Holy Thursday: A Life of Serving the Lord is a Life well spent

HOLY THURSDAY 2019

YEAR OF THE YOUTH

April 18, 2019

Jesus, I trust in you!

Holy Thursday this year means a lot to me as I am currently celebrating my silver jubilee year as a priest. The anniversary of the institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood during the Year of the Youth gives me the occasion to go back to the day of my ordination as a priest. I was 25 years old then, with more hair and with greater idealism. I remember that afternoon of November 30, 1993 in the Manila Cathedral when the deacon called my name. At that time, I answered: “Ad sum! Present!” I was called and so I answered: “Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.” So inflamed was I with the love of God that I was willing to say “Yes” to every question Cardinal Sin asked me. Maybe, at that time, I did not know better. Maybe I did not realize the cost of these “yeses.” All I knew at that time was that I wanted to serve. I wanted to offer God my life. And true enough, I have offered the best part of my life to God. I have spent my youth in his service. I am now 50 years old and I am feeling that my body is slowing down. There are many priestly tasks that I used to do easily but now, I experience certain limitations. But whenever I look back to the day of my ordination, I smile and say to the Lord: “Lord, I offered to you the best years of my life and I want to serve you until the end.”

The Lord Jesus was 33 years old at that time. He was at the prime of his life, the prime of his youth. He must have seen himself in that 1 year old lamb that was sacrificed on the eve of the Passover. That year old lamb has experienced a life independent of its mother only for 10 months and now, it is chosen to be sacrificed to the Lord and to be eaten in the Passover meal. We pity the lamb for it was not even allowed to live a full life. But what accounts for fullness of life? Is it the number of years? The lamb of sacrifice teaches us that life is full not because it was spent for many years but because it was offered to the Lord. Although it is very young, the chosen Lamb lived a full life because it was offered in sacrifice to the Lord. We may have spent many years but if none of them were offered to God, it would have been an unfortunate wasted life.

And this is how Jesus spent his life. Last Palm Sunday, Jesus declared to his disciples: “I am among you as the one who serves.” And tonight, he shows us what he meant: he took off his garments, wrapped his waist with a towel, and began washing the feet of his disciples. It was the most menial task. It was a task assigned to the lowest of slaves. And yet, he insisted to do it…even with the protest of Simon Peter. It simply had to be done. “He took the form of a slave and was born in our human likeness.” Jesus teaches us that this is life well spent. It is spent as an offering to God. It is spent in service of others. He challenges the world which teaches us to live lives with a sense of entitlement. He says: “I did not come to be served but to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many.”

This is the mark of those who wish to follow Jesus: “the kings of the gentiles lord it over them and those in authority over them are addressed as benefactors. But among you it shall not be so. Let the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as the servant…I am among you as the one who serves…” Dear brothers and sisters, let us allow Jesus to lead us to a meaningful life: a life of giving more than receiving, a life of serving more than entitlement. “I, your Lord and Master, washed your feet. You must also wash each other’s feet.”

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!

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!