Category: Pastoral Team

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Fr. Robert Manansala Reflections

LOVING THE DEAD BEYOND THEIR EARTHLY LIFE, by Fr. Robert B. Manansala, OFM

The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day),
Cycle B
Wis 3:1-9; Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6;Rom 5:5-11 or Rom 6:3-9; Jn 6:37-40

The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed echoes a very important message: no human life is perfect, not even Christian life. And the Good News on this Commemoration of the Dead is that God in Jesus loves us, even as we are not perfect, and that the love of God does not abandon the souls of our departed brothers and sisters in the faith, even as they did not measure up to the ideals of Christian perfection. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in Me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were none, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be” (Jn 14:1-3). The redemptive and loving action of God in Jesus extends beyond death.

The Commemoration of the Dead is very much connected to two articles of faith in our Christian tradition: the Communion of Saints, and the Doctrine of Purgatory. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the belief in the Communion of Saints in the following words: “We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and His saints is always [attentive] to our prayers’” (CCC 962).

On All Saints’ Day we honor all the saints, the blessed, the venerable and the holy who are with God in heaven. There they intercede for us, assisting us by their prayers. On All Souls’ Day we remember all the faithful departed – those who have died, and are being prepared for their entrance into eternal glory by being purified in purgatory.

Again, we read in the Catechism: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven…” (CCC 1030). The same Catechism describes purgatory as the “final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned” (CCC 1031).

Some modern theologians suggest that purgatory may be an “instant” or progressive purification immediately after death varying in intensity from soul to soul, depending on the state of each individual.

The teaching on purgatory as the final purification is based on the practice of prayer for the dead. The Book of Maccabees describes how Judas, the military commander, discovered those of his men who had died in a particular battle had been wearing forbidden pagan amulets. His men at once “prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out” (2 Mc. 12: 42). Judas then “took up a collection from all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for the expiatory sacrifice” (2 Mc. 12: 43). The narrator continues, ”If he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin” (2 Mc 12: 44-46).

The above verses clearly illustrate the existence of purgatory that, at the time of the Reformation, Protestants had to cut the Books of the Maccabees out of their Bibles in order to avoid accepting the doctrine. Not only can we show that prayer for the souls of the departed was practiced by the Jews at the time of the Maccabees, but also we can show it has been retained by Orthodox Jews today. They recite a prayer known as the Mourner’s Kaddish for eleven months after the death of a loved one, so that the loved one may be purified.

As Christians, we believe in the so-called Four Last Things: death, judgment, heaven and hell. Purgatory is not mentioned as one of the “last things,” because, strictly speaking, purgatory is a part of heaven. Purgatory is the “remedial class” for heaven-bound souls. Souls who go to purgatory are those who have been judged worthy of heaven, but not straight away. They still need some purification or purgation before they are ready for heaven because, according to Revelation 21:27, “nothing unclean shall enter it.” A very good illustration for this is the set-up in many churches in the west. Before we get to the main church, we have to go through the vestibule first. We are already in the church but not yet in the main church.

In James Boswell’s famous biography of Samuel Johnson, a great eighteenth century British author, a passage deals with purgatory and Masses for the dead. Boswell writes that the idea of purgatory made eminent sense to Johnson. His reasoning is that the vast majority of people who die should not be judged so bad as to deserve hell or so good as to deserve heaven. So, he concluded, there must be a kind of state where some sort of cleansing takes place before one finally enters heaven.

When asked about Masses for those in purgatory, Johnson replied that praying for them is as proper as praying for our brothers and sisters who are alive. Praying for the dead, like praying for the living, is a manifestation of love. St. Augustine noted: “If we had no care for the dead, we would not be in the habit of praying for them.” For us, believers, praying for a loved one is a way of bridging any distance, even death. In prayer we stand in God’s presence in the company of the people we love, even as these persons have gone before us.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church recommends prayer for the dead in conjunction with the offering of the Eucharistic Sacrifice (CCC1032). Pope Leo XIII, in his 1902 encyclical Mirae caritatis, states: “The grace of mutual love among the living, strengthened and increased by the Sacrament of the Eucharist, flows, especially by virtue of the Sacrifice [of the Mass], to all who belong to the communion of saints.”

The Catechism also encourages “almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead.” All these prayerful acts are to be conducted as matters of faith, and not as something magical. The greatest act is to offer Mass for the dead, because in this One Sacrifice, the merits of our Lord Jesus are applied to the dead. Hence, this reconciling offering of the Lord is the greatest and most perfect prayer we can offer our dead in their state of purification. Let us not forget to pray for our dearly departed, have Masses offered for them, visit their graves, and make daily sacrifices for them.

Our prayers and other sacrifices for the dead are capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective. The Church chooses the entire month of November for increased prayers on behalf oft he souls in purgatory. Our ideas about purgatory are usually frightening. This should not be the case. Fr. Leonard Foley, a Franciscan theologian, gives us a very good insight on purgatory in terms of God’s purifying act of love. He writes, “We must not make purgatory into a flaming concentration camp on the brink of hell – or even a hell for a short time.’ It is blasphemous to think of it as a place where a petty God exacts final punishment… Saint Catherine of Genoa, a mystic of the fifteenth century, wrote that the ‘fire’ of purgatory is God’s love ‘burning’ the soul so that, at last, the soul is wholly aflame. It is the pain of wanting to be made totally worthy of One who is seen as infinitely lovable, the pain of desire for union that is now absolutely assured, but not yet fully tasted.”

Purgatory may be a form of “blazing enlightenment” which penetrates and perfects our very being. God can anticipate and apply the merits of our present and future prayers for the dead in favor of the souls we pray for at the time of their purification. Purgatory is thus “the fringe of heaven, a state where heaven’s eternal light has a refining effect on the “holy souls” (not ‘poor souls’), who are held in the arms of Divine Mercy.”

Let us end with something to keep us reflecting. The Church has a rite declaring someone is in heaven. This is officially the meaning of the process of canonization. This is also in essence what we celebrate on All Saints’ Day. Also, the Church has a special day dedicated to those who are heaven-bound– all souls in purgatory, those in transit to heaven. November 2nd, All Souls’ Day, is especially dedicated to this. A good thing about our November 2 commemoration of the dead, like our November 1st commemoration of all the saints, is that we pray not only for our dead relatives and friends, but also for all the dead. We remember even those who have no one to pray for them.

Let us take note though that we do not have any rite or ceremony declaring someone is in hell. The Church can never and should never do this– not even for the most despicable person in the world. We leave it to the merciful prerogative of God. Thus, our prayers should be for all the dead – including those who may have lived despicable lives here on earth.

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Fr. Jesus Galindo

THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS By Fr. Jesus Galindo, OFM

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In the ninth article of the Apostles’ Creed, we profess: “[I believe in] the communion of saints.” This communion of saints does not refer to the reception of the holy Eucharist but rather to the spiritual union that exists among all the members of the Church, both living and dead. In the Creed, we are all called “saints,” even though we may not yet have attained holiness.

The members of the Church, united by a common faith in Jesus Christ, belong to three groups or states: First, the Church Triumphant, composed of the men and women of all times whose souls have already attained the glory of heaven. Second, the Church Suffering, composed of “all who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, and who must undergo purification after death so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1030-1031). Third, the Church Militant, that is, all of us who are still alive and struggling to do God’s will and to live as disciples of Christ.

There exists among the three groups spiritual communion-a bond of faith, unity and love. The saints in heaven inspire and protect us, and intercede for us; and we in turn offer prayers and suffrages in behalf of the souls in Purgatory.

On November 1 and 2, we celebrate this article of our faith, the Communion of Saints. On November 1, we recall the Church Triumphant. It is the Solemnity of All the Saints—with emphasis on “All,” meaning, we recall not only the men and women whose holiness has been officially proclaimed through canonization—a relatively small number, but also the thousands and myriads who enjoy the glory of heaven and whose holiness is known to God alone. Some call this the feast of the Unknown Saint, in reference to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

November 1 is indeed a glorious and joyous celebration. It is a day to thank God for giving ordinary men and women like us a share in his holiness. It is a day to remember that all of us are called to holiness. The saints were not born saints; they became saints by being obedient to God’s will—many of them to the point of death. They experienced the same obstacles, trials and temptations we experience.
That is why they can be our role models. Besides, being God’s friends, they can also intercede for us before the only Mediator, Jesus Christ.

In the Philippines, the joy of the feast of All the Saints is all but overshadowed, first by the Halloween festival, with its emphasis on the ghostly and scary costumes and the trick-or-treat games; and then by the now well-established custom of going to the cemeteries to honor the dead on this day—one day ahead of time.

November 2 is the day to recall the Church Suffering–the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, also called All Souls’ Day. As mentioned above, the Catholic Church teaches that the souls of those who die without making up for sins committed, though confessed and forgiven (think of a person who could not reconcile, or could not repay stolen money, or could not restore a destroyed reputation), must undergo purification after death in Purgatory.

Non-Catholics deny the existence of Purgatory saying that no such word is mentioned in the Bible. True, the word purgatory is not mentioned in the Bible; but the rationale and the concept of purgatory are. In Revelation 21:27, we read, “Nothing unclean shall enter [into heaven].” In 2 Maccabees12:43-46 we read that “…The valiant Judas took up a collection among his soldiers and sent it to Jerusalem to be offered as a sacrifice for sin… so that the dead might be pardoned for their sin.” In Luke 12:58 we are enjoined to settle with our accuser on the way to court, “lest he drag you to the judge and the judge deliver you to the jailer, and the jailer throw you in prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny.”

On November 1 and 2, as we honor and recall the Church Triumphant and the Church Suffering, we renew our faith and our hope in the resurrection of the dead and in the life to come. For us, life is changed, not ended.

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Fr. Robert Manansala Reflections

“WE WILL BE JUDGED ON LOVE”, A Reflection for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, By Fr. Robert B. Manansala, OFM

Ex 22:20-26; Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51; 1 Thess 1:5-10; Mt 22:34-40

In January 2011, a picture of Dr. Richard Teo circulated in the internet. Together with it, a transcript of his talk on his life experiences went viral as well. He was a general medical practitioner turned cosmetic surgeon and he died of lung cancer on October 18, 2012, nine months after his talk.

Already suffering from cancer in January, he shared his life experiences with a class of students. In the beginning, just like many people, he thought of happiness in terms of success, and success was about wealth. As a young doctor, he saw that becoming a cosmetic surgeon was the fastest way to success and wealth. So instead of healing the sick and the ill, he shifted to glorifying aesthetic looks. True enough, after a year, he was raking in millions and could very well afford the luxuries of life. Then in March 2011, at the pinnacle of life according to the world’s standards, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He got very depressed and realized that his success and everything that he had acquired could not give him genuine happiness and joy.

Dr. Teo recalled a college friend named Jennifer. Whenever she saw a snail on the pathway, she would pick it up and put it along the grass path. At that time, he could not understand what Jennifer was doing, getting her hands dirty for the sake of a snail. It was just a snail. Besides, it deserved to be crushed if it went the pathway of humans.

Dr. Teo said that as a doctor, he should have been steeped in compassion even for non-human creatures, but he was not and could not. In fact, his exposure to sufferings and deaths in the cancer department as a young doctor deadened his feelings and capacity to empathize. Everything became simply a job for him. While he knew all the medical terms to describe the sufferings of people, how they felt and what they were struggling through, in truth, he did not really know how they felt – until he became a cancer patient himself. He said that if he could only relive his life, he would have been a different doctor – a truly compassionate one. A cancer patient himself, he began to understand how other patients felt, something that he learned the hard and irrevocable way.

Dr. Teo reminded his listeners never to lose their moral compass along the way of life and in the practice of their professions, something that he lost as he got obsessed with wealth, viewing his patients as merely sources of income. As doctors, they should serve people and have compassion on the sufferings of their patients. Society and media should not dictate on them how they should live.

True happiness does not come from serving oneself but from serving others. And it comes from knowing God, not simply knowing God but knowing God personally, and having a genuine relationship with God. He said that is the most important thing he learned: to set our priorities at an earlier stage of our lives – to trust in the Lord and to love and serve others, not just ourselves.

Dr. Richard Teo ended his talk with a quote from the book Tuesdays with Morrie. It says: “Everyone knows that they are going to die; every one of us knows that. The truth is none of us believe it because if we did, we will do things differently. When I faced death, when I had to, I stripped myself of all stuff totally and I focused only on what is essential. The irony is that a lot of times, only when we learn how to die then we learn how to live.”

On this 30th Sunday in the Ordinary Time, Jesus reminds us that love of God and neighbors is the summary of all the laws, commandments and teachings of the prophets, the summary of religion itself. It is very significant that we are hearing these two greatest commandments right after All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. The saints are known for the holiness of their lives. As Christians, this is our fundamental calling – this universal call to holiness, which consists in the practice of the love of God and neighbors.

Lumen Gentium, one of the Vatican II documents, tells us that all of us are called to holiness by virtue of baptism. Holiness consists in the perfection of charity – in other words, in the growth and practice of the love of God and neighbors according to our states and circumstances of life. Leon Bloy, a French writer, declares, “The only tragedy in life is not to be a saint.” We may not all become canonized saints, so All Saints’ Day is also for the countless holy men and women who are not officially declared saints of the Church.

A parishioner once remarked that All Souls’ Day is a good reminder to pray for our dead relatives and friends and also of our own mortality. Indeed, all of us will come to the point of our final surrender to the Lord, the final offering of our last breath, of our entire life, of all our deeds and personal history.

St. Francis of Assisi desired to die naked to dramatically show that, like Job of the Old Testament, he came into this world with nothing. He wanted to go back to the Lord in utter nakedness and complete dependence on Him and on His mercy. Everything is grace. Everything and everyone is a gift and there is nothing and nobody that we can really appropriate for ourselves. In Pilipino, “Hiram sa Diyos ang ating buhay.” In fact, “Hiram sa Diyos ang lahat-lahat.” We must be ready to make that final surrender of everything. It is in this light, that we can appreciate the reminders of Dr. Richard Teo, Jim Castle and of all the saints, especially that of St. John of the Cross who said: “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love.”

The scribe in the Gospel was sincere in his questioning of Jesus. He was really searching for the truth that would guide him in living his life and in practicing religion. A total of 613 commandments had accumulated and developed through the years of interpretation of the Ten Commandments and other precepts of the Law and the Prophets. Jesus’ response to the scribe was an invitation to see what was already there in the Scriptures. All they needed to do was to practice them truthfully.

The love of God with all one’s heart, soul and strength is found in the Book of Deuteronomy, and constitutes the Shema, the most important prayer of the Israelite religion (cf. Dt 46:4-5). The love of neighbor as oneself is found in the Book of Leviticus (cf. Lv 19:18). What we find separated in the Old Testament has been put together by Jesus in the New Testament (cf. Mk 12:28-34; Mt 22:34-40; Lk 10:25-28).

Indeed, the love of God and the love of neighbors, though distinct, are interrelated and inseparable. The love of God takes priority over everything else, but it must flow into the love of neighbors, especially the needy, and those suffering and in pain.

When Blessed Mother Teresa accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo in 1979, a part of her acceptance speech went like this: “It is not enough for us to say: ‘I love God, but I do not love my neighbor.’ St. John says that you are a liar if you say you love God and you don’t love your neighbor (1 Jn 4:20). How can you love God whom you do not see, if you do not love your neighbor whom you see, whom you touch, with whom you live? And so this is very important for us to realize that love, to be true, has to hurt.”

For Blessed Mother Teresa, love is something that is very concrete, something that begins where we are, without ending there. In this regard, she said: “Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor… Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.”

We end with some revealed insights of St. Catherine of Genoa on purgatory. Purgatory, according to the saint, has something to do with the cleaning and purifying love of God upon souls wherein stains of sin still remains. Only a soul purified from all sinfulness can be completely united with God who is Divine Love.

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Fr. Sergio Santos Reflections

LOVE GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE BEING A Sunday Gospel Reflection for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time By Fr. Sergio Santos, OFM

God has a Divine Plan from the very beginning of time. The Divine Plan of God is like a “tele-drama”. In the “tele-drama”, God, the Father, our Creator is the Producer, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and our Savior, is the Director, the Holy Spirit, the Love that binds God, the Father and Jesus Christ, is the Scriptwriter, The Actors were the Old Testament and New Testament people, and now in this digital generation, the actors are us, Christians.

The Old Testament and New Testament actors had 613 precepts, rules or commandments, including the Ten Commandments to act out. The first three of the Ten Commandments pertain to the love of God and the last seven commandments pertain to love of neighbor. With the coming of Jesus Christ, these were simplified when the Pharisees in the Gospel today asked Jesus Christ as to the greatest commandment. The answer was “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. The second is like it”. This clear-cut answer was not only for the Pharisees but an answer and a rule of life for all of us for all time.

What Jesus Christ is saying is that the love of God and neighbor fulfills all of a person’s obligations and carries out all the duties that God’s self-revelation in “the law and the prophets” requires. God in the Old Testament is revealed as our Creator and Divine Benefactor. Out of God’s infinite goodness, God is sharing with humanity the eternal kingdom of bliss; this is the reason why we were created. That is why out of God’s love for humanity, God became flesh and blood in the personhood of the Son Jesus Christ through the Incarnation. In 1 John 4:9-11, it states: “God’s love was revealed in our midst in this way: He sent his only Son to the world so that we might have life through him. Love, then, consists in this: not that we have loved God but that he has loved us and sent His Son as an offering for sins. Beloved, if God has loved us so, we must have the same love for one another”. Through the Incarnation, we have been raised to the status of children of God.

What exactly is this love of God? This means our whole being is directed towards God. All that we say, and do is leading us towards God and none other. And this means also we are open to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who will teach us and sustain us with resources to fulfil this commitment of love. Thomas Merton said that if one is committed to God, resources are provided. “God provides”. This, I have personally experienced in my life as a Franciscan religious. Divine Providence is around us.

And what is this loving your neighbor as yourself about? The measure of that love of neighbor is the love one bears toward oneself. The law of fraternal charity, the obligation to love a neighbor, was ordered by God on the Israelites from their very beginning as the chosen people.

Recall that this commandment is like the first. Love of neighbor is a very important obligation toward God. It is a sacred duty. And if we fail to love our neighbor, we also fail in our love for God.

Can we ask ourselves today how seriously we take this law of fraternal charity? Whatever spiritual, psychological, or material help given out of true charity to a neighbour in need, is given to God, and whatever is given to God will be rewarded a hundredfold, including one’s name written in the Book of Life.

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Fr. Reu Galoy Reflections

Giving What Is Due Is Transforming Conflict Into Connection, A Sunday Gospel Reflection for the 29th Sunday In Ordinary Time By Fr. Reu Jose C. Galoy

Today’s gospel is so rich – there are several issues that can lead us to deeper reflection. For instance, when does our responsibility to society and to God begin and end? Do we really have to put our social and religious obligation in opposition with each other? The Catholic Church Catechism points out that there are three circumstances where citizens are obliged in conscience to refuse obedience to civil authorities. These are in situations when the laws are “contrary to the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons and to the teachings of the gospel.” The principle is clear. However, its application may not be so simple when there is apparent clash of rights.

The realities of life and relational dynamics are not simple black and white categorization. There are aspects that require better comprehension due to inherent complexities. The question put before Jesus whether it is permissible for Jews to pay tribute to Caesar sheds light into the mind and strategy of the Pharisees. They were trying to bring Jesus into a political trap that would set him at odds with the Roman authorities who were the rulers of Israel at that time or else, when this fails, it would discredit him before his own people. To avoid giving rise to suspicion of their intention, they decided not to get themselves involved personally. They sent some of their disciples to Jesus instead. It is quite likely that the leaders of the Pharisees stayed in the background because they wanted the followers of Herod, the Roman appointed tetrarch of Galilee, to take part also in the plot against Jesus even though these Herodians, who openly advocated cooperation with the Romans, were their most bitter enemies. It appears to be a truth-seeking inquiry with malicious intent, to say the least. The religious leaders wanted to hide behind their manipulative action at the expense of Jesus. But we know that any ill intent will never produce good fruit.

For our reflection on this Sunday’s gospel, I wish to humbly invite you to look into the aspect where we try and maybe attempt unconsciously to separate our actions as belonging either to the private or to the public sphere. Such is the case with the social responsibility like paying tax which we might consider as belonging to the public realm, while our relationship with God is considered a private matter and has no significance or no connection to our public life. This dichotomy is an act of denying that everything is a gift from God and belongs to God, including Caesar. This is so because to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s means also fidelity to God since God wills that we be concerned for our society. This in turn is a partial fulfilment of our basic duty, that is, to give to God what is his. Relegating God into the private space of our life and social relationships indicates that social obligation is of greater importance than God – it is tantamount to committing idolatry (a worship of money and power).

To give what is due is to recognize one’s role in promoting the common good. In like manner, it shows the centrality of God in one’s own existence as the Alpha and Omega of everything we do in this life. God establishes connection rather than create conflict. In God there are is no category of private and public for God is all in all.

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Fr. Baltazar Obico

“Conversion as Ongoing Process” A Sunday Gospel Reflection for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time By Fr. BaltazarObico, OFM

Introduction: Einstein once said, “Everything has changed but our thinking. The mind is always the last to know. Life flows continuously but the mind lags behind. It holds on to past moments, so it cannot catch the new that is happening. Loyalty to the mind is foolish. Consistent thinking, holding the same position now as we did earlier, has a high price tag. The spiritual adage is: the mind makes a good servant but a poor master. Too often we cling to what we think that it keeps us from attuning to the rhythms of life. (John Shea) “Amen I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom before you.” Today’s Gospel seems to disturb our societal order and undermine the whole reason for being good, living justly and observing standards, if the tax collectors and sinners will be ahead of the righteous. A closer reflection of it however, says it is the ability to change one’s mind that Jesus emphasizes, an ability which the sinners have for they know their true status before God. Conversion in the Scriptures is primarily a change of mind. The word is metanoia.

Gospel.(Mt. 21:28-32) The parable of the two sons is peculiar to Matthew. It is an explanation to Jesus’ adversaries of why the gospel is eventually addressed to the sinners, the “just” having rejected it. It is a justification of the direction of the Gospel now to those who are despised, a new category of the poor. Jesus is actually addressing the high priests and elders. He wants to show those who are scandalized by his preference for sinners; that these are actually closer to salvation if they do penance than the people who considers them just. The targets of the parable then are those who close themselves against the Good news in the name of justice. Jesus gets them to know that God loves the rejected; they are capable of greater penance and obedience than the proud and self-sufficient. (B. Reid)

God did not decide at a definite moment of history to reject the Jews and choose the Gentiles. His salvific will is AT ALL TIMES UNIVERSAL. Not event the scribes or Jewish leaders are excluded from salvation. Their treatment of the Messiah simply meant that they lost the role of mediation that was hitherto theirs. The parable is crystal clear. The Jewish leaders are the people who said they will obey, and then did not. The tax collectors and harlots are those who said they would not but then have a change of mind and then a corresponding change of heart. The key to understanding is that it is really not praising anyone. Neither child had it all together. But the one who had the humility to change their minds and do what was asked was the exemplary one.

Word. Conversion is an ongoing process. We have to admit that on many occasions we promise to be faithful and have broken the same. How easy it is to say yes in the first fervor, but then how demanding it is to live a life of faithful obedience when one is committed in the long haul. But like a good marriage in which the fire of love burns less brightly but more hotly as the members fanned with every loving good deeds, so the infatuation in a disciple is solidified into a habit of being, as it is acted on day after day. Remember the renewal programs of the Church, the cursillo, life in the spirit seminar, the PREX, other regular retreats; how we feel we want to conquer the world by the new found strength! We know how slowly it dissipated. The yes is not something we pronounced only once but embraced anew each day. After years of acting out such transformative love, the words hardly even spoken as loving deeds say it all.

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Fr. Robert Manansala Reflections

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, A Reflection by Fr. Robert Manansala, OFM

The gospel passage this Sunday, which contains a teaching on treasures in heaven and three parables on vigilance and faithfulness, can be summarized by the following line that we read in the text: “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” The Jesuit biblical scholar Joseph A. Fitzmeyer says “this maxim has parallels in secular Greek literature, but none of them is so succinctly put as this.”

Gerald Cowen, in his beautiful elaboration of the significance of the heart in the Bible, speaks of the heart as “the center of the physical, emotional, mental, moral and spiritual life of humans.” According to him, “the conscience, for instance, is associated with the heart.” On the negative side, depravity is said to issue from the heart. In Matthew 15:19, Jesus speaks that out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. “In other words, defilement comes from within rather than from without.”

Cowen further notes that “because the heart is at the root of the problem, this is the place where God does His work in the individual.” For example in Romans 2:15, St. Paul speaks of the work of the law as “written in their hearts,” and conscience is the proof of this. In some gospel parables, “the heart is the field where seed or the Word of God is sown. Finally, the heart is the dwelling place of God. God resides in the heart of the believer.

Jesus does not say in the Gospel, “Where your heart is, there will be your treasure also.” He says, “Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” Jesus knows that if we want to know what is in people’s hearts, we first find out what is in their treasure boxes or what they consider as their treasures.” Considered as the seat of human yearning or longing, the heart is attracted and directed towards that which it considers its treasures.

Etymologically, treasure comes from the English term “thesaurus,” a word that refers to a “storehouse.” Literally, it means “a receptacle of valuables.” What one keeps, maintains, safeguards, protects and accumulates as his valuables are his treasures. Indeed, what we store is our treasure. Denis McBride is right in saying that if we want to know the condition of one’s heart, find out what one stores in his treasure box. Tell me what you consider as your greatest treasures and I will tell you about the condition of your heart.

Last Sunday, Jesus warned against storing treasures up that do not last. More concretely, he warned against greed and strongly reminded that one’s life does not consist of possessions. What is important is to be rich in what matters to God.

Biblical revelation, Christian spirituality and theology tell us that the heart’s proper and prime attraction must be God. The New Catechism of the Catholic Church starts by declaring that the longing for God is planted in the heart of every person. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus tells us “to seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” In the gospel today, Jesus says that the Father is giving us this treasure of the Kingdom of God, “the inexhaustible treasure in heaven than no thief can reach nor moth destroy.”

If we anchor the rest of the Gospel on this fundamental challenge of receiving and making the God and Kingdom of God as the greatest treasure of our hearts, we then find at least three important lessons on the basis of our gospel passage.

First, everything, including material possessions and even basic needs that we have, becomes relative to the absoluteness of God’s Kingdom. We seek God and His Kingdom first and above all else. If we truly believe that God’s Kingdom has already started with the coming of Jesus, and the present is oriented towards the completion of this Kingdom in Jesus’ return or second coming, we strive to cooperate with God’s grace to really make God the center of our lives. One of the results of this is that we become more trusting in the providence of God and we acquire a more non-clinging and non-accumulative attitude towards everything, including possessions.

The gospel passage last Sunday made it very clear, “One’s life does not consist of possessions” and thus, we must avoid greed in any forms. In the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi and many other saints, everything is a gift from God and everything ultimately belongs to God. Obsessive and greedy appropriation and accumulation of goods are not traits of people who trust in God as their loving and benevolent Father. If God takes care of the sparrows, how much more he will take care of us.

Second, knowing that one’s greatest treasure is God’s Kingdom leads one to share what one has and possesses with others, especially with the poor. The relative and fleeting character of possessions makes one share with others and impels him to work for transformation of the world so that what truly reign in the world are the Kingdom values of love, peace, justice and equality. God the Father of all humans and of all creation has given the resources of the world to be shared by all. This experience of the Fatherhood of God and the absoluteness of his Kingdom makes us work for a new world order where no one is neglected, oppressed, abused and dehumanized.

Finally, because God and His Kingdom are our greatest treasure, the proper disposition in this world is that of a faithful and prudent servant and steward who is always ready to make an accounting to the Lord for the life and resources that He has given us and for the quality of lives that we have lived and the quality of persons that we have become. The gospel passage has a strong reminder on this: “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” At the hour of our death and at the eschatological coming of Jesus at the end of time, an accounting has to be made. Blessed is the servant and steward who is faithful, prudent and wise for living well and for relating well with others, especially the poor and the weak, according to the Kingdom values of love, peace, justice and equality.

A faithful and prudent servant and steward is vigilant. The first reading from the Book of Wisdom reminds us of the need for preparedness for the ultimate coming of the Lord as the Israelite people waited and prepared for their liberation from the slavery of Egypt.

A faithful and prudent servant and steward also possesses faith. The person who knows that his real treasure is God and His Kingdom will possess the faith exemplified by Abraham as recounted in the Letter to the Hebrews. Maryanne Williamson says that “the greatest treasures are those invisible to the eye but felt by the heart.” One can only apprehend these treasures by faith for “faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.”

We find in St. Augustine of Hippo, the sinner turned saint, an embodiment of the heart’s search for what can truly satisfy it. In his life story, we find a succession of desperate searches for fulfillment: excessive pleasures, false religions, philosophy, dissipation and distractions—futilities that left him so weary of himself he could only cry out, “How long, O Lord, how long?” In the midst of this cry for divine help, the Scriptures showed him that he could be freed from sin and that he could start living a godly life. The transformation of St. Augustine began when he finally believed in and surrendered himself to God.

In his beautiful work entitled Confessions, considered one of the greatest autobiographical testimonies of God’s interaction with a soul that has found rest in its Creator, with a heart bursting with the reality of God, St. Augustine directly addresses the Lord. He declares: “Great are you, O Lord, and greatly to be praised, great is your power, and your wisdom is infinite.

In contrast to God, he asks, “What is man?” Yes, he finds the connection between God and man. In spite of sin, each person feels the longing to reach out to his Creator. Whys is this so? St. Augustine realizes that this itself is God’s doing: “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless, until they find rest in you.”

Blaise Pascal, the 17th century mathematician, philosopher and author declared: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator made known through Jesus.”

Our hearts know that nobody and nothing in this world can completely satisfy us. St. Poemen knew this very well when he said, “Give not your heart to that which does not satisfy your heart.” If we give our hearts to God, we give God everything and God becomes our All.

Almighty God,
you have made us for yourself,
and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you:
pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself,
and so bring us at last to your heavenly city
where we shall see you face to face;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,y
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

About Fr. Robert and his reflections

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Pastoral Team

WELCOME FR. SERGE AND FR. TONY!

Following custom in this parish, the time has come for priests to rotate their assignments. Let’s all welcome Fr. Serge Santos, OFM who will be with us regularly for 2 years, and Fr. Tony Eguiguren, OFM who will be serving the parish until August 30, 2014.
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FR. SERGIO “SERGE” SANTOS, OFM

Friar Serge hails from Caloocan City. His parents were originally from Bulacan.

He has been a professed friar for 34 years. He obtained his Master of Divinity degree at the Franciscan School of Theology, GTU, in Berkeley, California.

He obtained his Bachelor in Commercial Science degree, major in Business Administration and Management and minor in Accounting, Banking and Finance at San Beda College, Manila.

His secular life was filled with a wealth of experiences: as an employee of Araneta University for one year;administrative and clerical employee of Marsman and Co., Inc. for ten years; trust accounting specialist and trust tax technician of Wells Fargo Bank, San Francisco, California for 10 years.

Serge immigrated to the U.S.A. as professional immigrant in 1968. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit while working in the bank and joined the Franciscans of the St. Barbara Province in California. Serge lived, worked and ministered for 36 years in California before transferring to the Franciscans of San Pedro Bautista Province, Philippines.

As a Franciscan he served in various capacities as parochial vicar, pastor, chaplain, bursar, director/formator, pastoral counselor, and spiritual director.

He is a new member of the community of the pastoral team although he has been assigned here some eight years ago. Being elderly, his main ministry will be counselling and confessions. He will be available for counselling on MWF 9am-11am and by appointment.
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FR. ANTONIO “TONY” EGUIGUREN, OFM

Fr. Antonio Eguiguren, OFM is not new to the Parish community having stayed here for a year and half four years ago. Fr. Tony is a member of the Belgian Province, although he is originally from Spain. He is a visiting professor at the Institute of Consecrated Life, and is part of our community until August 2014. He feels at home in our parish, especially with the Spanish –speaking parishioners.

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Fr. Jesus Galindo Pastoral Team Reflections

“THE MOST BLESSED TRINITY: A Mystery of Love, Not of Numbers”, A Sunday Gospel Reflection by Fr. Jesús Galindo, OFM

“In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” These are about the first words we learn about God in early childhood–a proclamation of the greatest mystery of our faith: the Most Blessed Trinity. It is linked to the sign of the cross precisely because the cross is the symbol of God’s love for us: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son…” (Jn. 3:16)

If the mystery of the Trinity does not particularly excite us it is partly due to the way in which it was explained to us in school. It was presented as a mystery of numbers: “Father, Son and Holy Spirit: three persons but only one God. How can that be?” The teacher would use different devices, such as a triangle, or a branch with three little twigs, to help us understand the mystery; only to conclude by saying that, anyway, no matter how hard we try, we will never be able to understand the Blessed Trinity because “it is a mystery.”

Christianity is the only religion that believes in a triune God. It was Jesus who revealed to us the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit—without mentioning the word Trinity: “The Father and I are one” (Jn. 10:30). “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” (Jn. 14:11) “The Holy Spirit whom the Father will send you in my name will teach you everything.” (Jn. 14:26) Jesus speaks of the Blessed Trinity, not in terms of numbers but in terms of persons–Father, Son, Spirit, among whom there is communion, love and unity in diversity. The Blessed Trinity is family. The Blessed Trinity is community.

Hence the best thing to do in order to understand something of the mystery of the Blessed Trinity is to look into God’s own image: Man and woman. We are God’s image—not the triangle, not the branch. God has created us into his image and likeness and has placed within us something of himself: his love. It is love that drives husband and wife to join their lives forever and to build a home. It is love that keeps friends in each other’s company for hours… Love unites and makes one: “That is why a man leaves father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.” (Gen. 2:24) Hence it is God’s infinite love that makes it possible for the three divine persons to be One God.

Seen in this light, the Blessed Trinity is no longer an abstract mystery of numbers but a mystery of love in which we ourselves are involved. At baptism we have become sons and daughters of the Father, brothers and sisters of Christ the Son, and temples of the Holy Spirit. Our task is not so much to explain the mystery of the Blessed Trinity through visual aids and comparisons but rather to live it out by leading a trinitarian life marked by love, respect, unity, and acceptance despite differences.

We can (and should) play the role of God the Father/Mother (God is both) by giving love, attention, quality time and warmth to our children. We can (and should) play the role of God the Son by giving love, respect, and assistance to our parents, grandparents, the elderly and the sick. We can (and should) play the role of God the Holy Spirit by giving hope, encouragement and inspiration to the hopeless, the helpless, the depressed and the confused, especially among the young. Thus the Blessed Trinity is no longer a mystery of numbers but rather a program of life that brings hope and life to the world—through us, who have been baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

About Fr. Jesus and his reflections.

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Articles Pastoral Team

WELCOME, FR. REU!

On the Feast day of Our Lady of Fatima, May 13, 2014, Fr Reu Jose C. Galoy, OFM was installed as the 10th Parish Priest of Santuario de San Antonio. The mass was presided by Manila Auxiliary Bishop Most Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, D.D. Representatives of the different Parish Ministries, as well as, members of the Franciscan Order were in attendance. Afterwards, the congregation proceeded to the parish center for dinner and an opportunity to give Fr. Reu a warm welcome.

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