Ang Halaga ng palagiang Pagsisimba

Hesus, nananalig ako sa iyo.

“Kumain siya at uminom at siya’y lumakas” – ito ang sinabi ng unang pagbasa tungkol kay Profeta Elias na sa simula’y halos mawalan na ng pag-asa dahil sa matinding pagod na kanyang nadama sa kanyang mahabang paglalakbay. Pinakain siya at pinainom ng isang anghel at dahil dito, nakapaglakbay pa siya nang mahaba patungo sa Horeb, ang bundok ng Panginoon. Kung paanong nagdulot ng pambihirang lakas kay Elias ang ipinakain at ipinainom sa kanya ng anghel, gayon din ang idinudulot ng pagkaing ibinibigay ng Panginoong Hesus sa atin: “Ang sinumang kumain ng pagkaing bumaba mula sa langit ay hindi mamamatay. Ako ang pagkaing bumaba mula sa langit. Mabubuhay magpakailan man ang sinumang kumain nito. At ang pagkaing ibibigay ko sa ikabubuhay ng sanlibutan ay ang aking laman.”

Pinalalakas tayo ng kinakain natin. Pinapawi nito ang ating gutom at uhaw hanggang sa susunod na kainan. Dahil batid natin ang kapakinabangang dulot ng pagkain at inumin kaya tinitiyak nating hindi tayo lumiliban sa oras ng pagkain…hindi tayo nagpapalipas ng gutom. Subalit kay dali para sa atin ang isantabi ang pagtanggap ng banal na Komunyon! Palibhasa, hindi natin kaagad agad nakikita ang idinudulot nitong pakinabang sa atin. Parang walang naidudulot na mabuti para sa atin ang pagtanggap sa katawan ni Kristo. At dito tayo nagkakamali. Sa oras ng ating kamatayan, matutuklasan natin ang maraming kabutihan na idinulot sa atin ng mga banal na Misa na ating dinaluhan. Sa oras ng ating kamatayan, ang mga Misa na taos puso nating dinaluhan ang siyang magdudulot sa atin ng aliw at pag-asa. Ang isang Misang dinaluhan natin habang nabubuhay tayo ay higit na makakatulong sa atin sa oras ng ating kamatayan kaysa maraming mga pamisang iaalay para sa atin matapos nating pumanaw.

Sinabi ng ating Panginoon kay Santa Gertrudes: “Makatitiyak ang sinumang taimtim na dumalo sa banal na Misa na ang dami ng mga Santo na isusugo ko sa kanya upang aliwin at ipagtanggol siya sa oras ng kamatayan ay magiging kasukat ng dami ng mga Misang taimtim niyang dinaluhan sa buong buhay niya.” Huwag nating kalilimutan na ang oras ng ating kamatayan ang magiging pinakamalaking laban natin sa buhay. Sa oras na iyon, ibubuhos ni Satanas ang lahat ng nalalaman niyang panlilinlang upang makuha niya ang ating kaluluwa. Kaya nga kakailanganin natin ang lahat ng makalangit na tulong para ipag-adya tayo mula sa lahat ng masama dahil diyan nakasalalay ang ating kaligtasan.

Sinabi ni San Juan Maria Vianney: “Kung nalalaman lamang natin ang halaga ng Banal na Misa, tiyak na magsusumikap tayo na dumalo at makinabang tayo dito.” At sinabi pa ni San Pedro Julian Eymard: “Kilalanin mo, O Kristiyano, na ang Misa ang pinakabanal na gawain ng Relihiyon. Wala kang magagawang anupaman upang higit na purihin ang Panginoon o higit na tulungan mo ang iyong kaluluwa  kaysa taimtim na pagdalo sa Misa.” Kaya nga nararapat lamang na ituring nating mapalad tayo tuwing may pagkakataon tayong makadalo sa Misa. Si Santa Maria Goretti, isang labindalawang taong gulang na bata, ay naglakad ng labinglimang milya para lang makapagsimba sa araw ng Linggo. Si Padre Pio ay nagdiwang ng Misa kahit na siya’y nilalagnat at dinudugo. Sa ating sariling buhay, dapat nating ituring ang banal na Misa na mas mahalaga kaysa iba pang mga bagay. Sabi ni San Bernardo: “Higit na pakikinabangan natin ang pagdalo sa isang Misa kaysa anupamang kawanggawa o paglalakbay sa buong mundo para lamang marating ang mga banal na lugar.” Dapat unahin natin ang pagsisimba kaysa iba pang mga libangan na pinag-aaksayahan natin ng oras ngunit hindi naman nakatutulong sa ating kaluluwa. (Nauubos ang oras mo sa COC…matutulungan ka ba niyan sa oras ng iyong kamatayan? Mabibigyan ka ba niyan ng buhay na walang hanggan?) Matuto tayong maglaan ng oras at magsakripisyo kung kinakailangan para makapagsimba at makapagkomunyon. Sinabi ni San Agustin: “Binibilang ng mga anghel ang lahat ng ating mga yapak kapag pumupunta tayo sa simbahan upang dumalo sa Misa at dahil diyan ay gagantimpalaan tayo ng Diyos sa buhay na ito at sa kabila.” Kaya kunin natin ang lahat ng pagkakataon para makapagsimba at tumanggap ng Banal na Komunyon. Mabubuhay kaylanman ang sinumang kumain ng Tinapay ng buhay!

Ave Maria Purissima, sin pecado concebida!  

Late Posting: Becoming Rich in the Sight of God

PRAISED BE Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

The rich man thought that he was a very fulfilled man. He had more than enough of what he needed that he had to tear down his barn to build a larger one. He consoled himself with the thought: “Now you have so many good things stored up for many years. Rest, eat, drink, and be merry!”

But this is not so because the Lord warns us: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” One’s life does not consist of possessions because the purpose of life is not to be rich in material possessions but to be rich in God’s sight. St. Paul, in the 2^nd reading, reminds us: “Seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not what is of earth.” Oftentimes, our hearts are much concerned with the things of the earth at the expense of what is really more important…which would be the salvation of our souls. We are much too concerned with material things that eventually will pass away while we forget that we are meant for eternal life. Material possessions may sustain us at present but these will be left behind when God calls us to depart from this world at the moment of death. Therefore, we should strive to be rich, not with material possessions but to be rich in the sight of God. Fr. Aris Sison said, “To become rich in the sight of God means not to fall into the temptation of anxiety as if everything depends on us. To become rich in the sight of God means to subordinate all – work, goods, and life to God’s Kingdom. To become rich in the sight of God means ‘to give alms’.”

St. John Vianney said: “If someone cheats us once, we say, ‘We will trust him no more – and with good reason.’ The world cheats us continually and we love it. ‘Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world,’ St. John warns us. If we give some thought to what the world really is, we should pass all our lives in bidding it farewell…Everyday, we are bidding farewell to the world. We are like travelers who enjoy the beauty of the countryside through which they are passing. No sooner do they see it than it is time for them to leave it behind. It is exactly the same for the pleasures and the good things to which we have become so attached. Then we arrive at the edge of eternity, which engulfs all these things in its abyss.

“It is then that the world will disappear forever from our eyes and that we shall recognize our folly in having been so attached to it. And all that has been said to us about sin!...Then we shall say: It was all true! Alas, I lived only for the world, I sought nothing but the world in all I did, and now the pleasures and the joys of the world are not for me any longer! They are all slipping from me – this world which I have loved so well, these joys, these pleasures which I have so fully occupied my heart and my soul!

“Now I must return to God! . . . How consoling this thought is for him who sought only God throughout his life! But what a despairing thought for him who has lost sight of God and of the salvation of his soul.” (Sermon of St. John Vianney)

“Vanity of vanities! All things are vanities!” Because of this, “think of what is above, not of what is of the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ appears, then you too will appear in glory.”

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

Pastoral Lessons from St. John Vianney

During the Year for Priests, the Church honored St. John Mary Vianney on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his entrance to heaven. Having meditated on his life, I learned important lessons from him which, to my opinion, should once again be considered in present pastoral practice.

1. St. John Vianney's pastoral program consisted in: offering the Mass, hearing confessions, and teaching catechism. In our times when complicated pastoral programs seem to be fashionable - with the elaborate processes of planning and evaluations, the simplicity of St. John's pastoral program brings us to the essentials of pastoral ministry. In pastoral visits, the bishop is bound to be impressed with so many programs that would prove the pastoral capability of the parish priest. However, seldom does the bishop ask about how the parish priest offers the Mass, or how often does he hear confessions in a week, or if he himself teaches catechism. Blessed John Paul II wrote in Nove Millenio Ineunte: "all pastoral initiatives must be set in relation to holiness." (NMI, 30.)The primary objective of the curate is the care of souls. The objective of all pastoral programs is the holiness of the flock.

2. St. John Vianney's ministry in Ars teaches us the value of stability. He took care of one parish until the day of his death. I do not know where the bishops got the idea of changing the priests' assignments every so number of years. They say it is an exercise in detachment and so maybe it really is. But this destroys the essence of the pastorate. "I know my sheep and mine know me," said our Lord. The Lord knows each of us because he can read human hearts. But other pastors like ourselves can't read hearts. It takes time to know the flock...and by the time it happens, the term is almost over. Changing fathers every X number of years destroys the family. Maybe this works for bank managers who get transferred from one branch to another. But parish priests are not managers...they are pastors. I think the mind of the Church is reflected by the fact that bishops are not subject to a term of a determined number of years. We don't change popes after x number of years! We wait for them to die or to resign! There is value in stability because if it were not so, why would Benedictine monks regard this as a fourth vow? I do not question the transfer of priests when needed. But I question the necessity of transferring them after a set number of years.I learned from the late Cardinal Sin the valuable lesson on stability. He used to say: "You do not replace what is not broken."

3. The change in the parish of Ars was tremendous. From a spiritually indifferent community, with three taverns that provided constant entertainment, Ars became a holy parish. From afar, pilgrims came to assist at the Cure's Mass and to make their confessions to him. But more impressive than this is that the Cure became a saint because of this. His fastings and long nights in prayer transformed both the Cure himself and his parish. Although he always thought that the priesthood benefited others and not himself, it sanctified him. It made him a saint. What we need today are holy priests like St. John Vianney. Satan once appeared to him and said that if only there were 3 priests like John Vianney, his kingdom would immediately crumble!