Easter Sunday: The Living One is not among the Dead

EASTER SUNDAY 2019

YEAR OF THE YOUTH

APRIL 21, 2019

JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU!

Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early in Easter morning. She expected to find the corpse of Jesus there and she came to anoint him. But to her surprise, she found the stone removed from the tomb and when she reported it to Peter and John, they ran to the tomb in order to investigate. They found the tomb empty. There were the burial cloths and other linen. But the body was missing. Jesus was not in the tomb.

Why was Jesus not in the tomb? It was because he is risen from the dead. A tomb is no place for a living person. It is the resting place of the dead. It is not for the living. Why look for the living among the dead?

During the Lenten season, we were confronted by the reality of sin. Sin is the cause of death. Death entered the world through sin. Jesus engaged in a battle against the devil and eventually died. The sinless One seemed to be defeated by sin itself because he was afflicted with death. He had to enter death in order to destroy it from within. (His strategy was similar to that of the Trojan horse) Obediently accepting death on the Cross, Jesus destroyed the chains of death that bound us. He had to be chained by the shackles of death so that he can break it. He broke the chains of death by destroying the cause of death: disobedience. His obedience undid the disobedience of Adam and Eve. His humiliation overturned the arrogance of Satan. Once the cause is destroyed, the effect is shattered.

Through his death on the Cross, Jesus obtained for us the grace of the forgiveness of sins. (How do you destroy sin? It is destroyed by forgiving it in the same way that disease is destroyed by curing it.) This forgiveness is given to us through the sacraments of Baptism and Confession. When we are in sin, we find ourselves enslaved to the tomb. We were dead because of sin. But now he calls us to come out of the tomb. “The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.” Resurrecting from the dead, Jesus came out of the tomb and he bids us to follow him out of the death of sin into the life of grace. St. Paul tells us: “Clear out the old yeast (of sin), so that you may become a fresh batch of dough; inasmuch as you are unleavened. For Christ, our Paschal Lamb, has been sacrificed.”

He tells us to confess our sins and renounce them. By doing so, we cast away the yeast of sin. We are freed from our slavery to sin and therefore, are released from the curse of everlasting death. It is only when we are freed from sin that we cannot be harmed by death forever. Only Christ can do this for us. We have to believe in him and reach out for the instruments he gives us to obtain mercy and forgiveness. Those who ask for forgiveness will come out of the tomb and live. Those who refuse that mercy will remain dead in the tomb. Christ is not in the tomb because he is alive. The tomb is the place of the dead because Christ is not there. Whoever lives in sin is actually dead because Christ is not in him. Whoever obtains mercy is alive and is able to say: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20) “Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Easter Vigil: Dying and Rising with Christ

EASTER VIGIL 2019   

YEAR OF THE YOUTH

April 20, 2019

Jesus, I trust in you!

“At daybreak on the 1^st day of the week, the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus took the spices they have prepared and went to the tomb.” We accompany tonight these women for we, too, had come from Galilee with Jesus. This journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, in a sense, is what our Lenten Journey is all about. It was a 40 day journey of prayer and fasting. It was a 40 day ascent to Jerusalem where, Jesus said, he was to suffer in the hands of evil men and die in order to enter into his glory. Throughout this Lenten journey, we shared in our Lord’s battle against the devil. Jesus began it by fasting in the desert where he was tempted by Satan. He overcame the seductions of the evil one by his constant absolute and unconditional obedience to the Father’s will. He was obedient until death, death on the Cross. He accomplished everything the Father sent him to do. His obedience undid the curse of Adam’s disobedience. His humiliation destroyed the arrogant works of the devil.

He invited us to accompany him in this ascent to Jerusalem. This he did by revealing to us ugliness and danger of sin. Then, he revealed to us the Father who is the true Source of Joy and Mercy. He invited us to repent lest we “perish as they did.” As what happened to the prodigal son, he wanted us to come to our senses and return to the Father. He assures us not to fear because he will not condemn us if we return to him. Through prayer and fasting for 40 days, we have prepared ourselves for tonight’s feast.

And so, we are here with the women at the tomb. The heavy stone which the soldier used to seal the tomb was meant to keep the corpse of Jesus in it. But it was not heavy enough. The stone was rolled away. Nothing can keep Jesus in the tomb. “Death no longer has power over him.” The living One cannot be found among the dead. He is no longer in the tomb for he has risen from the dead.

And we will also rise with him to eternal life only if we accompany him in his death. We died with him when we were baptized. In the waters of baptism, the old Adam died and was buried in it. We have risen as a new creation. And this is what we are reminded of year after year. Every year, we pray and fast for 40 days so that on the Easter Vigil like the one we celebrate today, we would be worthy to renew our baptismal promises. We come to the tomb to be reminded again and again that we have already died with Christ and that we must live lives renewed in baptismal grace. Maybe time and again, we forget who were as like the prodigal son who forgot that he was his father’s son. Maybe time and again, we have become unfaithful to God, our first love, as the adulterous woman was.  But every Lent, we are given the grace to rise from where we have fallen to return to the house of the Father. Every Lent, we are given the grace to hear the loving words of the Lord: “I do not condemn you. Go and from now on, do not sin anymore.

Having been absolved of our sins through confession, we now come to the tomb. We stand rejoicing in the fact that God’s forgiveness renews all things. God’s forgiveness renews us. We stand amazed at what had happened. We are amazed at how the dead Savior can rise again. We stand amazed at how we, who were dead in sin, can be raised by the forgiveness of the Lord. We stand amazed at how we, who were condemned to die, “now live in newness of life.” “A dead person has been absolved from sin.”

To be here at the tomb during this Easter Vigil is indeed a grace which we should treasure. Let us strive not to lose this grace of new life. Let us not carelessly give it up for the fleeting pleasures of the world. Let us resolve to no longer go back to the slavery of sin. Let us “think of (ourselves) as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.”

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

The Case of the Missing Body

EASTER SUNDAY B

YEAR OF THE CLERGY AND CONSECRATED PERSONS

APRIL 1, 2018

Jesus, I trust in you!

When the Magdalene told them about the missing body of Jesus, Peter and John ran to the tomb. They both saw nothing but the burial cloths and the cloth that had covered the head of the corpse rolled up in a separate place. The burial garments were neatly folded but the body was not there.

The grave clothes of Jesus were neatly folded. This tells us that the missing body of Jesus could not have been the work of grave robbers. Remember that robbers of tombs have been known to take away the clothes and leave the body. None ever took away the body and left the clothes, especially when it was fine linen and new. Anyone would rather choose to carry a dead body in its clothes than carry a naked corpse while leaving the grave clothes behind. Besides, what tomb robber would find leisure to fold up the linen?

The folded up burial cloths tell us that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead and he will never die again. Unlike ghosts who supposedly appear wearing their grave clothes or Lazarus who came out of the tomb with his grave clothes on, the Lord Jesus rose from the dead and laid the grave clothes aside. He rose to immortal life. He will never die again. He came out free of the encumbrances of the burial cloths. He set them aside because he was clothed with the robes of glory. As the prophet Elijah dropped his mantle as he ascended to heaven on a flaming chariot, so also the Lord Jesus left behind his earthly burial clothes because he will no longer need them in heaven where death is no more.

St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians said that we should clear out the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, so that we may celebrate the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. When we arise from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, we must leave our grave-clothes behind us…we must put off our corruptions. We have gone through the difficult discipline of Lent. Having confessed our sins, we have made reparation for them through our acts of mortification. Holy Week has witnessed the intensity of our penance. Now that it ends with the feast of the Resurrection, it is not right to go back to our former ways. The end of Holy Week does not mean back to regular programming. Rather, we should strive to rise from where we have fallen and follow Christ more resolutely. “If you have been raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above and not of what is on earth.”

Our Lenten journey culminates with our personal and collective renunciation of Satan, his works and his empty promises. This means that we have to really leave our grave clothes behind. The renunciation will be followed by the renewal of our faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This entails a serious commitment from us to strive to be better disciples, more resolute followers of Jesus. Let us rise from the tomb together with Jesus today. Let us leave behind our grave clothes and put on our wedding garments for we shall attend a feast. Christ, our Paschal Lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us celebrate the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Dying and Rising with Christ

EASTER VIGIL 2018

YEAR OF THE CLERGY AND CONSECRATED PERSONS

MARCH 31, 2018

Jesus, I trust in you!

Last Palm Sunday, we heard the passion narrative of St. Mark. We saw how our Lord was left alone by his disciples who betrayed, abandoned, and denied him during that moment when darkness reigned supreme. There was one detail of the narrative that is found only in the Gospel according to Mark: it is the detail of a young man who followed Jesus in the garden. He had nothing on but a loin cloth. During the commotion at the arrest of the Lord, some men tried to catch also the young man by holding on to his loincloth. He escaped naked, leaving behind his garment.

This mysterious young man is the symbol of the catechumens who have been preparing themselves for baptism by studying the Sacred Scriptures and by learning the teachings of the Lord. Like every human being born of Adam and Eve, these catechumens are born in the misery of the human nature we have inherited from them. “All men have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.” After their fall into sin, our first parents realized that they were naked and so they hid themselves in shame. As our first parents, stripped of sanctifying grace, were driven out of the garden of Eden, so also the young man ran away naked from the garden.

Today, when the sun had risen, the women entered the tomb and there the young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe. They saw him in the tomb because the catechumen was baptized and as St. Paul said: “we who were baptized into his death. We were indeed buried with him through baptism into his death.” As Christ was buried in the tomb, every catechumen, at his baptism, is buried together with Jesus. As Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we also live in newness of life. And so, the neophyte is no longer naked but now clothed in a white robe. The white robe is the sign of belonging to heaven. At the transfiguration, the Lord was clothed in dazzling white because he is the Son of Man who came down from heaven. The baptismal garment is white because the one who was baptized no longer belongs to the world. He now belongs to heaven where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father. Baptism consecrates us to God. We belong no longer to this earth. We belong to heaven.

And the newly baptized man became the bearer of the Good News of the Resurrection: “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.” As Christ was sent to bring the Gospel to the poor, so also every baptized Christian is sent by Christ “to bring the Gospel to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” The newly baptized Christian becomes a herald of reconciliation to all of us who have fallen from our fidelity to the Lord…to all of us who have denied, abandoned, and betrayed him. He tells us: Go and tell his disciples and Peter: He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him as he told you.” He goes before us to Galilee, to where the disciples first met and were called by Jesus. He goes before us to Galilee where we first met him. Is it not true that when an intimate relationship is strained and broken, we go to the place of the first meeting in the hope that we would find our lost loved one there? There, broken relationships are mended and so is found the chance to start all over again. He goes before us to Galilee so that we may start following again.

After the baptism of our three catechumens, we shall all renew our baptismal promises. Having confessed our failures and sins, we again profess the faith of our baptism. Through baptism, our catechumens will enter the tomb and be buried together with Christ. They shall be clothed with the graces of the Holy Spirit. Clothed in white, they will tell us to go to Galilee and there meet the Risen Jesus who goes before us. He will not shame us nor reprimand us for our betrayals, abandonments, and denials. Rather, he will restore to our repentant hearts the graces of the Holy Spirit. The Lord will make us belong to him once again. He will invite us to rise from where we have fallen and invite us to follow him once more. Let us go to meet him in Galilee with the firm resolve never to betray, nor abandon, nor deny him. We must think of ourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Christ: Priest and Victim

GOOD FRIDAY 2018

YEAR OF THE CLERGY AND CONSECRATED PERSONS

MARCH 30, 2018

Jesus I trust in you!

Good Friday in the Year of Priests gives us the occasion to meditate on the High Priesthood of Jesus because the mystery of our Lord’s suffering and death on the Cross gives light to the reason why we always speak of the Priesthood of Christ. First of all, we should ask: Who is the Priest and what does he do? The concept of the priesthood is not exclusive to the Catholic religion. The priesthood is found in all religions because religion seeks to offer God the worship that rightfully befits him. The virtue of religion is the virtue that inclines the human heart to offer God worship that is his due. And in every religion, the highest act of worship is always the sacrifice in which an animal or a human being is killed in order to profess the dominion of the deity over life and death. Of all acts of worship, the sacrifice is the highest and the costliest because it involves the snuffing out of a victim’s life. This death is brought about by the separation of the blood from the flesh or the body of the victim. And the one who offers the victim, the one who kills the victim is called a “priest.” And so, the chief work of a priest is to offer the sacrifice to the deity in the highest act of worship of that religion.

And it is on Good Friday that we see Jesus in the very act of performing his duty as the High Priest of the New Covenant. In the Old Testament priesthood, the high priest on the Day of Atonement, kills a bull and a goat. And taking the blood of the animals, he enters the Holy of Holies and there, sprinkles the blood on the atonement cover for his own sins and for the people’s. Today, as Jesus expires, he enters into the Holy of Holies, “passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by human hands (not belonging to creation). He entered, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, and achieved eternal redemption.” Jesus is the only one who is priest and victim at the same time. All other priests have to kill a victim other than himself because if they killed themselves, that would be the end of their service to God. Jesus is the only one who could offer himself because he is the Lamb who once was slain but now he lives forever.”

Jesus offered the most perfect sacrifice which man can ever offer to God. This is because his obedience to the Father’s will is perfect. Worship can only be perfect and acceptable if it comes from an absolutely obedient heart. Thus, the blood of this perfectly obedient Son of God is even more greatly powerful than the blood of animals or of any other human being. “If the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God!”

“This is why Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant…Christ entered heaven itself that he might appear before God on our behalf…He has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sins once for all by his sacrifice…Christ was offered up once to take away the sins of many; he will appear a second time…to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.”

It was on the Cross on this day when Jesus exercised his priestly ministry. The Lord Jesus was hung upon the Cross as both priest and victim. He offered the Father his obedience and in so doing, he is the priest. He died and in so doing he is the victim. This priestly ministry of Jesus is made present in every celebration of the Sacred Liturgy. In the Liturgy and through the ministry of the priest, Jesus offers to his Father the perfect worship and in doing so, he brings about the sanctification of his people. This is the highest and the only sacrifice that is acceptable to the Father. Nothing can ever rival this sacrifice in its perfection. “The price of (our) redemption was not something of fleeting value like gold or silver, but the costly shedding of the blood of Christ, the lamb without blemish…The blood of Jesus Christ washes away all our sins.”

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

He humbled himself

HOLY THURSDAY 2018

YEAR OF THE CLERGY AND CONSECRATED PERSONS

MARCH 29, 2018

Jesus, I trust in you!

This year’s celebration of Holy Thursday takes a special significance for me not only because it is the Year of the Clergy and Consecrated Persons but also because I am journeying this year towards my silver jubilee as a priest on November 30, 2018. I think added to this is the wonderful news announced at Chrism Mass this morning that I am retained to my assignment here as Parish priest for the next 3 years.

In the Holy Gospel today, we were told that “Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end…(He) was fully aware that the Father had given everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God.” The Lord Jesus knew who he really is…He is God the Son, the Lord and Master: “You call me Lord and Master and rightly so for indeed I am.” He makes no pretenses about this. He does not deny his greatness in an attitude of false humility. He knew who he was: he is the one to whose power the Father had given everything. And this knowledge of his own greatness makes what he did even so remarkable: “He rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist.” To me, St. Paul gives the appropriate interpretation of what Jesus did: “Though he was in the form of God, Jesus did not deem equality with God, something that was within his grasp. But rather he emptied himself and took the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” Do you remember the Transfiguration of Jesus? Jesus’ face shone like the sun and his garments because excessively brilliant. This brilliance, this external glory was what Jesus took off at his incarnation. The outer garments which he took off stood for the external glory of his Divinity which Jesus took off when he became man. This is what we call the Kenosis of Jesus. Jesus emptied himself and took the form of a slave, which is our human likeness. That towel which he tied around his waist was the human nature he assumed for himself. He was clad in the garments of a slave. He who is so great, so much like God his Father, humbled himself and became a slave. But the Incarnation was not the end of his humiliation. He humbled himself even further by obediently accepting death on a Cross. He poured water into a basin and washed the feet of his disciples. Feet washing is an act of courtesy shown by Jews to visitors considering the fact that the roads in Israel are either dusty or muddy. However, feet washing is a very menial task. It is an act so low…so demeaning a task that it is never assigned to a Jewish slave on account of his dignity as part of the chosen people of God. And so there he is…God the Son to whom everything has been given by the Father…he now washes the feet of his disciples. He performs the low and menial task of washing our feet. He washes us through the blood and water that will gush out of his wounded side. He gives us the bath of spiritual birth called Baptism and washes our feet with the absolution obtained from the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is how he shows us his love. He loves us by going down so low as to wash our feet. I remember Florante of the work of Francisco Balagtas. He said: “O pag-ibig kapag ika’y pumasok sa puso nino man, hahamakin ang lahat, masunod ka lamang.” Jesus loved us and in that love, hinamak niya ang lahat, pati ang kanyang sarili.

And so he tells us: “If I, your Lord and Master, washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an model to follow so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” With this, we begin to ask ourselves: “Ano ang kaya kong gawin upang maipakita ko ang pag-ibig ko kay Hesus? Hinamak niya ang lahat, maging ang kanyang sarili, upang ipakita niya ang pagmamahal niya sa akin. Ano ang kaya kong hamakin para sa kanya?” What am I willing to do? How low am I willing to go, in order to prove my love for him? The bishop this morning reminded us priests: “that there is no assignment too poor, no task too menial, no service too low for us. We must be willing to bend so low if we are to be who we should be: ministers of Christ. Remember that no servant is greater than his master, no student is greater than his teacher. We are all servants. We go to wherever we are sent. We leave when we are dismissed.”

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Our Humble God (late Maundy Thursday posting)

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

“Fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, (Jesus) rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist…”

Lest we have the wrong impression that Jesus was weak and so ended unto the Cross, we are shown in the Holy Gospel the real glory of Jesus: the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God. He was fully aware of who he was: You call me master and teacher, and rightly so, for indeed I am. His knowledge of his Divinity all the more makes his gesture very significant. From what he did, we could see the humility of God. Jesus did not cling to his Divine nature and took upon himself the lowliness of ours. Not only did he wash his disciples’ feet, he washed us of sin with his precious blood shed upon the wood of the Cross. He practiced what he preached. He said that the gentiles lord it over them and the great ones make their presence felt (Luke 22:25) but it should not be so amongst his disciples. For the ones who are greatest must be the servant of all. He who was given power over everything, he who was from God, he who is Lord and Teacher – he bent down and performed the most humiliating service than any servant can render, that is, to wash another person’s feet. The sacrifice that he was about to make upon the wood of the Cross is the utmost humiliation of God – for what God is there that would sacrifice himself in order to save his lowly creatures. It is this Divine humiliation that takes place in the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. God does not only take upon himself human flesh. He goes even further down by hiding beneath the humble appearance of bread and wine, food and drink. He heeds the voice of his priests and comes down upon our altar when his words are repeated by them over bread and wine. God who becomes food and drink, God who obeys his priests – this is our God, our truly humble God! God who lays down his life for us, God who washes not only our feet but our souls as well – this is our God, our truly humble God! God who no longer calls us his servants but his friends, God who reveals to us everything – this is our God, our truly humble God!

And then he tells his priests: Do this in memory of me. He tells us: If I who am your Master and Teacher washed your feet, so should you wash each other’s feet. God, our truly humble God, leads us along the way of humility. He reveals to us the only way to his kingdom is by the way of humiliation and self-emptying, the way of self-denial and sacrifice. By his Incarnation and Paschal Mystery, our blessed Lord goes down into the depths and by doing so, is exalted! The Son of Man enters into his glory! 

Jesus, I trust in you! O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Light and Darkness

"The darkness that poses a real threat to mankind, after all, is the fact that he can see and investigate tangible material things, but cannot see where the world is going or whence it comes, where our own life is going, what is good and what is evil. The darkness enshrouding God and obscuring values is the real threat to our existence and to the world in general. If God and moral values, the difference between good and evil, remain in darkness, then all other "lights", that put such incredible technical feats within our reach, are not only progress but also dangers that put us and the world at risk. Today we can illuminate our cities so brightly that the stars of the sky are no longer visible. Is this not an image of the problems caused by our version of enlightenment? With regard to material things, our knowledge and our technical accomplishments are legion, but what reaches beyond, the things of God and the question of good, we can no longer identify. Faith, then, which reveals God’s light to us, is the true enlightenment, enabling God’s light to break into our world, opening our eyes to the true light."


(Pope Benedict XVI, Homily on Easter Vigil 2012)

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/popes-easter-homilies-and-addresses-full-texts#ixzz1uhTN6Z9m

Pag-ibig hanggang Wakas

Purihin sina Hesus, Maria, at Jose!

“Alam ni Hesus na dumating na ang oras ng kanyang paglisan sa sanlibutang ito upang bumalik sa Ama. Mahal niya ang kanyang mga tagasunod na nasa sanlibutan, at ngayo’y ipakikita niya kung hanggang saan ang kanyang pag-ibig sa kanila.”

Sa pamamagitan ng Huling Hapunan, dumating na ang “oras” ni Hesus, ang pinakalayunin ng kanyang pagparito sa lupa. Ang kahulugan ng “oras” na ito ay inilarawan ni San Juan sa pamamagitan ng 2 konsepto: ito ang oras ng kanyang “paglisan” at ito ang oras ng pag-ibig hanggang wakas. Aalis na si Hesus at babalik na sa Amang nagsugo sa kanya. Gagawin niya ang kanyang pagtawid mula sa mundong ito patungo sa kanyang Ama. At sa pagtawid niyang ito, ipapakita niya sa atin ang hangganan ng kanyang pag-ibig para sa atin.

Paano niya ipinakita ito? Bumangon si Hesus, isinantabi niya ang kanyang damit, at nagbigkis ng tuwalya sa kanyang baywang at sinimulan niyang hugasan ang mga paa ng kanyang mga alagad. Pinaglingkuran ni Hesus ang kanyang mga alagad. Nagmistula siyang alipin. Hinubad niya ang kanyang karangalan bilang Diyos. Hindi tulad ni Adan na nagtangkang agawin para sa kanyang sarili ang karangalan ng Diyos, kumilos nang pasalungat si Hesus. Bumaba siya mula sa kanyang pagkaDiyos at siya ay naging tao. Kinuha niya ang anyo ng isang alipin at naging masunurin hanggang sa kamatayan sa Krus. Isinantabi niya ang karilagan ng kanyang pagkaDiyos; nagpakababa siya na para bang lumuhod siya sa bawat isa sa atin upang hugasan ang mga marurumi nating mga paa at gawin niya tayong karapat dapat na umupo sa hapag ng Panginoon. Sa aklat ng mga Pahayag ay nasusulat na hinugasan ng mga matuwid ang kanilang mga damit na pinaputi ng dugo ng Kordero (Rev. 7:14). Ibig sabihin lamang nito na ang pag-ibig ni Hesus hanggang kamatayan ang siyang naglilinis sa atin. Ang pag-ibig ni Hesus hanggang wakas ang humuhugas sa atin. Sa pamamagitan ng paghuhugas niya sa paa ng kanyang mga alagad, ipinakita ni Hesus na handa siyang bumaba at magpakaalipin upang hanguin tayo sa mapanlinlang nating pagmamataas at gawin niya tayong tunay na malinis at karapat dapat para sa Diyos.

“Naparito ako hindi upang paglingkuran kundi upang maglingkod, at ibigay ang aking buhay bilang pantubos sa marami.” Saan ka pa makakakita ng Diyos na ganito? Ang mga huwad na diyos ay laging sabik sa mga iaalay sa kanila ng kanilang mga mananampalataya. Subalit si Hesus ang nag-aalay ng kanyang sarili para sa ating kaligtasan. Hindi siya ang hinahandugan. Siya ang naghahandog. Hindi siya ang pinaglilingkuran. Siya ang naglilingkod. Hindi tayo ang nagbubuwis sa kanya. Siya pa nga ang nagbayad ng buwis - ibinuwis ng buhay para sa atin. Ganyan tayo iniibig ng Diyos. Sino ang makaiibig sa iyo nang higit rito? Sino ang maglilingkod sa iyo nang tulad nito? Sino ang handang mamatay para sa iyo? Sino ang handang umibig sa iyo nang walang pag-iimbot? Tandaan mo na kung tayo man ay malinis, ito ay sapagkat ibinuwis ni Hesus ang kanyang buhay. Inibig niya tayo hanggang wakas.

Ave Maria Purissima!