Kaisa at Nagkakaisa sa Diyos na Isa

Click: (Readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity)

Iisa lang ang Diyos, ngunit may Tatlong Persona. Marahil kakaiba ito sa pandinig o sa lohika ng mga 'di Katoliko. Paano nga naman nangyaring ang tatlo ay isa lang? Bilang mga Katoliko, naniniwala tayo sa doktrina ng Holy Trinity o Santisima Trinidad. Inihayag sa atin ng iisang Diyos ang katotohanang ito: Siya ay Ama, Anak at Espiritu Santo. Sumasampalataya tayo dito dahil ito ay mula sa Diyos, kahit pa hindi natin ito ganap na maunawaan.

Sa kasaysayan ng ating kaligtasan ay unti-unting inihayag ng Diyos ang Kanyang sarili bilang Trinity. Sa simula pa nga lamang ay mayroon nang pahiwatig ng katotohanang ito: "Likhain natin ang tao... (Gen 1:26, akin ang pagdiriin)". Kumikilos ang Diyos all throughout salvation history as Trinity. Nilikha tayo ng Diyos Ama. Niligtas tayo ni Jesus, ang Diyos Anak. Pinababanal at ginagabayan naman tayo ng Diyos Espiritu Santo.

Ang Tatlong Persona ng Holy Trinity ay isang komunidad ng pag-ibig. God is love. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit love each other. Nais ng isang Diyos na maging bahagi rin tayo ng Kanyang divine life of love. Sa Ebanghelyo ngayon, narinig nating sinabi ng Diyos Anak na gagabayan ng Diyos Espiritu Santo ang mga alagad Niya at ihahayag sa ating mga Kristiyano ang katotohanang mula sa Diyos Ama. Diyos nga ang lumikha, nagligtas at patuloy na gumagabay sa atin. At ang patutunguhan natin ay walang iba kundi ang Diyos din. Ang makapiling ang Diyos Ama, Anak at Espiritu Santo ang layunin ng bawat Kristiyano at siya rin namang kaganapan ng salvation history.

Ang Santisima Trinidad din ang imahe ng layunin ng Diyos para sa mga tao, lalo't higit para sa mga Kristiyano - ang maging isa. Pagkakaisa ang isa sa mga panalangin ni Jesus para sa atin bago Siya pinako sa krus. Itinatag Niya ang Simbahang Katoliko bilang sakramento o tanda ng Kanyang kaligtasan. Bilang pamayanan ng mga nananampalataya sa Diyos, dapat nating pahalagahan ang ating pagkakaisa, ang ating pakikitungo sa ating kapwa, kahit hindi pa Kristiyano. Dapat din tayong maging isa sa pananalig, pananalangin at pagsasabuhay ng ating pananampalataya. Nagagawa natin ito sa pamamagitan ng ating tapat na pagtalima sa mga turo ng Simbahan in matters of faith and morals, at sa ating pakikiisa sa pagsamba sa Diyos, lalo na sa Banal na Misa.

Sa ating pagkakaisa bilang Simbahan, sama-sama tayong naglalakbay at ginagabayan ng Diyos patungo sa Kanya: pinagkakaisa upang maging kaisa rin ng Banal na Santatlo.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be world without end. Amen. 

Ang Espiritu ng Pag-aampon

Click: (Readings for the Solemnity of Pentecost)

Ang pagbaba ng Espiritu Santo sa mga Apostol at sa Mahal na Birheng Maria ang huling ipinagdiriwang natin sa Panahon ng Muling Pagkabuhay (Easter Season). Ang pagdating ng Espiritu Santo ay bahagi ng plano ng kaligtasan ng Banal na Santatlo. Ang Diyos Ama ang lumikha sa tao. Ang Diyos Anak ang nagligtas o lumikhang muli. At ang Diyos Espiritu Santo ang tagapagpabanal at patnubay.

Ayon kay San Pablo, ang Espiritu Santo ay ang espiritu ng pag-aampon sa atin ng Diyos. Sa pagtanggap natin sa Espiritu Santo sa Binyag, we are incorporated into the life of the Holy Trinity. Nagiging mga anak tayo ng Diyos at kabahagi sa mga merits ng Misteryo Paskal ni Jesus.

Ang Espiritu Santo ang gabay natin sa bagong buhay na tinanggap natin bilang pakikiisa sa Pagkabuhay ni Jesus. Sa pamamagitan ng Banal na Espiritu, nakikiisa tayo sa pag-aalay ni Jesus sa Ama sa Banal na Misa. Gabay natin ang Espiritu Santo sa pakikiisa sa Misteryo Paskal ni Jesus hanggang sa pagsasabuhay nito.

Samakatuwid, it is through the Holy Spirit that we become sons of God and it is also through Him that we continue to live out this dignity as sons. Kung gayon, tulad ng sinabi ni San Pablo, bilang mga anak ng Diyos ay dapat nating iwaksi ang kasalanan, ang mga bagay na nauukol sa laman. The Holy Spirit strengthens us in our daily living and guides us, reminding us of all that Jesus taught.

Siya rin ang nagbibigay sa atin ng mga kakayahang maaari nating gamitin sa pagbubuo ng Simbahan, ang sambayanan ng Diyos. Sa Banal na Espiritu ay napapag-isa lahat ng ating mga kontribusyon para sa ikabubuti ng lahat.

Ang Espiritu Santo ang nagbigay buhay noon sa mga unang Kristiyano upang ipahayag si Jesus sa Salita at gawa. Kung nananahan sa atin ang Espiritu Santo, dapat ay may lakas din tayo at determinasyon na isabuhay at ipahayag ang lahat ng itinuro sa atin ni Jesus.

Loving Jesus

Click: (Readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter)

The Gospel today presents Jesus reminding His disciples that to love Him means to keep His word. In a way, He is preparing them for the age of the Church, a time when the Kingdom of God is already there but not quite yet. Specifically, He is preparing them for His Ascension, His "going to the Father".

The First Reading gives us a glimpse of how the early Church handled conflicts by consulting the apostles - an obvious evidence of the authority of the Church hierarchy based on Jesus' promise that the Holy Spirit will always guide His Church. Through the apostles, the Holy Spirit revealed that Jesus' Church must be Catholic, embracing all peoples. The Second Reading, on the other hand, shows us the destiny of our Catholic Church; she is the New and Heavenly Jerusalem, founded on the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Our destiny as the Church is to be with our Lord God in heaven.

Jesus'  reminder is also for us. We cannot be His disciples if we do not love Him and if we do not heed His words. This is common sense: a Christian is a follower of Christ, obedient to Him. In this discourse, Jesus also gives us assurance that He will not really leave us. He and the Father will dwell in those who love Him and keep His word. He also promises His Holy Spirit and His gift of peace. In other words, the Church, the community of believers, lovers and followers of Jesus is invited to share, and do in fact already share, in the life of the Most Holy Trinity, in that perfect communion of love.

Indeed, to be perfected in love in communion with the Three Divine Persons in heavenly glory is the Church's destination. But even now on earth, we must practice that love, as Jesus admonished us to.

The Imitation of Christ's Love

Click: (Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter)

The First and Second Reading give us a glimpse of the Church. The First shows us the Church in her early years, with St. Paul and Barnabas doing missionary work and exhorting the disciples: “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” The Second Reading presents to us a Church triumphant in heaven, with her Lord and God making “all things new”.

In the Gospel today, Jesus exhorts his Apostles to love one another. This is His commandment for His Church. By this love, all will know Jesus’ disciples. Indeed, the first Christian communities attracted attention because they practiced Jesus’ commandment of love.

To love as Jesus loved is how we must love as Christians. Christian love is loving even if it means having to sacrifice and to endure hardships. Christian love seeks to serve others and not to be served. Christian love is loving even one’s enemies and persecutors. Jesus commands His disciples to love one another before He died. And on the cross, He showed them how to do it the Christian way. On the cross, as Jesus loved sinful mankind until death, the Church was born and redeemed.

God created humanity out of love. Jesus redeemed men out of love. With the grace of the Holy Spirit, Jesus exhorts His redeemed people, His Church, to be a community of love. We cannot be Christians who just individually believe and love God. We must be Christians who believe and love God even as we love one another. This Church, this community of believers united in love, is the Church whom the Apostles lovingly ministered to. She is the heavenly Jerusalem, the people for whom there will be no more death, mourning or pain. She is the Bride of Jesus, her Lord whose love she imitates.

Ordination at the Vatican Basilica (Pictures and Pope's Homily)

Last April 21, 2013, World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Francis ordained to the priesthood some deacons of the Diocese of Rome at the Vatican Basilica. Below are some pictures of the Ordination (from News.va facebook) and the Pope's homily (from The Vatican websibe)

The Pope's homily:

PRIESTLY ORDINATIONS

HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS

Vatican Basilica

Fourth Sunday of Easter, 21 April 2013

The homily delivered by the Holy Father is based on the one that appears in the Pontificale Romanum for the ordination of priests, with one or two personal additions.

Beloved brothers and sisters: because these our sons, who are your relatives and friends, are now to be advanced to the Order of priests, consider carefully the nature of the rank in the Church to which they are about to be raised.

It is true that God has made his entire holy people a royal priesthood in Christ. Nevertheless, our great Priest himself, Jesus Christ, chose certain disciples to carry out publicly in his name, and on behalf of mankind, a priestly office in the Church. For Christ was sent by the Father and he in turn sent the Apostles into the world, so that through them and their successors, the Bishops, he might continue to exercise his office of Teacher, Priest, and Shepherd. Indeed, priests are established co-workers of the Order of Bishops, with whom they are joined in the priestly office and with whom they are called to the service of the people of God.

After mature deliberation and prayer, these, our brothers, are now to be ordained to the priesthood in the Order of the presbyterate so as to serve Christ the Teacher, Priest, and Shepherd, by whose ministry his body, that is, the Church, is built and grows into the people of God, a holy temple.

In being configured to Christ the eternal High Priest and joined to the priesthood of the Bishops, they will be consecrated as true priests of the New Testament, to preach the Gospel, to shepherd God’s people, and to celebrate the sacred Liturgy, especially the Lord’s sacrifice.

Now, my dear brothers and sons, you are to be raised to the Order of the Priesthood. For your part you will exercise the sacred duty of teaching in the name of Christ the Teacher. Impart to everyone the word of God which you have received with joy.  Remember your mothers, your grandmothers, your catechists, who gave you the word of God, the faith ... the gift of faith!  They transmitted to you this gift of faith.  Meditating on the law of the Lord, see that you believe what you read, that you teach what you believe, and that you practise what you teach.  Remember too that the word of God is not your property: it is the word of God.  And the Church is the custodian of the word of God.

In this way, let what you teach be nourishment for the people of God. Let the holiness of your lives be a delightful fragrance to Christ’s faithful, so that by word and example you may build up the house which is God’s Church.

Likewise you will exercise in Christ the office of sanctifying. For by your ministry the spiritual sacrifice of the faithful will be made perfect, being united to the sacrifice of Christ, which will be offered through your hands in an unbloody way on the altar, in union with the faithful, in the celebration of the sacraments. Understand, therefore, what you do and imitate what you celebrate. As celebrants of the mystery of the Lord’s death and resurrection, strive to put to death whatever in your members is sinful and to walk in newness of life.

You will gather others into the people of God through Baptism, and you will forgive sins in the name of Christ and the Church in the sacrament of Penance.  Today I ask you in the name of Christ and the Church, never tire of being merciful.  You will comfort the sick and the elderly with holy oil: do not hesitate to show tenderness towards the elderly. When you celebrate the sacred rites, when you offer prayers of praise and thanks to God throughout the hours of the day, not only for the people of God but for the world—remember then that you are taken from among men and appointed on their behalf for those things that pertain to God. Therefore, carry out the ministry of Christ the Priest with constant joy and genuine love, attending not to your own concerns but to those of Jesus Christ.  You are pastors, not functionaries. Be mediators, not intermediaries.

Finally, dear sons, exercising for your part the office of Christ, Head and Shepherd, while united with the Bishop and subject to him, strive to bring the faithful together into one family, so that you may lead them to God the Father through Christ in the Holy Spirit. Keep always before your eyes the example of the Good Shepherd who came not to be served but to serve, and who came to seek out and save what was lost.

Pagtalima sa Mapagkalinga

Click: (Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter)

Tayo ang tupa at si Jesus ang pastol natin. "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand." Napakasarap pakinggan ng mga sinabi ni Jesus sa Ebanghelyo ngayon. You just "feel safe in His arms," ayon nga sa linya ng mga babae sa kanilang mga boyfriend o asawa.

Tama nga naman, ang Panginoon ang ating masasandalan at gabay sa daang patungo sa ginhawa - ginhawang hindi lang makamundo, kundi ginhawa sa buhay na walang hanggan. Siya ang Mabuting Pastol at tayo ang Kanyang mga tupang lubos na minamahal, mga tupang pinag-alayan Niya ng buhay, ng Kanyang sariling Katawan at Dugo. Ang Simbahan ang Kawan ni Kristo, ang Pastol na Siya ring Kordero sa ating Ikalawang Pagbasa ngayon.

Ngunit ang relasyong pastol-tupa ay hindi lamang tungkol sa pagkalinga ng pastol. Bilang tupa, may tungkulin din tayo - ang tumalima sa tinig ng Mabuting Pastol. “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me," ika nga ng Panginoon.

Katangian ng tupa ang pagiging masunurin. Sa pastol siya nakadepende kaya't sumusunod siya dito. Ganoon rin tayo sa Panginoon. Because we are "safe in His arms" nga, because He provides for us and guides us, ang dapat nating maging tugon ay pagsunod sa Kanya.

Sa Unang Pagbasa ay makikita ang hindi pagtalima o pakikinig ng ilang mga Hudyo sa Salita ng Panginoon na pinahahayag nila San Pablo. Sa pagpapahayag ni San Pablo ng Salita ng Diyos ay naging malinaw na ang Kawan ni Jesus na "nakikinig sa Kanya" ay hindi lamang para sa mga Hudyo, kundi sa lahat ng tumatalima sa Kanyang tinig.

Bilang tupa, naririnig natin ang tinig ng Mabuting Pastol natin sa Salita ng Diyos, sa pangangaral ng Santo Papa, mga obispo at pari na mga tinalaga ni Jesus bilang pastol natin dito sa lupa. Paano tayo tumatalima sa tinig Niya? Sumusunod ba tayo sa mga aral ng Ebanghelyo at nagpapasailalim ba tayo sa paggabay ng Simbahan? Alam naman natin kung ano'ng nangyayari sa mga tupang may sariling daang sinusundan - naliligaw! Pero ang tunay na tupa ni Kristo, tumatalima!

P.E. Benedict XVI's Message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations 2013

MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER
FOR THE 50th WORLD DAY 
OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

21 APRIL 2013 - FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Theme: Vocations as a sign of hope founded in faith

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On the occasion of the 50^th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, to be held on 21 April 2013, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, I want to invite you to reflect on the theme: “Vocations as a sign of hope founded in faith”, which happily occurs during the Year of Faith, the year marking the 50^thanniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. While the Council was in session, the Servant of God, Paul VI, instituted this day of worldwide prayer to God the Father, asking him to continue to send workers for his Church (cf. Mt 9:38). “The problem of having a sufficient number of priests”, as the Pope stated at the time, “has an immediate impact on all of the faithful: not simply because they depend on it for the religious future of Christian society, but also because this problem is the precise and inescapable indicator of the vitality of faith and love of individual parish and diocesan communities, and the evidence of the moral health of Christian families. Wherever numerous vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life are to be found, that is where people are living the Gospel with generosity” (Paul VI, Radio Message, 11 April 1964).

During the intervening decades, the various Christian communities all over the world have gathered each year on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, united in prayer, to ask from God the gift of holy vocations and to propose once again, for the reflection of all, the urgent need to respond to the divine call. Indeed, this significant annual event has fostered a strong commitment to placing the importance of vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life ever more at the centre of the spirituality, prayer and pastoral action of the faithful.

Hope is the expectation of something positive in the future, yet at the same time it must sustain our present existence, which is often marked by dissatisfaction and failures. On what is our hope founded? Looking at the history of the people of Israel, recounted in the Old Testament, we see one element that constantly emerges, especially in times of particular difficulty like the time of the Exile, an element found especially in the writings of the prophets, namely remembrance of God’s promises to the Patriarchs: a remembrance that invites us to imitate the exemplary attitude of Abraham, who, as Saint Paul reminds us, “believed, hoping against hope, that he would become ‘the father of many nations,’ according to what was said, ‘Thus shall your descendants be’" (Rom4:18). One consoling and enlightening truth which emerges from the whole of salvation history, then, is God’s faithfulness to the covenant that he entered into, renewing it whenever man infringed it through infidelity and sin, from the time of the flood (cf. Gen 8:21-22) to that of the Exodus and the journey through the desert (cf. Dt 9:7). That same faithfulness led him to seal the new and eternal covenant with man, through the blood of his Son, who died and rose again for our salvation.

At every moment, especially the most difficult ones, the Lord’s faithfulness is always the authentic driving force of salvation history, which arouses the hearts of men and women and confirms them in the hope of one day reaching the “promised land”. This is where we find the sure foundation of every hope: God never abandons us and he remains true to his word. For that reason, in every situation, whether positive or negative, we can nourish a firm hope and pray with the psalmist: “Only in God can my soul find rest; my hope comes from him” (Ps 62:6). To have hope, therefore, is the equivalent of trusting in God who is faithful, who keeps the promises of the covenant. Faith and hope, then, are closely related. “Hope” in fact is a key word in biblical faith, to the extent that in certain passages the words “faith” and “hope” seem to be interchangeable. In this way, the Letter to the Hebrews makes a direct connection between the “unwavering profession of hope” (10:23) and the “fullness of faith” (10:22). Similarly, when the First Letter of Saint Peter exhorts the Christians to be always ready to give an account of the “logos” – the meaning and rationale – of their hope (cf. 3:15), “hope” is the equivalent of “faith” (Spe Salvi, 2).

Dear Brothers and Sisters, what exactly is God’s faithfulness, to which we adhere with unwavering hope? It is his love! He, the Father, pours his love into our innermost self through the Holy Spirit (cf.Rom 5:5). And this love, fully manifested in Jesus Christ, engages with our existence and demands a response in terms of what each individual wants to do with his or her life, and what he or she is prepared to offer in order to live it to the full. The love of God sometimes follows paths one could never have imagined, but it always reaches those who are willing to be found. Hope is nourished, then, by this certainty: “We ourselves have known and believed in the love that God has for us” (1 Jn 4:16). This deep, demanding love, which penetrates well below the surface, gives us courage; it gives us hope in our life’s journey and in our future; it makes us trust in ourselves, in history and in other people. I want to speak particularly to the young and I say to you once again: “What would your life be without this love? God takes care of men and women from creation to the end of time, when he will bring his plan of salvation to completion. In the Risen Lord we have the certainty of our hope!” (Address to Young People of the Diocese of San Marino-Montefeltro, 19 June 2011).

Just as he did during his earthly existence, so today the risen Jesus walks along the streets of our life and sees us immersed in our activities, with all our desires and our needs. In the midst of our everyday circumstances he continues to speak to us; he calls us to live our life with him, for only he is capable of satisfying our thirst for hope. He lives now among the community of disciples that is the Church, and still today calls people to follow him. The call can come at any moment. Today too, Jesus continues to say, “Come, follow me” (Mk 10:21). Accepting his invitation means no longer choosing our own path. Following him means immersing our own will in the will of Jesus, truly giving him priority, giving him pride of place in every area of our lives: in the family, at work, in our personal interests, in ourselves. It means handing over our very lives to Him, living in profound intimacy with Him, entering through Him into communion with the Father in the Holy Spirit, and consequently with our brothers and sisters. This communion of life with Jesus is the privileged “setting” in which we can experience hope and in which life will be full and free.

Vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life are born out of the experience of a personal encounter with Christ, out of sincere and confident dialogue with him, so as to enter into his will. It is necessary, therefore, to grow in the experience of faith, understood as a profound relationship with Jesus, as inner attentiveness to his voice which is heard deep within us. This process, which enables us to respond positively to God’s call, is possible in Christian communities where the faith is lived intensely, where generous witness is given of adherence to the Gospel, where there is a strong sense of mission which leads people to make the total gift of self for the Kingdom of God, nourished by recourse to the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and by a fervent life of prayer. This latter “must on the one hand be something very personal, an encounter between my intimate self and God, the living God. On the other hand it must be constantly guided and enlightened by the great prayers of the Church and of the saints, by liturgical prayer, in which the Lord teaches us again and again how to pray properly.” (Spe Salvi, 34).

Deep and constant prayer brings about growth in the faith of the Christian community, in the unceasingly renewed certainty that God never abandons his people and that he sustains them by raising up particular vocations – to the priesthood and the consecrated life – so that they can be signs of hope for the world. Indeed, priests and religious are called to give themselves unconditionally to the People of God, in a service of love for the Gospel and the Church, serving that firm hope which can only come from an openness to the divine. By means of the witness of their faith and apostolic zeal, therefore, they can transmit, especially to the younger generations, a strong desire to respond generously and promptly to Christ who calls them to follow him more closely. Whenever a disciple of Jesus accepts the divine call to dedicate himself to the priestly ministry or to the consecrated life, we witness one of the most mature fruits of the Christian community, which helps us to look with particular trust and hope to the future of the Church and to her commitment to evangelization. This constantly requires new workers to preach the Gospel, to celebrate the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. So let there be committed priests, who know how to accompany young people as “companions on the journey”, helping them, on life’s often tortuous and difficult path, to recognize Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life (cf. Jn 14:6), telling them, with Gospel courage, how beautiful it is to serve God, the Christian community, one’s brothers and sisters. Let there be priests who manifest the fruitfulness of an enthusiastic commitment, which gives a sense of completeness to their lives, because it is founded on faith in him who loved us first (cf. 1 Jn 4:19).

Equally, I hope that young people, who are presented with so many superficial and ephemeral options, will be able to cultivate a desire for what is truly worthy, for lofty objectives, radical choices, service to others in imitation of Jesus. Dear young people, do not be afraid to follow him and to walk the demanding and courageous paths of charity and generous commitment! In that way you will be happy to serve, you will be witnesses of a joy that the world cannot give, you will be living flames of an infinite and eternal love, you will learn to “give an account of the hope that is within you” (1 Pt 3:15)!

From the Vatican, 6 October 2012

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

This message is from The Vatican website.