April 30, 2023* Fourth Sunday of Easter*The Good Shepherd

Dss. Rubylin. G. Litao, Rise Up for Life and For Rights

https://www.cornerstoneart.com/lds-artist-gallery/art_print_products/the-lost-sheep-bi3wzkavyzw

Acts 2:14a, 36-41;

Psalms 23: 1-3a, 3b4, 5, 6

1 Peter 2:20b-25;

Jn 10:1-10

Since last year, part of my mental life are memories of my niece, Abbie, who passed away in June 20.  Today, April 30 is her 30^th birthday, which is also the fourth Sunday of Easter and known as the Good Shepherd Sunday. I would like to imagine Abbie is with the Good Shepherd today as she celebrates her birthday. Happy Good Shepherd Sunday!

For us Christians, the Easter season must be the heart and soul of our liturgical celebration throughout the year. We are reminded and assured on the relevance of our faith to the Risen Christ. We are invited to illumine this faith into action as we relate with our “kapwa”. We are called to live out the faith, as Jesus the Good Shepherd protects and cares for his sheep and the people whom he relates with.

One of the most powerful pictures of Jesus being used in Sunday School is his image as the Good Shepherd. Jesus with the flock around him as he leads them to a safe place where they can find water to drink, and pasture where they can eat grass. Shepherds are a familiar character in Bible stories. They are humble and from the lowly class but are caring and ready to defend the sheep from their enemies, even at the cost of their own lives.

Jesus as the Good Shepherd protects his sheep, “he lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11).

Jesus the Good Shepherd who lays down his life can be compared to the human rights defenders of today. Human rights defenders were killed because they chose to be like the Good Shepherd. Zara Alvarez advocated for health services to be accessible to the communities and Randall Echanis who joined the farmers’ call for genuine agrarian reform. Zara and Randall were among the 40 human rights defenders killed in the Philippines between 01 January 2020 and 30 June 2021¹. Their just cause to defend land and oppose industrial projects that will affect the communities; their consistent opposition to the human rights violations happening in the communities led to their untimely death. 

Guided by our faith, we are enjoined to journey with the people’s lives and struggles for a better tomorrow:

F –        follow Jesus the Good Shepherd’s teachings of love, peace and justice

A –       ask God for guidance thru our prayers for solidarity with the toiling people

I –         involve ourselves to the ministry of humanitarian service

T –        tell the truth about the real situation of our community 

H –       help others, never go weary in doing good to others

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶ Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.⁷ Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.^[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

One of Abbie’s posts in her Facebook account continues to resonate as I continue reflecting on how we can be like Jesus, the Good Shepherd…. “…the Lord isn’t finished with us yet; we are going to change the world one day. Padayon!” -Abbie Angela Litao (30 April 1993 – 20 June2022)

=========================================

¹https://www.fidh.org/en/region/asia/philippines/philippines-solidarity-statement-stop-the-killings-of-human-rights

April 23, 2023* Third Sunday of Easter * My Gypsy Feet On Pilgrim Way-Walking, Sojourning and Social Justice Work

^{Ms. Weena Salvador Meily, AWIT}

https://globalworship.tumblr.com/post/142159343095/emmaus-art-india

^{Acts 2:14, 22-33}

^{Ps 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11}

^{1 Pt 1:17-21}

^{Lk 24:13-35}

^{Once a friend asked me, “So, where will your Gypsy feet bring you now?”}  

^{I loved the way he described my life. But that is another story.}

^{Movement is a marked reality in my life.  I remember how many times we moved places within the metro area in the first few decades of my younger years.  It was sort of exciting because we made new friends and also sad because we would leave them.  I have always been attracted to this impermanent, semi-nomadic way of life. And since my mother passed on and my daughter lived on her own, and retirement was just around the corner, these Gypsy feet has danced her life through the Pilgrim Way.}  

^{This pilgrim solitary way of life, this hermitage life I carry with me, like a turtle’s carapace, is somehow thrust to me by a series of a combination of riveting, spellbinding and compelling events.  And when you hold on to faith, and live on God’s grace sufficient for the day, you realize something incredible is happening.  In the advent of retirement, adventure welcomed me into a Catholic Worker House in Malate, Manila and did some volunteering.  After a deep spiritual crisis, things turned out to blossom and the blossoms turned into fruits in the Bicol region, as I was invited to volunteer as an Outreach staff.  It was a gift from La Virgen, Ina De Penafrancia.}

^{As reality closed in and I discovered that my retirement claim is only enough to rent a room, it finally hit me, that God has called me to this life of simplicity, solitude, service and movement. In the midst of chaos in community, revelry and rebellion, vanity and violence; in the midst of a world excitedly, constantly spinning day and night, I stop in stillness and silence and embrace a communion of saints in this world and thank God for all that has been.}  

^{Some people think my constant movement is typical of human restlessness.  Perhaps so I think too.  But I have another way of seeing restlessness. We may see it as one of those paths we take when we sojourn in life. It may be a wilderness.  We may walk into dark places where light is badly needed. Some dry places where water is scarce, hence a refreshing rest to rehydrate is a must.  To be restless can be understood as being disturbed.  And sometimes to be disturbed is good.  To be disturbed can be seen as the opposite of being indifferent. And perhaps as disturbed as I may be, I am steeped in reflection and face to face with reality. Kapag nagugulumihanan, nagtatanong tayo, nakapag-iisip, nakapagninilay. When I am restless, I walk, and when I walk, I am able to think, reflect, and  question my circumstances. Solvitur ambulando,  is a Latin phrase attributed to St Augustine. The saint suggests that issues of the heart, soul and mind can be solved by walking. That got me thinking.  St Augustine must have loved walking!  True enough, he also once prayed, “ My heart is restless, until it rests in Thee, my God.”  If I were with St Agustine at that time, I would oppose him, Oh no, it should be solvitur cappuccino! It is solved by the magic of coffee!  But again, that’s another story. And but again, I do agree with this great saint.  I love walking! Issues of a heavy belly may be solved by walking! When people in my presence get into a heated argument, I walk away and pray in the silence of my heart.   Many issues of my heart, soul and mind were solved during times of my solitary walking to and from work, when I was a volunteer in Naga City. In the past I could have bought my own car.  But simplicity of life called me at the dawn of my period of conversion of life, just right out of the wilderness where God lured me into a life of Aloneness, single-heartedly, to live for Him.  Hence, walking was a most wonderful way of transporting my self from here to there, from one place to another, from my past confused life to the bosom of God. Of course I used public transport to travel far! And this is indeed a perfect way to be in solidarity with the masses! So I thought, if I were to vow a semi-monastic life where the world is my community, my monastery, then I should live in communion with my fellows, my “kapwa”, my neighbor, the ‘little people’ on whom the ‘giants’ could trample their feet.}

^{Walking as a pilgrim on the narrow path, challenges us Christians to cherish the journey and take it seriously.  I read from somewhere, “To journey without being changed is to be a nomad. To change without journeying is to be a chameleon.  To journey and be transformed by the journey is to be a pilgrim.”}

^{Our country has been walking an insufferable path.  Its people’s feet have been nursing its sores and wounds brought about by systemic structures throughout its oppressive history.  In these times, under the fake leadership of the son of a dictator who has made life unbearable for so many in his time, this bogus president, is profiteering his way to more and more billions to fill his and his minions’ pockets.  A lamentable litany of the country’s agonizing situation describes this government’s festering leadership:}

^{a continuous rise in prices of commodities vs. the stagnant status of wages and falling family living wage; tensions in the West Philippine Sea; water supply problems not only in the NCR but the worst in other far-flung areas of the country; a rise in cases of Human Rights Workers including Religious Persons being harassed; foreign and oligarch dominated mining industry that continues to oppress indigenous peoples and the environment;  1.8 M loss in full-time employment ,etc. ( www.ibon.org )  I can go on and on and on.}   

^{Our Christian calling compels us to walk the Road to Emmaus, if we are aware that as we encounter Jesus along the way, he asks us not to use the Gospel for profit, for gains or for prosperity.  But that our encounter of Jesus requires that we be ready to risk the tasks we need to undertake, to risk travelling the road, and to risk a life offered to serve the people, in solidarity, compassion and love.  Were not our hearts burning while He was with us?  If Jesus’ words affect us, and if we walk as true pilgrims of His Way, it is clear to us that we need to forge a new path as we seek to renew our country’s deplorable state. We need to come together as a people to carve a new way in this wilderness where the dark and dry places abound.   We need to build a road to a life where God wants us to enjoy, to celebrate and live life to the full.  And as the Psalmist has written, in full faith and abundant hope, “You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”(Acts2:28)  And as I live my life of walking this Pilgrim Way, wherever God picks me up, sets me on flight and lands on a space where I define my little patch of social justice work, just a little patch,  I am still awed by the Presence of this God-Who-Is-Justice. A Presence who hears the cry of the poor.  A Presence who is Compassion.  A Presence who has transcended darkness, violence and death.  A Presence who is Resurrection and Life!}  

 

^{Eastertide blessings to all of you!}

April 16, 2023*Second Sunday of Easter (or Sunday of Divine Mercy)* My Lord and my God

Fr. Ritche Salgado, OCarm

   

https://globalworship.tumblr.com/post/142243754990/doubting-thomas-4-poems-3-paintings

Acts 2:42-47    

Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24               

1 Pt 1:3-9            

Jn 20:19-31       

  

My Lord and my God.

This was Thomas’ profession of faith when he finally had an encounter of the resurrected Christ and experienced the never ending mercy of God despite his inability to believe by mere account of the other disciples.

We exactly do not know why Thomas doubted, so to speak, nor could we really say that he doubted, but one thing is certain, God fulfilled his desire, who, as with the other disciples, were still grieving the loss of a friend and teacher. He was in darkness and his desire was simply to see the risen Lord.

An encounter with the risen Lord for Thomas sparked hope on the truth of the witness of Jesus Christ – truth in the message of love, truth in God’s loving mercy and compassion for mankind. Truth, that despite being engulfed in darkness, there is light, there is hope because there is the resurrection.

What does this mean for us today, when hope seems elusive especially for our brothers and sisters in the margins of our society.

Where is God’s compassion for the poor who only wants to live in peace but driven away by greedy capitalists? Families losing their homes, abandoning their homes because the government would deliberately bomb their homes in order to flush out a perceived enemy, which they could not otherwise defeat on the ground. On the other side of the coin is the fact that these families have been opposing a multi-billion project, deemed to be a priority of the government. They are not anti-development, mind you, but they know that such development would destroy their community, their livelihood, and the environment that they have been protecting for generations. With the frequency of flooding because of mindless development, it is not surprising for people to realize that development does not necessarily mean progress and a better life for the poor. It could mean more problems and more suffering.

Where is God’s mercy for a boy who lost both his father and mother, killed by the very people supposedly tasked to protect innocent civilians like his parents? Nabbed under the cover of night, dragged outside their home like an animal to be slaughtered, verbally abused, assaulted, attacked, and finally, shot. And the little boy saw this, witnessed the painful night when he lost his father and the mother who loved his father so much. Where is God’s mercy and compassion when the  killers are able to walk scot-free by virtue of evidence which the victim’s family alleged were planted by the rogue operatives?

Where is hope for the victims of rape who now has been given the added burden of proving that the actual act of rape happened before they could be given justice and protection? Victims, who are already facing the trauma of the violent event, the pain of telling and retelling their story, now hope has been stolen from them. Darkness engulfs them as our esteemed justices decides to favor the rapist instead of the victim. Instead of assuring the victim that the law is on their side, they have assured the perpetrators that they don’t have to suffer the consequences of their dastardly act.

Compassion is but a concept, mercy is elusive, hope seems unattainable for our poor brothers and sisters, for those in the margins of our society, and it will remain so if we continue to allow ourselves to become agents of evil, to be the festering wounds on the body of Christ.

But mercy and compassion, can be the light that would give hope to victims of abuse and injustices if we allow ourselves to be channels of God’s love for our suffering brothers and sisters who are groping in darkness.

Jesus Christ was a light for Thomas and more so after his death, on his resurrection when he showed Thomas that in the darkness of injustice and grief, there is the resurrection. There is hope.

Jesus was that hope for his disciples and his presence assured them of the peace, of the shalom, that could only come from him.

Let us be bearers of that hope. Let us bring the hope of the resurrected Christ to our brothers and sisters who are victims of the evil and injustices of this world. And let us allow them, let us assure them, that although the journey in achieving true peace is a difficult one, this journey can be made light if we take it together, if we are there for each other, in our struggles and in our victories, just as Christ was there for his disciples, and most especially for those whose faith has been weakened by hopelessness.

With such hope, we profess, my Lord and my God.

April 9, 2023*The Resurrection of the Lord The Mass of Easter Day*Sa May Pintuan ng Libingang Walang Laman

Bro.Luke B. Gealogo, Redemptorist Postulant    

     

https://www.kcmifm.com/blog/2022/3/31/historical-evidence-for-the-resurrection-the-empty-tomb

Acts 10:34a, 37-43     

Ps118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

Col 3:1-4    

Jn 20:1-9     

Sa May Pintuan ng Libingang Walang Laman

Solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection (Easter Sunday)

“Kaya’t si Pedro at ang [isang] alagad ay nagpunta sa libingan. Kapwa sila tumakbo ngunit si Pedro’y naunahan ng kasamang alagad. Yumuko ito at sumilip sa loob. Nakita niyang nakalagay ang mga kayong lino, ngunit hindi siya pumasok”  (Juan 20: 3-5).

Marahil, hindi ko na kailangang pumasok pa

upang usisain at kilatisin ang nangyaring hiwaga.

Napagulong na ang bato. Nakatupi ang mga kayong lino

at wala na ang bangkay ng Mesiyas at Guro.

Hindi ko na kailangang magduda pa

dahil batid kong Siya nga ang Muling Pagkabuhay at Paglaya.

Nalagot na ang tanikala. Winagayway na ang bandila

at ang Langit sa Daigdig ay abot-kamay na:

Lupa sa magsasaka,

Sahod sa manggagawa,

Trabaho sa maralita,

Edukasyon para sa madla

at Karapatan sa walang-wala.

Ngunit hangga’t Kuwaresma pa rin sa aking Bayan

at Kalbaryo pa rin ang abang kalagayan,

muli’t muling kakaripas papalabas ng kuweba,

at mangangahas na ibigkas ang Magandang Balita:

Makakakita rin ang mga binubulag

sa huwad na katotohanan at baluktot na kasaysayan;

makakalaya rin ang mga binilanggo

sa likod ng rehas, sa ilalim ng batas

at sa talim ng dahas;

mabubuhay din na mag-uli silang mga kinitil

ng dayong Imperyo, ng panginoong maylupa, at nilang iilang mapaniil.

At sasapit din ang panahong katangi-tangi,

ang Hubileyo para sa mga inaapi,

ang Paskuwa para sa mga nasawi,

at ang ganap na pagsasanib ng Bagong Lupa at Langit!

Hanggang makamit ang Tagumpay ni Kristo at ng Kaharian.

Hanggang wala na ring laman ang libingan ng aking Bayan.

Mangyari nawa. Maghari nawa. Amen.

Aleluya! Aleluya!

April 2, 2023*PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD’S PASSION

Fr. Aris Miranda, MI

https://www.meisterdrucke.uk/fine-art-prints/Barna-da-Siena/108928/The-Kiss-of-Judas,-from-a-series-of-Scenes-of-the-New-Testament-.html

Mt 21:1-11

Ps 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24

Phil 2:6-11

Mt 26:14—27:66

Since last week, while following the news at home through social media channels, you won’t

miss updates from the PITX, NAIA, North Harbor piers, and other terminals. Long holy days are

coming. It’s Holy Week, a moment of reflection, getting together, family and friends bonding moment, a break from hectic days, or a celebration from heydays. Wherever we are, I assume that we pray and reflect on these days apart from gallivanting and jubilating. Prayer and reflection are well-embedded in our spiritual life and culture. This is why we are trying to find time, even for a few minutes or hours or days, because we want to go through the core of our being – our connection to self, to the ONE powerful than us, and to others. But how do we make it meaningful and fruitful for me, for others, and for nature, our common home? Why do we need to do it?

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week and the celebration of the Paschal Triduum of passion (Holy Thursday), death (Good Friday), and the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Easter

Sunday). It begins with the triumphant entry of Jesus to Jerusalem, greeted by the people waving palm branches as a sign of welcoming and committing their lives to His proposal (the Beatitudes) of serving the people unconditionally, even at the expense of sacrifices and death as Jesus himself confronted and experienced in witnessing the mercy (hesed) of God to the most vulnerable.

Now is the opportune time to ask ourselves: Am I a disciple of Christ? Like the apostles, when Jesus revealed the plot against him, everyone turned to themselves, asking – “Am I the one …? Surely it is not I!”

In today’s Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, we reflect on the gospel of Matthew, addressing the Jews who had been educated in the catechesis of the rabbis to wait for a victorious, dominating, great, and powerful messiah. However, they were shocked and disillusioned. “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Mt 27:40). They were shocked by a defeated Messiah. But Matthew responds: the Old Testament’s prophecies announce a humiliated, persecuted Messiah that would be put to death. They present him as the companion of every suffering and oppressed person. He transformed his defeat into victory, his death into birth; his tomb into a womb from which he was taken to a life without end. God has made it known that he does not overcome evil by hindering it with miraculous intervention but by taking away its power to harm, even making it a time of growth for humans to learn how to confront, resist and fight evil in our times. Being and journeying with the oppressed is the way to overcome the evil in our society today and proclaim the victory of God’s Kingdom, where peace based on justice truly reigns.

When Judas handed Jesus to the corrupt authorities, one of Jesus’ disciples drew his sword and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to Peter: “Put your sword back into its place, for all who take hold of the sword will die by the sword” (Mt 26:52). A second lesson is the repudiation of uncalculated move that might imperil the lives and movements of the disciples. Peter in his impulsiveness, attacked the priest’s servant without pondering of the implication. Peter could be charged of assault, that may have an implication to their mobility and mission.

Matthew writes in the second half of the first century and has in mind what has happened to his people. Israel had been hit by many catastrophes, famines, pestilences, and corruption by the last Procurator sent by Rome. In this situation arises the revolt of the Zealots, which then ends in a bath of blood. Matthew asks: How did this happen? Why do these evils destroy Jerusalem, the people of Israel? His theological response says: these evils have hit my people because they have rejected the new world proposal of Jesus – a world where each one will no longer look at each own advantage but for the good of others even at the expense of one’s life.

Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem because they were not willing to change their hearts in Israel. The blood of the martyrs is a living testimony to the “new world proposal” (Kingdom of God). He who embraces the proposal of God will inevitably encounter violent resistance from those who move away from Christ, those who believe in the messiahs of this world (demagogues) who aim only for profit, power, and wealth and, therefore, are willing to do anything, even to resort to deception, to violence.

The Kingdom of God is primarily a restoration of the original justice of creation. The kingdom of God is not a place but a restoration of liberating, healing, life-giving, and sustaining relationships. By participating in the resistance and liberation of the people, we are bringing about the realization of the Kingdom of God. This is our prophetic mission and responsibility as Christians.

When Jesus gave his last breath , “the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.”(v.51). It was the veil that separated people from God. Finally, God has removed it forever. We now have access to Him, into His Kingdom, seeing in the face of Jesus the face of God unveiled. If there are veils, these are the ones we placed … are our images of God: The God who loves the good and punishes those who disobey him; the God who loves only good people and punishes the wicked. These veils have been torn because on Calvary, we now have access to God, and there are no more veils. We are experiencing authentic justice, peace, and the communion of people no longer identified by classes but by a commitment to His Kingdom.

Then “the earth trembled” which marks the collapse of the ancient world and the beginning of a whole new world. God intervenes in our history until justice reigns. When God enters, nothing remains the same as before. It is an experience that we all do in our lives. “The “rocks were split.”; The prophet Ezekiel spoke of the heart of stone, which would be destroyed and replaced with a new heart. From that day, a person will be known not by his/her success in this world but by his/her unconditional commitment to pursue justice and equality, even at the risk of his/her life for love. And this is what resurrection is all about, the fullness of life, the full restoration of God’s original design to His creation. This is our hope which needs our full and active participation in building God’s Kingdom.