April 28, 20204*Fifth Sunday of Easter *Remain Faithful in Jesus

Fr. Joey Ganio Evangelista, MJ , Antigua, Guatemala

Guatemala, Photo of Fr.Joey Evangelista, MJ

Acts 9:26-31  

Ps 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32    

1 Jn 3:18-24     

Jn 15:1-8            

I have been away from everything familiar to me for the last seven weeks living in Antigua, Guatemala. I am learning Spanish at a language school and living with a Guatemalan family. Like a child, I am trying to learn the basics of this language. It is humbling to be told so many times that I am not getting it right and that I  have to exert more effort. Walking the streets of this old Guatemalan city was a joy in the beginning but after some time reality sinks in that I am far from home. Familiar it may be after so many weeks, there is that lonely thought that I am alone and away from home.

The Sunday celebrations of the Eucharist have been my solace these past few weeks. It is different and at the same time familiar. Listening to the Word and receiving the body of Christ, I knew that I was home.

Each Sunday at mass in Antigua, Guatemala has been a consistent reminder for me that I cannot bear fruit without Jesus. The humbling experience of learning a new language and being alone in a foreign country only makes sense because it is part of being a disciple of Jesus. And I am certain that I will bear much fruit as long as I remain true to why I am here: to learn the Spanish language to better participate in the mission of God (missio Dei).

This has opened my eyes to another reality hiding behind the beautiful city of Antigua. It is very easy to be dazzled by the colorful houses, magnificent churches, delicious food and friendly people. For a tourist, these things would have been enough. But I am not a tourist.

Behind this magnificent facade that is Antigua is the sad reality of the local community being left on the wayside in the name of money. Most of the businesses that thrive in Antigua are owned by foreigners; they are either not from Antigua or not from Guatemala. The locals are left to sell their wares on the streets or in the market. Not only that, the people’s culture, both Mayan and latino, has become a commodity to be consumed by tourists for the benefit of the wealthy foreigners. If this situation sounds familiar it’s because it is the reality that exists in the world today. It is in this context that we are reminded to remain in Jesus in order that we bear much fruit.

If we forget that we are mere branches in need of Jesus, we will fail to see the call of Jesus. Let us be adamant like Saul who was not dissuaded by the distrust of the disciples nor the threat on his life by the Hellenists. He never forgot his call and remained firmly in Jesus.

There is much to celebrate as a global community but the reality of climate change, tensions in the West Philippine Sea, the wars in the Middle East and Europe, the abyss between the rich and the poor are reminders that there is still much to be done. There are various ways to find solutions to this volatile situation in which we find ourselves. As Christians, we are called to do so following the way of Jesus. Let us remain in him and we will bear much fruit.

April 21 , 2024*Fourth Sunday of Easter *In Memory of Cassandra Martyrs

                                      Sr. Abel Balingao, RGS

Cassandra Martyrs who offered their lives to save women and children when the boat mv Cassandra sank off the coast of northeastern Mindanao. November 21, 1983.)

 

Acts 4:8-12

Ps 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29

1 Jn 3:1-2

 Jn 10:11-18

The first thing that came to mind reflecting on the readings of today, the Good Shepherd Sunday, is the image of the four Good Shepherd Sisters and their companions who perished in 1983 on board the M/V Doña Cassandra when it sank in Surigao amid a typhoon. The survivors told stories that the sisters were seen helping people get into lifeboats, distributing life jackets, and assisting the children until the jackets ran out and it was too late for them to save themselves. One writer said, “These brave women died as they lived”.

To say a bit more about them in gratitude, let me cite an excerpt from the inscription on the Walls of Remembrance by the Bantayog ng Mga Bayani Foundation and I quote, “for contributing to the protest movement against the Marcos dictatorship and human rights abuses, as street parliamentarians, educators, health workers advocating justice through programs for the poor, rural missionaries among poor farmers, and active witnesses to the Church’s mission to serve the poor, the deprived, and the oppressed, and for putting their individual talents at the service of country and people, thus this salutation.”

Ms. Bern Jagunos, former Asia Coordinator of United Church of Canada said, “Aside from the 4 Religious of the Good Shepherd, there were 3 other nuns and one priest ( all from Mindanao) and 3 lay workers who perished in the Cassandra shipwreck: Sr. Josefa Medrano of the Daughters of Mary of tge Assumption, Sr. Amparo Gilbuena of the Missionary Sisters of Mary, Sr. Nanette Berentsen of the Columban Sisters from Ireland, Fr. Jan Westendorp of the Order of the Carmelite, Boy Ipong, Evelyn Hong and Sena Canabria. Sr. Medrano.

 One may ask, why did they do what they did? Quickly, I may say, perhaps it could be because they are Good Shepherd Sisters living up to what Jesus, the Good Shepherd, did. But perhaps,  it was because of their personal encounter with Jesus in their missionary lives as coordinators and members of the Rural missionaries of Southern Mindanao, leaders of the Community-based Health Program, organizers of the Youth Christian Workers and coordinators of the Task Force Detainees standing up for those harassed by the military. Their experience of God, who is among the marginalized, oppressed, neglected, and abused, must have been the source of their courage and strength in their struggle for justice. Reflecting deeply, our heroes’ example is being re-lived today in the person of those who risk their lives to defend the same group of people.

 They are very much alive among those who care for the environment and Mother Earth. We all know the story of environmental destruction: the pollution of rivers and oceans through reclamation projects, the destruction of forests and ecosystems, the greenhouse effects created by the burning of fossil fuels, global warming, and the like. We now see the impact and effects of corporate plunder and the massive destruction of natural resources during the centuries of colonization. But what is being done by the government and world leaders? This is one of the urgent calls for SHEPHERDING in the present time.

Thank God we have brave environmental activists who raise our consciousness and mobilize people to save the earth, the seas, and creation. But like Jesus and other prophets, they were not accepted and instead were red-tagged, tortured, abducted, and even put to death. Such actions are obviously lacking in compassion and empathy, which can be in contrast with the sentiments of the Good Shepherd. As I end this reflection, and praying for our modern-day martyrs and environmental activists risking their lives for all of us, Psalm 23:1,4 rings in my heart, “when we are faced with hard battles, we don’t have to run away in fear because the Lord is my Shepherd and I will fear no evil.” 

April 14, 20204 *Third Sunday of Easter*Witnesses of the Resurrected Christ in Today’s Context

Klein Fausto Emperado, Youth of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente

Acts 3:13-15, 17-19
Ps 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9
1 Jn 2:1-5a
Lk 24:35-48

Witnesses of the Resurrected Christ in Today’s Context
Klein Fausto Emperado, Youth of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente

The atmosphere of fear and doubt prevailed among the disciples. Some of the disciples at the moment have not seen Jesus after rising from the dead. They continued to be in hiding after Jesus’ brutal death on the cross in fear of being caught and put on trial as one of those who followed Jesus, whom the authorities have called a blasphemer.

Witnessing Jesus, who proclaimed himself as God’s only begotten son, was an act of blasphemy during those days. All the more, when someone proclaims Jesus’ resurrection, one can be put to trial and suffer the same persecution Jesus underwent from the power systems and structures of the time.

But have we asked ourselves What are the challenges of witnessing Christ’s resurrection today? What are the risks we have to face when we bear witness to a crucified and resurrected Jesus in these times? What is the most profound act of witness we are to pursue, in our context?

As we look deeper into the realities at present, our people are facing the same crucifixions every single day: poverty, injustice, inequality, oppression, corruption, and greed. The underprivileged masses experience daily and unending scenarios of death and misery at the hands of powerful and oppressive systems.

The common people carry their cross toward the world-made Calvary, a Golgotha, place of the dead. They experience death and suffering every single day of their lives. And yet, we as churches and followers of the resurrected Christ have turned our eyes away from the wounds of suffering felt in the people’s miserable lives due to fear and apathy.

Like the disciples, fears and doubts win over us. We also feel and act the same fear today. We fear persecution if we choose to prioritise serving the poor and marginalised. We choose to stay in our comfort zones and avoid persecutions while standing for human dignity and the truth. The truth is hidden today in the rubbles of deception through fake news, historical revisionism, and misinformation.

We refuse to touch and feel the wounds of our people’s suffering. We avoid circumstances that would place us in a bad light. We chose not to speak truth to power. We fear ridicule by those in power.

The families and victims of the drug war killings by the previous and present administrations are still grieving and seeking justice for the lives taken by violent and brutal means. We chose to be silent. We refuse to express solidarity with the aggrieved. We fear losing our comfortable lives. We fear standing with the oppressed.

We proclaim Christ, the resurrected Jesus, but we adhere to the culture of death and violence imposed by the powers and structures that rule over us today. We proclaim Christ, the resurrected Jesus, but we chose to hide in the comfort zones of our parishes because we fear persecution if we commit to working for just and lasting peace in our country. We proclaim Christ, the resurrected Jesus, but refuse to journey with the poor and suffering towards attaining abundant life. A life that is free from injustice and oppression, where everyone has food for every table, and where everyone is afforded dignity.

As witnesses of Christ in today’s context, we are peacebuilders, not just peacekeepers and peacemakers. Christ came amid turmoil, fear, and violence to share with the disciples the gift of peace. We are witnesses of the resurrected Christ if we courageously work for peace, justice, and human dignity, no matter the cost. We are witnesses of the resurrected Christ as we stand for the marginalised and be in solidarity with their struggles and sufferings felt every moment of their lives. We are witnesses to the resurrected Christ if we work and stand with the aggrieved and mourning victims of extrajudicial killings.

May our faith in the resurrected Jesus edify our whole beings to pursue the ministry of witness today. A witness to Christ fearlessly proclaims the truth, sides with the oppressed, struggles with the masses, and pursues actions for all to attain just and lasting peace.

Christ’s peace be with you. Siya Nawa

April 7, 2024*Second Sunday of Easter Sunday of Divine Mercy*From Wounds of Despair to Sparks of Hope: Resurrection Stories Today

Luke Gealogo,   Redemptorist Seminarian

God Bless Our Way, Wing Garibay .https://leon-gallery.com/auctions/lot/The-Kingly-Treasures-Auction-2019/32/40

Acts 4:32-35

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

1 Jn 5:1-6

Jn 20:19-31

“When our wounds cease to be a source of shame, and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers” – Henri Nouwen, Dutch priest and writer.

Recently, I was able to read the testimonial shared by Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro – two youth advocates defending Manila Bay and the residents near its shores against reclamation and development projects – during a celebration of the Holy Mass at Baclaran Church. They recounted the horrific acts of abduction and “surrendering” that were forced on them by men in uniform. But in spite of those attempts at “scaring” their very lives and resolve for their advocacies, they dared to courageously speak truth that they are not terrorists and that what they fight for is justified. And now, their very experience and firmness, which they shared to the public in a controversial press conference and eventually to the multitudes of devotees in Baclaran became their resurrection stories – that the woundedness and passion they experienced because of their commitment to justice and truth further strengthened the fire of hope and perseverance to keep on fighting for creation and with the people!

It is this same story of journeying from woundedness to liberative healing, from death to new life, from despair to defiant hope, which greatly characterizes the resurrection of Jesus and the eventual birth of the first Christian community. The beginning of this Sunday’s Gospel saw the disciples behind locked doors because of extreme fear that they might suffer the same fate as their Teacher and Lord – an accused, wounded rebel shamefully hanged on a cross. But upon encountering the Risen Christ who appeared to them still bearing the wounds of his passion and death, they were never the same. From being a bunch of seeming cowards behind doors, they eventually went out to the streets and dared to live lives akin to Jesus himself: preaching the Good News of love and liberation to the poor, healing the sick, reconciling with sinners, and expanding a koinonia (community) “of one heart and mind,” wherein “there was no needy person among them.”

The resurrection story being very much alive and concrete from the pages of the New Testament, to the “good news” of my life and of the lives of countless others who are witnessing to hope despite internal contradictions and societal oppressions they’ve endured, made me exclaim like Thomas: My Lord and my God!

I cannot help but remember and be moved by the memory of Lumad bakwit students whom we journeyed with during my first year as a seminarian. Despite the closure of their schools, the constant threats and attacks they faced, and the death of one of their most staunch leaders – Bai Bibyaon Bigkay – they dared to continue the struggle for their land and their people. I, too, cannot help but reminisce in my reflection, the narratives of urban poor communities such as those in Sitio San Roque (Quezon City), Maisan (Sampaloc), and many more whose sense of solidarity continue to make them firm in the fight for their place and dignity in the cities. And also, despite the nearing deadline, once again, of the consolidation of jeepneys this April 30 to pave way for the anti-masa “PUV Modernization Program,” groups like PISTON, Manibela, and a wide number of tsupers alongside other sectors of society do not lose hope and unite in the struggle against such problematic policy and program by the current government.

These are only some of the many, often unheard or overlooked resurrection stories of our time and society. Especially in this age wherein the threats of continuous attacks and abuses by those in power worsen, the possibilities of re-entry of imperialist forces, and the poor socio-economic conditions of ordinary Filipinos continue to deteriorate – wounds become more prevalent. And yet, such wounds cry all the more for healing and redemption. Such moments of passion and death for our people challenge us all to rise up and continue the prayer and struggle for our resurrection.

As Easter people, this is our hope. So may it be. Amen, Alleluia!