Late Posting: Following the Lord with Resolute Determination

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

“Jesus resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem” – one of the themes that characterized the gospel according to St. Luke is the theme of the journey. He spoke of the life of our Lord as one big journey to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the favorite destination of the Jewish pilgrimage because of the temple of the Lord built on it. Every year, Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover and they brought Jesus with them. But this time, the Lord resolutely went to Jerusalem not simply to celebrate the feast. He went to Jerusalem for his own Passover: the Son of Man was to suffer and die in Jerusalem in order to enter into his glory. It was for this that he came down from heaven. He came to suffer and die in order to redeem us from sins.

He was so determined to fulfill his mission in Jerusalem that he left his own home at Nazareth. That is why he said to the one who expressed his desire to follow him: “Foxes have dens and the birds of the sky have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” The Lord was so determined to accomplish his task in Jerusalem that when the time for it has come, he bid his own mother goodbye. That is why to the one who would follow him only after the death of his father, the Lord said: “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” And to the one who wished to bid first his family farewell, the Lord said: “No one who takes a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” In other words, the Lord demands that those who wish to follow him must give up mother, father, wife, children, and home…without counting the cost. The Lord is not a home wrecker. Family and home are valuable to him. But even such should not come between a disciple and his mission to proclaim the Kingdom of God. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and everything else will be given unto you.” The price of following the Lord is indeed very high and the Lord made this clear to all who wish to follow him: total detachment from everything that the world holds dear: material comforts, possessions, and family ties.

And as the Lord resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, so also those who wish to follow him must share in this resolute determination. Hold on to the plow and do not look to what was left behind. Do not regret what you gave up for him. Just as it is not right to take back a gift that has already been given, so do not take back what you have given up for the Lord. Only look forward and set your eyes upon Jesus who waits for you at the end of the journey. Using St. Paul’s words in yesterday’s feast: “Compete well, run the race, keep the faith.” Keep your eyes on the prize. We do not run for a crown of leaves that wither and die. We run for the crown of everlasting life which is definitely worth more than everything we have given up in order to run this race. Christian life is one Amazing Race. Let us run so as to win!

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

Must see video for altar servers

A friend in facebook shared to me this video which to me is a must see for altar servers. It shows Mass in the ordinary form celebrated ad orientem. There is great emphasis on reverence and prayer in the altar servers' ministry. A hopeful sign for the restoration of the sense of the sacred!

follow the link: Altar servers video

Help Priests be Priests

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

It was a busy day for the Lord and his apostles: “People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat.” Even when they went off in a boat by themselves to a deserted place, people hastened on foot to that place. The sight of the vast crowd waiting for them on the shore must have exasperated the apostles, but it moved the Lord’s heart to pity “for they were like sheep without a shepherd.” What should have been taken as an opportunity for rest was spent by our Lord ministering to people: “he began to teach them many things.”

That pity which moved the heart of our Lord is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah in the first reading: “You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them…I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and bring them back to their meadows; there they will increase and multiply.”

The Lord associates men to this task of ministering to his flock: “I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing.” The task of caring for the Lord’s flock is truly a huge task which demands immense personal sacrifices. In speaking to priests, the Holy Father said: “You must think above all, not so much of your own personal good, but of the service to the holy people of God, who need pastors who dedicate themselves to the beautiful service of the sanctification of the faithful…” (Benedict XVI to the Pontifical Spanish College of St. Joseph, May 10, 2012.)    

Knowing the human limitation of those whom he appointed as shepherds of his flock, the Lord tells his apostles: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” The rest which the Lord offers his disciples is none other than prayer which should be part of a priest’s daily schedule. “Remember that the priest renews his life and draws strength for his ministry from contemplation of the Divine Word and intense dialogue with the Lord. He is aware that he will be unable to take Christ to his brethren or to meet him in the poor and the sick, if he does not first discover him in fervent and constant prayer. It is necessary to nourish a personal relationship with the One whom he then proclaims, celebrates, and communicates. Herein lies the foundation of priestly spirituality, until one becomes a transparent sign and living witness of the Good Shepherd.”

If we want our priests to minister to us in the manner desired by our Lord, we must help them maintain the high standard of priestly spirituality. This we do providing them ample time to pray. The demands of pastoral life are already immense. The least we can do is not to tempt priests to spend the little time of their rest for “unpriestly” things. The little times of rest for a priest should be spent in prayer and study. It is not right to require of priests to live a secular lifestyle so that they can be like the rest of us. If we expect them to teach us well, give them time to study. If we expect them help us along the way of holiness, give them time to pray. In other words, help priests be priests. Help priests serve you well.

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

Love of God: the Motive of Vocations

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

When Jesus described the hireling who ran away at the sight of the wolf, he said: “he has no concern for the sheep.” These words reveal to us the motive of our Lord when he, the Good Shepherd, deliberately laid down his life for his sheep. If the hireling has no concern for the sheep, our Lord loves his sheep: “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I will  lay down my life for my sheep.” It is love that makes him know each of us who belong to his flock. It is love that makes him lay down his life for his sheep. And there can be no greater love than this: that a man should lay down his life for his friends. He offered his life in absolute freedom: “I lay down my life in order to take it us again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down on my own.”

It is this love of Christ that beckons us to himself. In his message for today’s World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the Holy Father says: “we need to open our lives to this love. It is to the perfection of the Father’s love (cf. Mt 5:48) that Jesus Christ calls us every day! The high standard of the Christian life consists in loving ‘as’ God loves; with a love that is shown in the total, faithful and fruitful gift of self…It is in this soil of self-offering and openness to the love of God, and as the fruit of that love, that all vocations are born and grow. ” The man or the woman who discovers how much he is loved by Christ, desires to responds to this love by loving in return. Love for love! The one who discovers the depth of love that brought Christ to lay down his life for us will also desire to offer his life for Christ.  “Love of God, which priests and consecrated persons are called to mirror, however imperfectly, is the motivation for answering the Lord’s call to special consecration through priestly ordination or the profession of the evangelical counsels.”

Let us never tire of proclaiming this love of God most especially to the youth. Our parish should create the conditions that will permit the young people to make their generous response to the love of God. We should foster in our youth a love for prayer, Scriptures, and the Eucharist which enable us “to grasp the beauty of a life spent fully in the service of the Kingdom.” In the Eucharist, “the love of God touches us in Christ’s sacrifice, the perfect expression of love, and it is here that we learn ever anew how to live according to the ‘high standard’ of God’s love.” When we instill in our youth a love for the Eucharist, we help foster vocations. My own vocation story was very much associated to the Eucharist. I was an altar boy who served at Mass every day. In the Eucharist I discovered God’s call to the priesthood.

Our families should live out their vocation to be communities of life and love where our children learn the lesson of self-giving love. The Christian family is ““the primary and most excellent seed-bed of vocations to a life of consecration to the Kingdom of God” (Familiaris Consortio, 53). When children experience authentic love in their families, they learn how to love and eventually respond to God’s call.

“See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we might be called children of God.” Christ, the Good Shepherd, laid down his life so that we might be called children of God. See the love of the Father. See the love of the Son. Jesus calls us to the perfection of the Father’s love. Let us open our lives to this love.

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

Dancing for Vocation Promotion

An interesting article from the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Monday, January 31, 2011):


BAGUIO CITY—Never too old for “Toyang.”

Catholic nuns on Saturday night danced to this Eraserheads hit inside Baguio Cathedral as part of a vocational drive to recruit new blood.

“There is a dwindling [number] of [entrants] through the years. But because of this, we might be able to get recruits,” Sr. Eva Vargas of the Villa Milagrosa Convent told the Inquirer.

About 30 nuns, aged between 25 and 80 years and who came from different Catholic congregations, danced at the altar before more than 100 churchgoers to the tune of “Toyang,” a hit among the youth in the 1990s.

The song, released in 1993 by the band Eraserheads, talked about a young man’s wish to be with a simple girl.

Joining the nuns was a group of actors who depicted how parents instill values among their children.

“The family is beset with problems. We think that discussion about vocation should start in the family,” Vargas said.

New members needed

She said they wanted to reach out to young women so the program would be brought to the city’s Catholic parishes and universities.

“We danced to ‘Toyang’ because the song is very popular among the youth. This will call their attention,” Vargas said.

The nuns also danced to “I Will Follow Him,” which became a household tune courtesy of the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg starrer “Sister Act,” to Abba’s “I Have a Dream,” and “Our Mission,” a composition by Fr. Carlo Magno Marcelo of the San Carlos Seminary here.
Vargas said 10 more performances were scheduled in Catholic churches and universities here until Feb. 7. The nuns will be joined by child performers and dancers as they tour the community.

Sr. Alice Lansang, chair of the Association of Women Religious (Baguio-Benguet), said local churches needed new staff members and missionaries.

“The city has 19 congregations of religious women, which have 95 members. [Most are] elderly and retired [nuns] … Schools, retreat houses and parishes are understaffed,” Lansang said.

Another calling

Vargas said through their campaign, the nuns also wanted to clear misconceptions toward their vocation.

“The sisters are not just there to pray in church. We can still be ourselves. Through dancing we can show the people that the life of sisters [is also fun],” she said.

She said women could choose to stay single and focus their lives on serving God and their community.

Vargas said many young people only thought about getting married.

“But there is also another kind of calling, which is the religious life, giving up a part of themselves for God,” she said.


Follow the Link: Nuns dance to get recruits in Baguio City - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

I find it strange that nuns should resort to dancing to the tune of a pop song in order to recruit new vocations. Even more strange is that they did it in front of the altar of the Cathedral. The objective for them was very simple: “The sisters are not just there to pray in church. We can still be ourselves. Through dancing we can show the people that the life of sisters [is also fun].”

The good sister seemed to give us the impression that when sisters pray in church, they are not themselves. It is sad that even sisters think that praying in church is no longer attractive for the young. Thus, they danced in order to show people that the religious life is also fun.

First of all, young people are attracted to the religious vocation not because they think it is fun but because they think it is different. The religious life has something which other institutions cannot offer. Our error is really working on the impression that if the religious life is shown as no different from other professions, it would attract other young people. Dancing nuns and singing priests are shallow attempts to attract vocations to the religious life and to the priesthood. They do not appeal to the idealism of the young. Heroes and Saints make truly lasting impressions on the young. It is when the young are shown the sacredness of the religious life that they are attracted to it. A return to the sense of the sacred is the real vocation promotion. Look at the statistics of traditional religious orders. They speak for themselves.

Religious life as giving part of the themselves to God? I always thought it was all or nothing!

Oh! "Toyang" is not an appropriate song for nuns to dance to (if they want to attract vocations): Read the lyrics and judge for yourself:


They try to tell us where too young
Too young to really be in love
Refrain:
Bahay namin maliit lamang
Pero pero pero malinis 'to pati sa kusina
Kumain man kami laging sama-sama
Pen-pen-pen de sarapen
De kutsilyo de almasen
Haw-haw-haw de karabaw
De karabaw de batuten
Pengeng singko pambilbi ng puto
Sa mga tindera ng bitsu-bitsu
Skyflakes,coke 500 pahingi ng kiss
Pambayad mo sa jeepney kulang pa ng diyes
Chorus:
Mahal ko si Toyang
'pagkat siya'y simple lamang
Kahit namumrublema
Basta't kami ay magkasama
Madalas man kaming walang pera
Makita lang ang kislap ng kanyang mga mata
Ako ay busog na
At nakatambay kami sa Tandang Sora
Ti ayat ti masya nga baro
Ken balasang nataina
Uray man uray man uray man
Haan unay nga nadonya
(repeat refrain chorus)

The nuns are not listening to the music they danced to!