Unseen and yet ever present!

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

This coming Thursday will be the 40^th day of Easter and the bible tells us that Christ our Lord ascended into heaven on that day. Oftentimes, people think of the Ascension as the farewell of the Lord to his disciples. The Lord says goodbye because he is leaving them. He is going home to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. However, the gospel today says otherwise.

The Lord is not leaving his disciples. Rather, he is simply disappearing from the sight of the world. But this does not mean that he is abandoning his disciples. Remember the story of the disciples at Emmaus: they recognized Jesus at the breaking of the bread and then, he vanished from their sight. “He disappeared but he did not abandon them,” Blessed John Paul would say. The Lord Jesus said in today’s gospel reading: “In a little while, the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live.” The Lord himself assures us that even though the world does not see him, we will continue to see him living among us. He will continue to be with us and we will continue to recognize his presence in our midst. And the one who will help us recognize the Lord Jesus in our midst will be the Holy Spirit: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”

The Lord will not leave us orphans. He will come to us through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gathers us and brings about the presence of Jesus who said: “Whenever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst.” The Holy Spirit transforms bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. The Holy Spirit dwelling in us the baptized gives us the interior witness to Christ. He is the Spirit of Truth. He teaches us what is true. He teaches us that Jesus is alive and is among us. The Holy Spirit brings about our communion with the Blessed Trinity: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.” Although he sits at the right hand of the Father, Jesus continues to remain in us and we continue to remain in him. And the sign that we remain in Jesus is our obedience to his commandments: “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me, and whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” We obey his commandments not out of fear but out of love. We love the Lord whom we encounter everyday through the Church and through the Sacraments. The more we love him, the more we keep his commandments. And the more we keep his commandments, the more he reveals himself to us. And as he reveals himself to us, our love for him increases. Thus, we become caught up into the “vicious” cycle of love. We are caught up into the communion of life and love with the Blessed Trinity.

Therefore, let us strive to remain in the Lord who promises to remain with us always. “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts,” said St. Peter in the 2^nd reading. Let us continue to give blameless witness to the Lord by keeping his commandments. Let us keep our consciences clear. Let us remain in his love.

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

  

Friend, come up higher!

PRAISED BE JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH!

The ascension of the Lord Jesus is his exaltation and enthronement as Lord and King. On this day, Jesus returned to heaven from where he came: “No one ascends into heaven except the one who descended from heaven: the Son of Man who is in heaven.” His return to heaven happened in a manner that was seen by those who were present: “as they were looking on, he was lifted up and a cloud took him from their sight.” He was lifted up. Who of us would forget that the Lord himself referred to himself being lifted up like that bronze serpent which Moses lifted up in the desert to save those who were bitten by the snakes: As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so will the Son of Man be lifted up. By this, the Lord referred to his death on the Cross. Ironically, the Cross was devised by the Romans as an instrument of both death and shame. However, to Jesus, the Cross became the instrument of his exaltation. Today, the one who descended into the depths of humiliation is now exalted before his disciples. Did not our Lord referred to this when he spoke of the etiquette which his disciples must observe when invited to a banquet: When invited to a banquet, seek the lowest place so that the host may approach you and say, “Friend, come up higher.” And thus shall you be exalted in the sight of the others in the banquet. The Lord Jesus who emptied himself of his glory, took the form of a human slave. He humiliated himself even further by obediently accepting death on the Cross. And because of this God exalted him and gave him a Name which is above all other names. He who emptied himself is now clothed with power: “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” He who descended from heaven is now seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. He who washed his disciples’ feet is now crowned as King of kings and Lord of lords. He who sought the lowest place was exalted in the sight of his friends.

And this is the Gospel that we were sent to proclaim. We are tasked to make disciples of all nations because all nations belong to him. All authority in heaven and on earth was given to him. To make disciples of all nations simply is to restore to the Lord Jesus what truly belongs to him. To teach all nations to observe all that he has commanded us is simply to give to the Lord the obedience that is due to him as King and Lord. The Lord reigns in the Church. The Lord reigns through the Church. The Church is the beginning of the Kingdom of Jesus on earth. The Church is the instrument for the spread of Christ’s Kingship on earth. Saint Paul said: “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the Church which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.”

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

The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

At the end of the Easter Season, the Church brings us back to the upper room where Christ first appeared to his disciples on the evening of Easter Sunday. Recalling the events on that evening helps us see Pentecost in the perspective of the Paschal Mystery. Before our Lord passed over from the world to his Father, he told his disciples that it would be better for him to leave for if he did not do so, the Paraclete would never come. But if he leaves them, he will send the Holy Spirit from his throne at the right hand of the Father. By his passion and death, the Lord Jesus entered into his glory. Thus, as he rose from death, he gave the Holy Spirit to his disciples when he appeared to them. He breathed into them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit. Whatever sins you forgive, they are forgiven.

By dying on the Cross, the Lord Jesus reconciled us with his Father. His death atoned for our sins. This forgiveness of our sins is brought about by the coming of the Holy Spirit. The coming of the Holy Spirit and his dwelling in our souls is the sure sign that all is forgiven and we have been reconciled to God. Adam and Eve enjoyed the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When God created Adam, he breathed into this creature and so Adam became a living being. This Divine Breath that animated Adam was the Holy Spirit. However, both our first parents lost this indwelling of the Holy Spirit when they sinned. Thus, although they were physically alive, they were spiritually dead. Thus, St. Paul says: Through the disobedience of one man, sin entered the world and together with sin entered death. Without the Holy Spirit, man would be spiritually dead. And this spiritual death is the inheritance which our first parents gave all humanity. This is called Original sin. Every human being is born deprived of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who gives life to the soul. Thus, St. Paul says: all men have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God. The glory of God did not dwell in the human soul as the consequence of the sin of our first parents.

Thus, when Jesus died and rose from the dead, he restored to us what sin has taken away. He restored to us the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Because of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit returns to his temple which is the soul of the baptized. By baptism, we received the Holy Spirit. We are no longer deprived of the glory of God because God the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Original sin, which is the deprivation of the soul of the glory of God, is taken away by Baptism because the Holy Spirit returns to the soul and dwells in us as in a temple. The Holy Spirit dwelling in us brings to us the forgiveness of our sins. He sanctifies us and makes us participate in the communion of the Holy. The Holy Spirit in us gives us a foretaste of the future resurrection. The Holy Spirit dwelling in us allows us to enter into the dwelling of the Blessed Trinity: My Father will love him and we shall come to him and dwell in him. The Holy Spirit seals us and marks us for redemption.

Through the waters of Baptism the Holy Spirit brought about our rebirth. We were reborn as Children of God. We were reborn into the Church, the community of the redeemed. Let us rejoice today for the Holy Spirit has created us anew. We are a new creation. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth.

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

Fount of Living Water

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

“The water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (Ang tubig na ibibigay ko ay magiging bukal sa loob niya, babalong, at magbibigay sa kanya ng buhay na walang hanggan.) The Samaritan woman wondered how the Lord was going to give her this living water when in fact the Lord did not even have a bucket to use to draw water from the well. Little did she realize that the Lord Jesus was not referring to the water from the well. Rather the Lord was referring to the water that would flow with his blood on Good Friday. As Moses struck the rock in Horeb and from it flowed water, so also the soldier would strike the side of our Lord and from his wounded side would flow blood and water. This water would be the life-giving water of Baptism.

We all know water as a life-giving element. All living creatures need water to survive. But seldom do we think of water as an agent of death…and yet the evidences are all around us…Yolanda and Ondoy are some of the names that would remind us that water, being an agent of life, can also be an agent of death. And the waters of Baptism inflict on us both death and life. St. Paul said that all who are baptized are buried together with Christ. Baptism gives us all a share in the death of the Lord. The old Adam dies and is buried in the waters of baptism. But this is so in order that we may receive the Holy Spirit. St. Paul says that we are buried with Christ so that the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will raise us up together with him. We are buried in Christ in order to rise with him. The Old Adam dies so that we might rise up as a new creation.   

The miracle of death and life in the sacrament of Baptism is made possible by the Holy Spirit whom we receive through the saving waters. The waters of Baptism are called life giving waters because they are Spirit-filled. Being Spirit-filled, the baptismal waters give life because the Holy Spirit is Lord and Giver of Life. The waters of Baptism give to us the Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life. Thus, St. Paul says:  “The love of God has been poured upon us through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” As baptismal water is poured, so the Holy Spirit is given to us. And the Holy Spirit gives life.

Thus, we should not take Baptism for granted. It is not just a social ritual that our children have to pass through in order conform to social norms. Baptism is rebirth by water and the Spirit. He who does not receive the Holy Spirit is spiritually dead because he has not received the Breath of Life from the Giver of Life. And the life that he gives is eternal life. The baptismal water is the “spring of water welling up unto eternal life.” Baptism is the door of eternal life. No one can enter into the Kingdom of God unless he be born of water and the Holy Spirit. Thus, we should be grateful for being baptized. Also, we should never procrastinate the baptism of our children. Like the Samaritan woman, we should eagerly ask the Lord: “Sir, give me this water…” I want this eternal life for myself. I want my children to have it too. Allow us to draw water constantly from this fount of salvation. We know for ourselves that truly, you are the Savior of the world!

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

And His Clothing Became White

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

On the mountain of the temptations, Satan challenged the Lord Jesus to prove that he is the Son of God. However, by refusing to display his divine power, Jesus did not give in to the seductions of the tempter. On another mountain, what Jesus refused to display to Satan, he revealed to his disciples Peter, James, and John. “He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.” The glory that Jesus showed these disciples was his glory as God’s only begotten Son…full of grace and truth. The Father was not at all ashamed to declare who Jesus truly is: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him!

As we continue to look at the Baptismal character of Lent, let us reflect on the white baptismal garment. The gospel spoke about the clothes of Jesus becoming white as light. We will appreciate the meaning of the baptismal garment if we keep in mind that when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, the first thing they realized is that they were naked. Nakedness means deprivation of dignity. A person who is dishonored is stripped of his dignity. Nakedness brings shame. Thus, in the parable of the prodigal son, the father commands that his son be given the finest robe at his return. His prodigal son received back the dignity he lost to loosed living.

Jesus, the Son of God, was clothed with a white garment. In Sacred Scriptures, a white garment indicated that the person wearing it came from heaven. Thus, the angels who appeared at the tomb of Jesus and also at his ascension would wear white garments. Jesus’ white garment revealed that he is the Son of Man who came from heaven: No one ascends to heaven except the one who descended from heaven…the Son of Man who is from heaven. Jesus, who is clothed with unsurpassable light in heaven, emptied himself of that glory when he came down to earth to save us. On the Cross, he hung stripped of his garments. He was humiliated…exposed not only to the elements but also to the mockery of the passersby. And this he did so that you and I would be restored to the dignity which the evil one took away from Adam and Eve on the day they ate the forbidden fruit. The Son of God stripped himself of heavenly dignity so that he could share it to those who will be baptized. He made us sons and daughters of his Father by the sacrament of Baptism. “He saved us and called us to a holy life…according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began…” Our baptismal dignity is a heavenly dignity. It means that we belong not to this earth but to heaven. Our true home is in heaven, St. Paul would later on say. In the book of Revelations, the souls of the just in heaven would be shown wearing their robes which were washed clean by the Blood of the Lamb.

“Ang damit pambinyag ay tanda ng muling pagsilang kay Kristo at ng dakilang karangalan ng mga anak ng Diyos. Nawa’y panatilihin niya itong walang bahid hanggang sa muling pagbabalik ni Kristong ating Panginoon.” With these words we were clothed in white on the day we were baptized. Let us always keep in mind who we really are: we are sons and daughters of God. Let us live as such. Let us live lives worthy of our Christian vocation. Remember, we are not children of darkness. We are children of light and of the day. Let us shun deeds of darkness and live as children of light.

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

To a newly ordained priest

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

The season of Lent always opens with the Gospel on the Temptation of the Lord in the desert on account of the fact that this season is a 40 day fast in imitation of the 40 day fast of the Lord Jesus in the desert. “He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, and afterwards he was hungry.” It was then that the tempter approached the Lord. Why tempt Jesus? It is because Jesus is the Son of God. He comes from God. He belongs to God. This fact made Jesus more desirable to the devil. He wanted to get Jesus because Jesus does not belong to him. The devil’s hatred for God moves him to steal what belongs to God in order to destroy its beauty and integrity. The devil works this way even until now. He loves to disturb seminaries and monasteries precisely for the same reason: he wants to destroy what belongs to God.

When the bishop laid his hands on you and prayed the prayer of ordination, Fr. Arvie, you were changed in a very special way. Not only were you given special powers, you were given a new identity…you became a priest, configured in the likeness of Christ who is the High Priest of the New Covenant. In a way, the identity of Jesus becomes yours. This is what it means when we say that the priest is Alter Christus. Yes, you are another Christ through whom the Lord Jesus will continue to perform his saving mission for the life of the world. By the Sacrament of Holy Orders, Jesus draws you close to him. You are consecrated to him. You belong to Jesus.

Thus, Fr. Arvie, you become a more attractive prey for the devil. He will want you because your hands are anointed. He will want you because you are anointed. He wants you for the simple reason that you belong to the Lord whom the devil hates so much. The devil will constantly tempt you through your hunger. He will tempt you to turn stones into bread, to take advantage of your priesthood for monetary purposes. There will always be something you need to have, something you need to buy. And I will tell you…it is really very easy for a priest to fall for this temptation as we all know that religion can easily be turned into a lucrative business. Fr. Arvie, do not set your heart to the love of money. Always set your heart on higher things for man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

The devil will constantly seduce you through your need for affirmation. He will tempt you to make a spectacle of yourself. There will always be applause and recognition which will make you want for more.  And I tell you, it is really easy for a priest to fall for this temptation as we all know that admirers will easily be organized into fans’ club and make you a celebrity. Fr. Arvie, do not perform your religious office for other people to see. Even in the performance of your priestly office, always learn to enter into the inner room of your heart. You do not need the adulation and approval of admirers. You are not a celebrity but a priest. The only one thing you need is the approval of the Father who sees everything in secret.

The devil will constantly seduce you to seek kingdoms, to seek positions of power and prestige. Ikaw pa, Fr. Arvie, you have what it takes to pursue a career in the Church. I tell you, with your intellectual capabilities, you can easily seek promotions in the curia. Fr. Arvie, always keep in mind that the priesthood is not a career. It is a vocation, a way of life that is closely associated with the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Your life as a priest is not a pursuit of promotions. Rather, it is one of self-abnegation. The priesthood is an unending sacrifice. It is an experience of one self-denial after another in imitation of Jesus who emptied himself and took the form of a human slave and humiliated himself even further by obediently accepting even death, death on a Cross. Imitate Christ the Obedient One. His obedience made many righteous. Be obedient to the Bishop. Allow him to break your will if necessary. Obey without question. Obey without complaint. Give up the right to choose your career path. Let it be the bishop’s problem to determine the path your priestly life will take. Remember that the voice of the bishop is the voice of God. Christ’s sacrifice is pleasing on account of his unconditional obedience. Make your offering pleasing also through your unconditional obedience.

Fr. Arvie, keep in mind what the priesthood is…it is the service of God. You were chosen by him. You belong to him. Always serve the Lord single-heartedly. Serve the Lord for his sake. Prefer nothing to the love of Christ. Love the Lord with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your heart, and with all your strength. The Lord your God shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.

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

Rejecting Satan

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

Most of us associate Lent with penance and mortification and very few give due regard to the baptismal character of the season. Lent is a period of preparation for catechumens who will be baptized on Easter vigil. It is also a period of preparation for us, the baptized, to renew our baptismal vows on the same Easter feast. The series of Lenten readings for this year will help us contemplate on this great sacrament of Baptism.

We begin by looking at the real abasement of the human being. Last Ash Wednesday, the ashes imposed on our foreheads reminded us of our mortality: Remember, man, that you are dust and to dust you shall return. Death, which is the way of all flesh, was inflicted to us on account of our slavery to sin. St. Paul reminds us: “Through one man, sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus, death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned.” Sin entered the world because our first parents were deceived by the Serpent who was the most cunning of all the animals. They believed the serpent who told them: “You certainly will not die!” They believed the serpent’s word over God’s word which allowed them to eat the fruit of any tree except that of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The devil indeed is the father of lies. His assurance that they would not die was all a lie. They were fooled by appearances: the woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. Taking the forbidden fruit, they caused death on all humanity.

The Lord Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth to destroy the works of the devil. Physically weakened by fasting, the Lord confronted the devil who came to tempt him. The devil came with his attractions and his empty promises: food that does not satisfy, fame that is not lasting, and kingdoms that he could not give. Son of God that he is, the Lord Jesus reveals that only the Word of God gives life and satisfies the hunger of the soul. He also reveals that the Father’s love is sure and needs not to be tested. Lastly, he need not bow in worship of the devil because all authority in heaven and earth are bestowed on him by the Father in heaven. It is only to the Father that he bows in filial obedience. And it is his filial obedience to the Father that brings “acquittal and life to all.” “Through the obedience of one, the many will be made righteous.”

As we prepare to renew our baptismal vows, let us be resolute in our rejection of Satan, his works and his pomps. Satan cannot deliver anything he promises, no matter how pleasing and appealing it may be. The only thing he gives us is death. Satan loves no one but himself. He hates us for being the image and likeness of God. He looks at us and he sees the God whom he hates. Only in Christ can we find life and salvation. God, in Christ, loves us all very dearly. With the assurance of God’s love for us, let us cast away Satan: Get away Satan! The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve!

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