirely from the life of God.  But even in this miserable state of life, we can always hope and call out to God.  Christ is the master who will call us out from the entombment of sin and misery.  We are the children of hope and even in deep misery we can always call upon Christ to save us.  Like St. Peter when he started to walk in the water, but the moment he began to doubt, he sank little by little, but there and then our Lord extended His hand to save and to confirm the faltering faith of Simon Peter.  We too often find ourselves sinking because of sin, but we can always hope and call upon our Lord to save.  His Name and hands are mighty to save.

Thinking of the various scandals that happened in our church, especially child abuse, abuse of power, clericalism and the ridicule of the world, these experiences are like entombment.  Even in this seeming failure, Christ works in order to purify our hearts and our Church.  The church will never be defeated.  That was the promise of Christ to Simon Peter, prince of the apostles.  But these events, has led us to be more open and to overcome the culture of silence and the culture of cover up.  Sometimes we cover up because we want to protect the reputation of the Church, but in so doing we do not address the problem but instead we make it worse.  But as in exorcism the first step is to name the “devil”.  So too in this process of purification we need to name our own evils so that we can address these evils and purify ourselves from these miseries.  From this “entombment”, we ask ourselves and we search ourselves, “how does it feel to be in the tomb?”  Like Martha and Mary let us affirm our faith in the Son of God so that just as He called Lazarus out of the tomb, we too can hear the call of Christ.  Yes, we are afraid, perhaps like Martha we would tell our Lord, “do not open the tomb, he has been buried for four days and there is the stench”.  Perhaps likewise we would say I do not want to acknowledge my sinfulness because it will hurt me.  My sin stinks.  But then, let us listen to the Son of God answer His call and we shall be delivered whole and entire.  For that is the way of salvation.  Amen. 

The Modernist Crisis

In the dialogue between the CDF and the SSPX it would seem that there is a long road ahead towards reconciliation.  It appears that the questions on the Vatican II teachings on Ecumenism and Religious Liberty seems to be the point of contention.  In my personal reflection I would say that the basic problem with the modern church today is the problem of continuity.  There are sectors in the church and they are influential which hold to the idea (directly or indirectly) that the church started at Vatican II and that whatever is of the past have been supplanted by Vatican II.  In other words they think that Vatican II is a super Dogma that overturn the others.  But this is the fallacious argument.  They failed to understand that Living Tradition means continuity.  This feeling was evident in the sermon of Bishop Fellay and I hope I got it right.

And practically, at many levels, we have to say no. Not because it does not please us, but because the Church has already spoken about that. Even many of these things it has condemned them. And so, in our discussions with Rome we were, so to say, stuck there. The key problem in our discussions with Rome was really the Magisterium, the teaching of the Church. Because they say, "we are the pope, we are the Holy See" – and we say, yes. And so they say, "we have the supreme power," and we say, yes. They say, "we are the last instance in teaching and we are necessary" – Rome is necessary for us to have the Faith, and we say, yes. And then they say, "then, obey." And we say, no. And so they say to us, you are protestant. You put your reason above the Magisterium of today. And we answer to them, you are Modernists. You pretend that the teaching of today can be different from the teaching of yesterday. We say, when we adhere to what the Church has taught yesterday, we, by necessity, adhere to the teaching of the Church today. Because the truth is not linked to time. The truth is above it. What has been said once is binding all times. These are the dogmas. God is like that; God is above time. And the Faith is adhering to the truth of God. It’s above time. That’s why the church of today is bound and has to be like (not only like) the Church of yesterday. And so when you see the present pope say that there must be continuity in the Church, we say, of course! That is what we have said at all times. When we talk about tradition, that’s precisely the meaning. They say, there must be Tradition, there must be continuity. So there is continuity. Vatican II has been made by the Church, the Church must be continuous, so Vatican II is Tradition. And we say, beg your pardon? 

For an excerpt of his sermon visit the website of  St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary 

Let us pray harder and let us stay on with the faith humbly following the Lord in this most difficult struggle and seek the guidance of the Virgin Mary.

The Modern Crisis of Faith and the New Evangelization

Our age is one of the most challenging for the Christian Era.  First because of the extreme polarity of how people from different continents view or accept Christianity.  While in Western Europe there was a decline in the practice of faith, there is a resurgence of this Catholic faith in the vast continent of Africa and in Oceania.  Secondly, the polarity of poverty and wealth among the north and the south points us to the reality of what our Lord has said that it is easier for the camel to pass through the needles eye than for a rich man to enter into heaven.  And lastly human theories and achievements have not assured the human family the peace that they have been looking for.  I would like to qoute Archbishop Fisichella as reported by zenit.org. 

"To understand the current state of this crisis we need to look back into the recent past, he said. The two World Wars, totalitarian regimes, Marxist ideology, and the desire for domination over others, demonstrate how "society, though advanced, does not succeed in finding ways of international coexistence that are able to respect the peculiarities of each one."

Then, the repeated failures of the United Nations demonstrate an inability to resolve problems both in the economic and political spheres. Combined with the predominance of an economic system that operates without ethical principles we have now arrived at a situation of generalized crisis, Archbishop Fisichella commented." To Read the Full Report at Zenit follow link. 

Indeed, the answer to peace is that peace can only be found in Jesus Christ.  Unless man recognize this truth all these theories and efforts will be considered futile.  Till that day when they say blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord will they realize that Christ is the peace of mankind.  Come Lord Jesus.  Maranatha.

In Praise of Gaudi

“In this place, Gaudi desired to unify that inspiration which came to him from the three books which nourished him as a man, as a believer and as an architect: the book of nature, the book of sacred Scripture and the book of the liturgy. In this way he brought together the reality of the world and the history of salvation, as recounted in the Bible and made present in the liturgy. He made stones, trees and human life part of the church so that all creation might come together in praise of God, but at the same time he brought the sacred images outside so as to place before people the mystery of God revealed in the birth, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this way, he brilliantly helped to build our human consciousness, anchored in the world yet open to God, enlightened and sanctified by Christ. In this he accomplished one of the most important tasks of our times: overcoming the division between human consciousness and Christian consciousness, between living in this temporal world and being open to eternal life, between the beauty of things and God as beauty. Antoni Gaudà did this not with words but with stones, lines, planes, and points. Indeed, beauty is one of mankind’s greatest needs; it is the root from which the branches of our peace and the fruits of our hope come forth. Beauty also reveals God because, like him, a work of beauty is pure gratuity; it calls us to freedom and draws us away from selfishness.” Excerpt from the homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI quoted from getreligion.org

Reflection on the Solemnity of Christ the King

In the Novus Ordo calendar, today is the Solemnity of Christ the King.  I want to offer today a few of my personal reflections on the significance of this solemnity.  

I really regret that I was not able to keep up with the recent important events in various papal activities due to the demands of my work.  But one thing that impressed me was the recently concluded papal visit to Spain and the dedication of the Sagrada Familia.  A huge temple designed by Gaudi.  An impressive monument, not only from the point of architecture but from the perspective of its great teaching significance. It is one huge cathedral and an effective visual aid in teaching the faith.

I would opine that the greatness of this cathedral is also in effect a rebuke to the present rulers of Spain.  Especially that on the social issues its parliament and government has enacted laws that contradicts the principles of life.  The sinister force of secularism seem to encroach on this old bastion of Catholicism.  This should not serve as bewilderment for all of us.  For indeed no one can come to Christ unless the Father draws  them near.  For us who believe this is something for us to rejoice.  Not because we could expel demons or heal the sick but because the Father has given us His Kingdom.   

Palm Sunday 2010

Zechariah 9:9-10

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem: BEHOLD THY KING will come to thee, the just and saviour: he is poor, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."

"And I will destroy the chariot out of Ephraim, and the horse out of Jerusalem, and the bow for war shall be broken: and he shall speak peace to the Gentiles, and his power shall be from sea to sea, and from the rivers even to the end of the earth."

My Meditation:

Every year as we live thought the life, hope and expectations of the Church though the celebrations in the Liturgical calendar, we come again to this most important and solemn occasion of our faith.  The sacred passion of our Lord.  Through out the week we shall relived in a very special way the passion of Christ.  Our Lord has promised graces for people who will meditate on His passion.

The special thing that comes to my mind this week are the secular mass media's attack on the Holy Father.  The world will never indeed love our Lord.  The Jewish Leaders of Christ's time crucified Him, and today in the same manner they are trying to crucify our Holy Father.  I admire so much the patience by which our Holy Father in dealing with these attacks.  I am saddened by the silence of the people who should have been defending our Church.

Let us remember our Church is a most special way this lenten season and may our sufferings and sacrifices be offered for this intention.

St. Jean-Marie Vianney: Model for Priests

Pope Benedict XVI has proclaimed this year as the year for Priests from June 2009-June 2010. He stated that St. Jean-Marie Vianney as model for priests. This is very timely because of the on going crisis in the church in terms of vocations and priestly life. Let us pray for our priests both for the good priests and for the bad priests.

"Our Lord is our model, let us take up our cross and follow Him. Let us do like the soldiers of Napoleon. They had to cross a bridge under the fire of grapeshot; no one dared to pass it. Napoleon took over the colors, marched over first and they all followed. Let us do the same; let us follow Our Lord, who has gone before us." - "The Little Catechism of the Curé of Ars," TAN Books 1987.

Reflections on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi

One of the Side Chapels at Uppsala Cathedral, Photo taken by the Blogger December 2008. The Diorama on the Altar depicts the lives of Our Lord and Lady and are manifested fully in the Eucharist.

In the new liturgical calendar Corpus Christi is celebrated Sunday, while in the traditional Calendar it is celebrated Thursday. I listened intently on the homily of our Pastor and his thoughts on the matter and it struck a chord in my consciousness. He lamented the fact that now a days the term "Sunday's Best" is already missing from our vocabulary. He made the observation how church goers attend mass wearing thongs and casual clothes, while on non-church activities these same people would be dressed up so nicely. So ,he posed the question - Is this trend an indication that we as Christians don't recognize the Body of Christ any longer? Is it a failure to recognize His Body? A lack of faith in the Real Presence of Christ? To underscore this observation he brought our attention to the religious images in the Church. He said that these images are the likeness of Christ, they seem to our sight as the image and likeness of Christ, but in reality they are not, because these are mere objects made of wood, shaped and painted to look like Christ. But he pointed to us again the Bread and Wine on the Altar. He said that the Bread and Wine are objects but they don't resemble the image of Christ from the human point of view, but in reality though they do not show the likeness of Christ, yet the Bread and Wine is the REAL CHRIST. That's why he reminded the congregation that not a hundred novenas and devotions to the Saints could ever compare with the glory, dignity and efficacy of a single Mass. He said that these novenas to Saints are mere sign posts guiding us to Christ. Hence the apex of through devotion is the Eucharist which we celebrate in the Mass.

Our Lady of Penafrancia: The Bicolanos' Pledge of Love and Devotion

I have already posted several articles in the past about Our Lady of Penafrancia. Today I feel again moved to post another article about this topic. The Blessed Mother under her title of Our Lady of Penafrancia is the patroness of Bicolandia under the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Caceres which includes the suffragan dioceses of Legazpi, Sorsogon, Catanduanes, Masbate and Libmanan. The region south of Luzon island in the Philippines is inhabited approximately by almost five million Bicolanos. Bicol is one of the ten major ethnic ethno-linguistic group in the Philippines. The Bicolanos are renowed for their religiousity and devotion to the Catholic Church. Christianity was introduced to Bicolandia by the Franciscans and other Spanish-Mexican Mendicant Orders. Today, it has been 400 hundred years since the evangelization of this region, and indeed by the grace of God the spirit of the gospel has been sown and planted. Historians attributes the successful evangelizatiion of Bicol to the Franciscans. In an account related by Reyes in his book, it says thus: "In 1578 the first Franciscan missionaries who reached Camarines Sur were Fray Bartolome Ruiz and Fray Pablo de Jesus. They were the ones who formally commenced the evangelization of the natives of Camarines. The historical evidence points out that Bicol Christianity was forge not by relentless force of arms by the Spanish conquistadores but by the sweet, self-instilling power of the gospel which the early Franciscan missionaries had brought to the pillaged, scattered villages that remained after the conquest years. To the Franciscans then should go the richly deserved sobriquet of 'Apostles of Bicolandia." (p.109, Bikol Marhalika, By Jose Calleja Reyes, 1992) It was said that when the missionaries preached the gospel, the natives of Bicol embraced Christianity with passion and devotion. They all of a sudden gathered their household idols (anitos) and burnt them in bonfires. A demonstration of grace from God that here a people who had been clouded by the dark religion of paganism for hundreds of years have seen a great light and renounced the power of the evil one. The Bicol Region is known for its religiousity and many devout Catholics live in this region of the Philippines. The devotion to Our Lady is a jewel of a testament and a Divine Gift to the this region.

The Photo above shows the Facade of the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Penafrancia. Construction of this structure started sometime in the 1960s. The late Archbishop Pedro P. Santos conceived the construction of this modern structure upon observing the increasing number of devotees, of which the old Church can no longer accomodate. The construction was halted sometime due to financial stress but in the 70s and 80s the construction continued until in May 22, 1982 the Church was dedicated with the Late Jaime Cardinal Sin of Manila officiating the rites and with Julio Cardinal Rosales also present. in 1985 the present Archbishop, His Grace Leonardo Z. Legazpi received from the Sacred Congregation of Worship the conferment of the title Basilica Minore to this church. For more of this visit The Basilica of Our Lady of Penafrancia. The structure looks modern but the interior design conforms with the traditional form. The planning of this Basilca was done way back in 1960 before the liturgical revolution, hence the church is design in cruciform and there is the high altar and generous space for the sanctuary designed to accomodate large number of clergies.

The Side View of the Basilica. The Basilica is constructed in a 3 hectare donated lot in Balatas, Naga City, Camarines Sur, Philippines

The Side walls depict the stations of the Cross and the stained glass windows depicts the 15 mysteries of the Holy Rosary.

The Image of Our Lady of Penafrancia Enshrined in the Basilica. Resplendent in her golden robes holding for us her Child Jesus, as the redeemer and hope of Mankind.

For those of you who wish to read about the history of this Devotion to Penafrancia you may visit this link, The History of Our Lady of Penafrancia by Rev. Dr. Florencio C. Yllana. Fr. Yllana tells us in that article how the Bicolano's devotion to Our Lady and how she imprinted her identity to the Bicolano soul as testament of love. Hence in her official anthem to honor the Virgin, the Bicolano people proclaims, "Let the song of love resound in this region....."

The Miraculous Icon of the Holy Face. Venerated in the Basilica side by side with the Icon of Our Lady.

The veneration that the Bicolanos have for the Holy Face is associated with the devotion to Our Lady. It was related that in 1882 a dreadful cholera broke out in Manila where many died of the epidemic, and soon the epidemic reached Naga. The then Bishop Casimiro Herrera ordered that the image of the Virgin of Penafrancia be moved to the Cathedral so that prayers can be offered to beg our Lady to intercede. Fr. Pedro de la Torre the Vicar General remembered the Divino Rostro and what miracle it wrought in Osa de la Vega and told this story to the people of Naga. from thenceforth the Bishop ordered that a relica of the Divino Rostro be placed in the Cathedral and implore the Lord to stem the tide of the epidemic that was taking the lives of so many people. He made a solemn promise that there will be special festivities that will honor the Holy Face and that it would be honored side by side with the Icon of Our Lady. On the third day the epedimic was stopped. This by a miraculous intervention of Our Lord and Our Lady. For the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever. Today year after year Bicolanos congregate to this place to honor Our Lord and Our Lady and to thank them for their love and compassion.

A Cafe and Bookstore to refresh the weary pilgrim.

The Votive Prayer to Our Lady of Penafrancia. Click the picture to read the prayer.

The Church of Our Lady of Penafrancia. This is the old Church that use to house the original copy of the Icon. But because of growing numbers of devotees the original image was transferred to the larger Basilica in Balatas. Thi chuch was originally made of light materials constructed by Fr. Miguel de Covarrubias to honor our Lady and to serve his ministry with the Cimarrones.

The Facade of the Church with the Image of Our Lady beckoning the Pilgrim to come.

A Painting of the Old Church. This is the artist's depiction of how this church looked like in olden times.

The alley at the Back of the Church leading to the Cemetery.

The Cemetery at the Back of the Church of Our Lady of Penafrancia. "Eternal Rest Grant Unto them Lord, and let Thy perpetual light Shine Upon them.