Monday 25 March 2013

Bible topples Idol


On Palm Sunday, the Gospel reading was the long narrative from the Last Supper until Jesus’ death on the cross. Though I have heard the story so many times, yet the Passion of Christ pierces my heart on the realization that not only did He endure physical suffering Jesus was demeaned and abandoned by the Jewish people. Yet He had the heart to forgive; for He was beyond human; He was the Son of God.

In the United States, a television series The Bible shown on the 3rd week of March 2013 in the History Channel topped the hugely popular American Idol by gaining 13.1 million viewers to the 12.8 million viewers of the latter. One publication said, “The ratings have confounded Hollywood’s biggest decision-makers. Overt religious programming can be a notorious tough sell to the public, while American Idol has dominated television for the past eight seasons.”

 In like manner, many were baffled when the film, The Passion of the Christ, produced at US$30 million earned US $611,899,420 in the box office. And what is the biggest selling book of all time? According to one source, The Holy Bible has sold more than 6 billion followed by the distant second “Quotations of Chairman Mao” at 900,000,000.

Even how cynical and secular the world is today, the vast majority of humanity finds meaning in their lives by accepting that a God takes care of us. While there are those who are too proud to admit God’s existence, surely, in their death bed they will call upon God to bring them home.

The Holy Week is one of the most important events in the calendar of the Catholic Church; and parishes throughout the world, mark this through public display of the passion of Jesus. But what is universally practiced is the retracing of footsteps of Jesus towards His crucifixion in Calvary. This is done through the Stations of the Cross which may be observed inside the church or outside.

I am joining the Stations of the Cross Procession in Auckland where we will walk in major thoroughfares. Not only will we follow the journey of Christ, we will proclaim our faith in a society that has tolerated some practices that violate the teachings of Christ.  By our public display, we are telling people that God’s commandments are unconditional; that sin and evil cannot be legislated; that God forgives those who repent. "Therefore, whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32-33).

Monday 18 March 2013

Pray for Me


ONE Jesuit said that Pope Francis “was not in the short list, long list or any kind of list.”
Those words spoke a lot, as there was a time when Jesuits were banished in 1773 from its missions not due to theological grounds, but on political and economic reasons when Spain, Portugal and France were ruled by monarchs.

The Jesuits had become too powerful that the monarchs (and some Vatican insiders) felt threatened. Today the leader of the Catholic Church is a Jesuit.

I spent the first quarter of my life as a parishioner of a Jesuit-administered parish, the Sacred Heart Parish along D. Jakosalem St. But all those years, I thought the priests, all foreign, were detached and unapproachable. True that they delivered sermons that may have molded my young mind but they seemed distant to me. Even when I joined one of the choirs, I could not recall a time when a priest even commended our singing.

It was not helpful for one coming from public schools (I studied in Cebu Normal School and Abellana National School) as there was that general perception among students in public schools that the Jesuit-run school, Sacred Heart School for Boys was an institution for the elite and the rich. I observed this as a boy scout during parades and jamborees where SHS Boy Scouts carried an air of confidence and arrogance.

I talked to a work colleague who graduated from De La Salle University in Manila, and she confirmed that some Ateneo de Manila University (a Jesuit-run school) graduates she knew do have that “superiority complex”.

But I must say though that a number of SHS alumni that I’ve encountered have shown their care for the community especially the vulnerable in society through charitable institutions and private foundations. A humble and selfless Cebuano Jesuit who served as parish priest of Sacred Heart Parish once provided me with spiritual guidance in a year-long program.

The Jesuits do attract the wealthy and the elite to their schools as parents only want their children to get the best education that the Jesuits are good at. In a way, the Jesuits are able to provide moral and spiritual grounding for the children of the wealthy and elite. Sadly, the few alumni who lack the values of humility and charity put the Jesuits in bad light.

First impressions are lasting, and what the world saw of the Jesuit Pope Francis was humility. In his first address he said, “Now I would like to impart the blessing, but first, first I ask a favor of you. Before the bishop blesses the people, I ask that you pray to the Lord that He bless me: the prayer of the people asking a blessing for their bishop. Let us pray in silence, this your prayer for me.”  It is so written, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16)

Let us pray for Pope Francis as he leads us in God’s pastures.

Monday 11 March 2013

We are the Church


“I am disappointed with the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI,” said a family friend, “and so are a number of my Catholic friends.” It was just a few days after the surprise announcement of the Pontiff that I chanced upon this individual in a restaurant where my family dined in.

Her disgust was based on a logical premise that in the difficult times of the Catholic Church hounded by sexual misconduct by priests, leaks on confidential information in the Vatican and the dwindling number of Catholics, the Pontiff has retreated into early retirement.

I responded saying that it takes courage and humility to step down from a seat of power. Human nature tends to hang on to positions of authority and influence for as long as possible. To withdraw to a cloistered life of prayer and reflection, away from the limelight, is incomprehensible to the average person. Only the wise and the enlightened are willing to commit to detach to the temporal world to save humanity, to strengthen the Church, to champion the Holy Trinity.
While having a pope to lead the faithful is of utmost importance, I told the friend, that also vital is the people themselves, as each one is a disciple whose sworn purpose in life is to defend the faith, to propagate the Good News and to live the Word. “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

God’s church on earth does not alone depend on the Pope it also draw its strength from us, the people of God. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI spoke of "the Church, the people of God throughout the world, united in faith and love and empowered by the Spirit to bear witness to the risen Christ to the ends of the earth.”

Monday 4 March 2013

Missing Out the Peace

The team-building fun day turned horrific. One of the participants, a 57-year old man, fell to his death as he stepped from the platform in a high-ropes adventure course in Auckland on March 3, 2013. His daughter screamed, “Dad” while the wife couldn’t do anything as she watched from the ground. Surely, it never occurred to the man, to his family or to the rest of the participants that March 3 was his appointed time.

On the same day, I attended a mass at Holy Cross Church in Henderson, and the priest in his homily talked about “procrastination”. He admitted he was himself a procrastinator, doing things at the last minute.  He told about St Augustine who procrastinated in serving the faith. The saint wrote, “Too late have I loved Thee, O Beauty so old and so new! Too late have I loved Thee.”

St Augustine confessed on how he attached himself to temporal desires that kept him away from the spiritual joy that filled him in the later part of his life.

He wrote, “And lo, Thou wert inside me and I outside, and I sought for Thee there, and in all my unsightliness I flung myself on those beautiful things which Thou hast made. Thou wert with me and I was not with Thee. Those beauties kept me away from Thee, though if they had not been in Thee, they would not have been at all. Thou didst call and cry to me and break down my deafness. Thou didst flash and shine on me and put my blindness to flight. Thou didst blow fragrance upon me and I drew breath, and now I pant after Thee. I tasted of Thee and now I hunger and thirst for Thee. Thou didst touch me and I am aflame for Thy peace.”

Many among us have the tendency of delaying service to our fellowmen and to God for the future.  We are just too busy with work, with socials, with hobbies, etc. Service to others, service to God can wait when I will be older, when I will have retired.

But what if your appointed time comes sooner than later?

 “My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:1-35

Let’s not miss out the joy that service gives to others. Let’s not miss out the peace that service gives to our hearts.