“The (unCatholic and unChristian) Two Popes”

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 23 December 2019

As early as Friday night after my second Simbang Gabi Mass at 8:30, I have been wanting to react on social media against Netflix’s “The Two Popes”.

But I tried to control my self because I have only seen its first 30 minutes – and besides, it is a fiction story. So, in the spirit of fairness, I tried to finish the movie in three installments until Saturday afternoon before making any comments.

And I felt sad in having seen it at all.

“The Two Popes” is not entertaining. It is misleading without any strong elements to build on our faith and appreciate our religion. At its worst, despite its claim of being inspired by true events, the movie is unCatholic and unChristian.

UnCatholic and UnChristian

Movies about religions and religious figures and personalities are always controversial by nature. But for as long as they follow the paths of honesty, sincerity, and truth, these movies eventually emerge as true expressions of art that can truly deepen one’s faith.

But “The Two Popes” at its opening scene is already disturbing and objectionable when it portrayed the Cardinals at the 2005 conclave as having animosity and rivalry among themselves in electing Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

Yes, we priests including bishops and Cardinals are all humans like anybody else but no one among us would ever dare to aspire for the papacy. While it is true there are some priests who are into “careerism” in the diocesan level, everything changes starting with the episcopacy or the office of the bishop.

In fact, part of the problem why we have so many vacant dioceses in the country and the whole world is that many priests refuse to accept their appointment as bishops because of many fears that are so real that come with the immense responsibilities of the position. According to the Vatican, three out of every ten priests offered to become bishops decline the offer personally made by the Pope through his Papal Nuncio in every country.

How much more with the Papacy?!

In the movie, Pope Benedict toured Cardinal Bergoglio inside the Sistine Chapel and showed him the “crying room” where the newly elected Pope may stay and cry – yes – before finally accepting his election as Pope.

That alone is true but not the movie portrayal during the conclave that claim Cardinals aspiring to become the Pope. It is something preposterous and totally untrue.

What is very disturbing in “The Two Popes” is how it presented Cardinal Ratzinger and Cardinal Bergoglio like “lowlife” lawmakers of congress gunning for the top post for prestige and power with their respective bloc members going around in hushed conversations with matching dagger looks at each other.

This is the movie’s weakest point: rather than being seen as something about deepening our faith in God and the institutional Church or any established religion for that matter, it played on “politics” in the guise of showing the flaws and frailties of two popes competing for position and fame.

You might say “it is just a movie” but, not everyone can rightly see whatever good intentions – if it really has – that the movie is trying to present.

Instead of enlightening the viewers in their faith to the Church in general, there was something sinister in the way it presented almost everyone except Cardinal Bergoglio.

Behind the movie’s beautiful cinematography and studio sets are “subliminal messages” as if inciting viewers to dismiss the Catholic Church and other religions because they are all the same – run by egoistic, power hungry people enjoying so many luxuries in life that the common masses could not even imagine to exist.

We priests are sinners and though there are some of us who have sold Jesus like Judas Iscariot for the price of wealth and fame, there are much too many who still work in silence and hiddenness and holiness bringing Christ to the people.

The Catholic Church has continued to exist since Christ’s ascension because the good shepherds like Jesus have always far outnumbered the rotten ones. Hence, those scenes repeated twice or thrice of Pope Benedict worried with his “popularity” are outrageously absurd!

Bias against Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

The movie is supposed to show us how two great men of God, of divergent backgrounds and worlds apart, resolved their many conflicts within themselves and with others regarding their faith and ministry and mission in leading the Catholic Church.

Both actors, especially Anthony Hopkins did superb jobs in playing their roles.

The movie tried to show the triumph of the Divine in mysterious ways we can never explain nor understand using men of limitations and weaknesses.

What makes “The Two Popes” so unkind and unchristian is the fact that it is more about Pope Francis as the vida and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as contravida. It could have been better if the producers just centered on the present Holy Father as basis of their film and called it “The Pope”. Period.

How can it be a film about faith and religion when the plot itself is unfair and grossly biased against the supposed co-star who is also a Pope?

The movie is also unfair to Pope Francis who would surely never allow himself to be praised and exalted at the expense of the Pope Emeritus or any other person, whether in real life or fiction.

This for me is the most unkindest cut of all in this Netflix movie that fans the many wrong impressions fed on by media against Cardinal Josef Ratzinger since his being the Prefect of Sacred Congregation of Doctrine and Faith during the time of St. John Paul II.

Throughout the film, it is very evident at how the Pope Emeritus is put on the bad light as if he never cared at all about actual situations in the Church and in the world, from the sex scandals to issues on celibacy among other things because he is so absorbed in his intellectual pursuits in the world of books and the academe.

We are of Christ

In 1963, the American film “The Cardinal” was released, earning six Academy Awards and very positive reviews for excellently portraying Catholic religion amid issues of interfaith marriage, sex outside marriage, abortion, racism, and dictatorships set during the Second World War.

It was also inspired by true events based on the life of the late Cardinal Francis Spellman of New York.

Its music theme has become a classic piece too that we have all learned by heart while still in high school seminary.

I can still remember the film that showed in a very positive light the main character with all his flaws and shortcomings as a person, as a priest. No need to put other characters down just to underscore his goodness.

The film had a Vatican liaison officer in the person of the young German priest Fr. Dr. Josef Ratzinger who, after that movie, would be attending Vatican II as a periter or consultant to join the efforts in reforming the Church and make it more responsive to modern time.

Yes, the very same Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI portrayed in the Netflix movie as “ignorant” of the Beatles and of tango and of many other things of the modern world.

“The Two Popes” ended positively with the “unlikely friendships” of Pope Benedict and Cardinal Bergoglio but still with its askewed presentation of the two holy men, of the people in Vatican, and of the Church’s members and leaders.

So unlike the classic “The Cardinal”, “The Two Popes” missed the essence of the papacy and of the Church as an institution and a body of believers – that Christianity is not about categories or labels as conservatives, progressives, or liberals: it is about our being of Jesus Christ alone.

It is deceivingly appealing to the senses but nothing really so profound about faith and Jesus Christ and his Church. With hindsight, though, after seeing the movie, the more I have come to love and admire Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI for his love and faith in Jesus and the Church.

And Jesus told his disciples… “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me” (Mt.5:11).

Have a blessed Christmas!

God is gracious

The Lord Is My Chef Simbang Gabi Recipe, 23 December 2019

***Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24* ><)))> ><)))> ><)))> Luke 1:57-66***

Facade of the Church of St. John the Baptist in Eim Karen where the precursor of the Lord was born. Not to be confused with Church of the Visitation at its other side in the same town. Photo by author, May 2019

Two days before Christmas, St. Luke brings us back to the continuation of his first story about Christmas: the birth of John the Baptizer.

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God.
Luke 1:57-64

Site where St. John the Baptist is believed to have been born. Photo by author, May 2019.

Where is God leading me?

Christmas is almost here. And it is not yet too late in these last two days of Advent that we try some “last ditch efforts” to spiritually prepare ourselves for this joyous season by asking just one question following the story of John’s birth:

“Where is God leading me?”

See the artistry of St. Luke, at how he began his Christmas story with the annunciation of the birth of John to his father Zechariah while incensing the Holy of Holies of the Temple in Jerusalem.

He doubted the good news and he was silenced by the angel until John was born.

Today, after three days, or nine months to be exact, St. Luke brings him back into the scene set free from his punishment. Zechariah was able to speak again when he concurred with his wife’s desire to name their child John by writing it on a tablet.

The name John in Hebrew is Jehohan which means “God is gracious” or “graciousness of God”.

Advent and Christmas are a story of how each one of us is a John, a graciousness of God, of us people so blessed by God to fulfill his promise of salvation in Jesus Christ.

But do we realize the many blessings we have from God?

The other night I saw an interesting post on Facebook from one of my former students in high school. It was from a woman sharing her experience while waiting in line at an ATM that has now gone viral.

She claimed that at first, she felt so bad at what was taking three people so long at the ATM to withdraw their cash. But when she got nearer, she overheard their conversations.

It turned out the three were given a bonus of Php 2000.00 each by their boss.

And they were extremely happy, so thankful, telling each other how they would prepare spaghetti and fruit salad on Christmas eve!

And the woman who posted the photo realized how those simple folks were so thankful for Php 2000.00 bonus when she and others like her who get more than that amount still complain?!

Very nice reflection!

Advent gives us four weeks to remember God’s graciousness to us this past year. The bountiful blessings we have had which we take for granted. Worst, we even complain with!

Altar of the Church of St. John the Baptist, Israel. When we came there last May, it was being closed for major restorations expected to last for years.

Whenever we see and count our blessings, do we ever thank God and ask him too where he is leading us to?

Zechariah was already old, had a great chance of incensing the Holy of Holies at their most important feast, doubted God’s grace but eventually still received it after nine months of silence.

By his action, Zechariah had shown how he had grown in faith during those nine months of “forced silence”, of how he had start to believe again in God, hope again, and practically live life anew!

Tremendous graces in just nine months being silent. Imagine that.

And we can have more grace today until tomorrow being silent, reflecting, praying as we count one by one the many blessings we have received this year.

Call it ageing gracefully, a grace in itself wherein as we grow old, we continue to find direction in life, we continue to find God leading us to him, for a specific mission to fulfill.

Dome of the Church of St. John the Baptist in Israel. Photo by author, May 2019.

Yesterday we have reflected that we are like St. Joseph entrusted with a special mission from God. That God “needs” us to bring Jesus, to care and protect Jesus here in the world. Each of us has a special part or role to play in God’s Divine plan in Jesus Christ.

Never lose hope in life. No matter what is our situation in life, God continues to work in us, working for us, inviting us to work with him.

It is interesting to know that the name Zechariah means “God remembers” while Elizabeth means “God has promised or vowed”.

If their names are brought together, we can see the complete picture why St. Luke started his Christmas story with Zechariah, Elizabeth, and John and not with Jospeh or Mary right away: they all mean “God is gracious because he remembers his promise always”!

May we always trust God and ask him where he is leading each of us this Christmas no matter what is our status in life. Amen.

Advent is finding our mission anew

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe, Advent IV-A, 22 December 2019

***Isaiah 7:10-14* ><}}}> Romans 1:1-7* ><}}}> Matthew 1:18-24***

Dome of the Malolos Cathedral Basilica, Advent 2019. Photo by author.

We are now at the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the final week of preparations for Christmas happening in about three days. And we go back to the gospel of Matthew to reflect anew on the annunciation of Christ’s birth to Joseph.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.
Matthew 1:18-21,24

As we look toward the coming Christmas Day, the story of the annunciation to Joseph invites us to examine ourselves, to look inside and look back through the years what have we done to bring Jesus Christ into the world like him.

Though Advent celebrates God’s fidelity and constancy in fulfilling his plan of salvation for us through Jesus Christ, this coming involves a human setting among us in the present time to realize its fulfillment.

Dream of St. Joseph (oil on canvas) by Spanish painter Francisco Goya via Google.

St. Joseph’s mission, our mission too

When the angel appeared to Joseph in his dream, it was not so much to explain to him about Mary’s virginal conception but to reveal to him his mission. Very clearly, Mary’s conception of Jesus is absolutely extraordinary, a mystery directly from God himself.

And that is how it is with life: there are certain things we simply have to let ourselves be wrapped by mystery than to unravel or explain it.

Like the Blessed Virgin Mary whom he loves so much, Joseph believed in God, agreeing to what was asked of him that upon waking up, he obediently did everything the angel had instructed him.

Joseph’s acceptance of Mary and of his role in giving name to Jesus brings to an end the genealogy of “Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham” because in the Jewish society, it is the father who bears much weight in recognizing one’s child.

Here we find the crucial and critical importance of Joseph’s mission in giving name to Jesus, in taking Mary as wife: it is through his “fatherhood” that Christ comes into the world as a person, and most of all, as fulfillment of God’s promise made to Abraham and David.

Last Tuesday we have reflected how through Jesus Christ’s coming we now trace our genealogy and roots with God in faith. As children of our loving Father, we too are now entrusted with the same mission like Joseph to bring Jesus Christ into the world in our own time and history.

Altar of the Chapel of St. Joseph beside the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. Below the chapel are the ancient ruins of the home and shop of St. Joseph where he took care of Mary and Jesus. Photo by author May 2017.

Called to obedient faith

Salvation history continues and it is our duty to find our proper place in God’s plan like Joseph. The story of Christmas continues to our time that is why we have this Advent Season of preparation.

God has not diminished that great honor and privilege given to Joseph then and to us now of having an irreplaceable role in bringing Jesus into the world but this time, not through dream or voice of an angel. God continues to call us like Joseph to bring his plan of salvation in Jesus into fulfillment through our obedient faith through the Sacred Scriptures, the Church in her teachings and most of all, through the many situations and people we encounter in life.

We have to believe and accept this reality that “God needs us”, that the “baby Jesus” wants us to care for him, to give him a name so that “his glory would be eventually revealed for mankind to see the saving power of God” (communion antiphon of Christmas Eve).

St. Paul beautifully tells us in the second reading a very basic profession of faith affirming Jesus Christ as the Son of God descended from David through Joseph according to the flesh (Rom.1:1-4).

Through Jesus, we are called to “bring about obedience of faith” to spread this “good news to all Gentiles” or peoples of the world that they may honor and worship the Lord.

And the good news is this: despite or many flaws and weaknesses, all he needs is our complete faith and surrender to him like St. Joseph. It is Jesus Christ who shall provide us with the strength to fulfill this mission just like what he did to St. Joseph.

Hail to the fathers and men too

Last December 17 as the whole Church was proclaiming the gospel from Matthew on the genealogy of Jesus Christ, Pope Francis celebrated his 83rd birthday when he was presented with a unique Nativity scene called “Let Mum Rest” with St. Joseph taking care of the infant Jesus while Mary slept.

It went viral, and again, another unique imagery of the beloved St. Joseph courtesy of Pope Francis, a devotee of the Lord’s foster father. When he came to visit the Philippines in 2015, he narrated how he would pray to the sleeping St. Joseph and it became viral in the country.

And now this new image of St. Jospeh babysitting.

It is a very timely image at this time when there is a crisis in fatherhood, when many fathers have to make the difficult choice of leaving their families behind to work in distant places, often foreign countries just to earn decent living.

A crisis when fathers forget caring and loving their families because of the many demands of a high cost of living that along the way, they fall into many traps that sometimes make them forget their vows of marriage.

We need to pray hard for fathers and men. They too are blessed by God like St. Joseph.

We need to pray hard for fathers and men to help them remain upright like St. Joseph.

When Jesus began his ministry, he taught us the “Our Father” to show us that God is like a father because life comes from him. It is from the father that we receive the seeds of life with that genetic code called “DNA”. This is the reason why it is the father who gives name to the child at baptism like St. Joseph to Jesus.

Secondly, Jesus called God “our Father” because he is the one who protects and keeps life from dangers. He must have experienced this from St. Joseph who brought them to Egypt when Herod ordered the massacre of Holy Innocents after the visit by the Magi in Bethlehem. Fathers are often strict with children because he wants to ensure their safety.

Most of all, Jesus called God “our Father” because he is the one who brings back life to those who have lost it like the merciful father to his prodigal son (Lk.15).

How many times did our father saved us from scolding and punishment by our mother, from the simple misdemeanors to grave offenses like going wayward in life? It is often the father, ironically, despite his being strict and disciplinarian, who also has the softest heart for the prodigal child.

May St. Joseph help us men to be man enough to be faithful to God and loved ones to make everyone feel the love and mercy of the Father in heaven as revealed to us by Jesus Christ. Amen.

Blessed are the women!

The Lord Is My Chef Simbang Gabi Recipe, 21 December 2019

Zephaniah 3:14-18 ><)))> ><)))> ><)))> Luke 1:39-45*

Bronze statues of Mary and Elizabeth fronting the Church of the Visitation in Judah; inscriptions on the wall are Mary’s “Magnificat” in different languages including Filipino. Photo by author May 2017.

For most Filipinos, being “blessed” (mapalad) and “lucky” (suwerte) are often used interchangeably because they both mean the same which is being fortunate. And most of the time, we mean blessedness as being endowed with wealth and material things.

Anyone with a stable job or a flourishing career or a growing business with at least a car and a house and lot is always considered as blessed. If you go big time or have made it to the top, then you are most blessed!

Parents who have put all their children through college, especially in expensive and exclusive Catholic schools and universities are also considered blessed in our culture that puts a high premium on education.

For most of us Filipinos, being blessed means to be financially stable and secured with some degrees of fame and accomplishments.

But our gospel today says nothing about these things as being blessed. Fact is, nowhere do we find in the Bible, especially in the gospel accounts where Jesus tells us that financial viability is a blessing. On the contrary, his teachings teem with a lot of moral aspersions against reliance and worship of money and material wealth.

True blessedness is having faith in God, believing that his words would be fulfilled!

Church of the Visitation, the Holy Land. Photo by author May 2017.

Mary set out in those days and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
Luke 1:39-43, 45

Conversations between women

The Bible rarely records conversations exclusively between women. And even less frequent in the Bible is a conversation between two pregnant women that makes St. Luke’s account of the Visitation unique in itself.

For St. Luke, this encounter and exchange is significant because here are two women who bore a child in the most miraculous manner. Observe that St. Luke never used the word “pregnant” to describe the two women but simply told us that it is obviously the situation of both Elizabeth and Mary.

Exegetes explain St. Luke may have never used the term “pregnant” to emphasize to his readers God’s powerful grace on the two women in bearing a child: Elizabeth in her old age and barrenness and Mary in her youth and virginity.

What is most remarkable here is the way the two women were so “absorbed” in their conversation that one can imagine the “holy ground” they were standing so filled with Divine presence with the Holy Spirit hovering above them as two great souls met to honor God!

Even now if you go on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Visitation in Ein Karem, you can still experience that serenity and joy both women must have experienced on that hallowed ground.

Left painting on the dome is the Visitation while the other at the right is a depiction of how the angel saved St. John the Baptizer with St. Elizabeth from the murder of Holy Innocents ordered by Herod after learning the birth of Jesus Christ. Photo by author, May 2017.

True Blessedness

St. Luke tells us a lot of stories about “blessings” in his gospel account like here at the Visitation.

The most significant of these story of blessings is found in Luke 11:27-28 when Jesus was preaching, “a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.’ He replied, ‘Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.'”

And that “blessed one who hears the word of God and observes it” is none other than his own Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the first and par excellence “Doer-of-the-Word” for St. Luke!

Here at the Visitation, Elizabeth became the first human person, a woman, to call Mary “blessed” – the first of many disciples from future generations who will address the Blessed Mother in this manner as proclaimed by Mary herself in her Magnificat, “from now on will all ages call me blessed” (Lk.1:48).

Mary blessedness is primarily due to her faith and trust in God’s word spoken to her by the angel Gabriel. Unlike Zechariah, Mary right away submitted herself to the will of God by asking “how can this be”, indicating her deep faith.

Mary’s faith makes her a model disciple whom we must all imitate in following and believing Jesus Christ our Savior.

Likewise, Elizabeth can also be considered as a model disciple to us all because she believed and recognized the coming of the Christ by calling Mary “the mother of my Lord” (Lk.1:43). And again, holds the distinction as the first person and woman in St. Luke’s gospel to call Jesus “Lord”.

Here we find again the story of the Visitation that true blessedness and holiness is to be filled with God like St. Joseph the other day.

The Immaculate Conception at the Cathedral Basilica in Malolos City. Photo by author, December 2019.

***In praise of the women of the world, man’s part-ner***

Another beautiful trait of St. Luke’s gospel account is it emphasis on the important roles of women not only in the spread of the Gospel but most especially in the world. He is the first champion of women’s rights, next only to Jesus Christ.

In narrating to us this brief story of the Visitation, we rediscover the beauty and blessedness of womanhood – and that is the celebration of Messianic age. Mary and Elizabeth are great women because of their faith, we now celebrate Advent and Christmas.

They both brought Jesus Christ into the world, something that women always do until now, especially mothers who faithfully teach and form their children to become good and faithful Christians.

Both women are a testament to Isaiah’s portrayal of God as a woman who is like faithful mother:

“Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”
Isaiah 49:15

Christmas is a beautiful reminder to us all of the very noble and important role of women in the world that unfortunately many of us, especially men, have continually refused to accept or ignored since the Fall of Adam and Eve.

In Genesis, we find God declaring “let us make man a suitable partner.”

And he created the woman, a part-ner of man, taken from one of his ribs because she is equal in dignity with him, created in the image and likeness of God. In fact, she is the most beautiful of his creation, being the last and most perfect!

During his recent concert in the country, U2’s Bono praised the women and human rights activists in the country, dedicating to them their song “Beautiful Day”.

“Human rights drown out human wrongs, that’s a beautiful day. When sisters around the world go to school with their brothers, that’s a beautiful day. When journalists don’t have to worry about what they write, that’s a beautiful day. When women of the world unite to rewrite history as herstory, that is a beautiful day.”
Bono from news reports

Because of Mary and Elizabeth, we now have that beautiful day of the year, Christmas that led to the most beautiful day of all, Easter.

In a fitting rejoinder to our gospel today, another woman the other day gave us a beautiful day to celebrate justice and democracy in the country when Quezon City RTC Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes convicted Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr. and other members of his influential clan for the murder of 57 people in the Maguindanao massacre that happened ten years ago.

Throughout history, we have seen that it has always been the women who make it happen for us all to have a beautiful day because they are the ones who bring life, who nurture life, who deepen life.

Let us make each day more beautiful by loving and caring always especially for those special women in our lives who have shown us the beauty and meaning of life, beginning with our own mother. Amen.

Transforming presence of God

The Lord Is My Chef Simbang Gabi Recipe, 20 December 2019

***Isaiah 7:10-14* ><)))> ><)))> ><)))> Luke 1:26-38***

Manor House, Camp John Hay, December 2017. Photo by author.

One reason Christmas is the most favorite time of the year is its colors. From houses to malls and almost every building, one can find a spectacular display of different colors and lights that brighten everyone.

But everything changes when one enters the church.

Advent is so different. Color is violet near the deep blue shade to signify the importance of conversion and penance that lead into transformation while the colors of the world found in malls are about money and material things.

God takes initiative

We have seen yesterday in St. Luke’s first Christmas story how God entered through human activities and history for the coming of Jesus Christ by first announcing the birth of his precursor, St. John the Baptizer.

But today, in his second Christmas story which is the Annunciation of the birth of Jesus to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Lukes shows us how God is now acting on his own. Of course, God always takes the initiatives in life being the “prime mover”.

But in announcing the birth of Jesus, God went “out of his way” so to speak to bring us this tremendous grace of Christmas as he would always do in many instances in our lives.

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with yo.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus .”
Luke 1:26-31

Mosaic of the Annunciation to Mary at the Shrine of St. Padre Pio at Rotondo, Italy. Photo by Arch. Philip Santiago, 2018.

So different from yesterday’s story of the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptizer to Zechariah, let us see how God took the initiative in the annunciation in the birth of Jesus to Mary.

Zechariah was a priest while Mary was a commoner. It was natural for God to work through his ministers but in choosing Mary an ordinary woman was something else not because of any special quality she had but simply because God is good. The angel clearly told this to Mary, “you have found favor with God”. God does not call the qualified but he qualifies the call!
God used the setting of the Temple of Jerusalem in yesterday’s account because that is where he is supposed to dwell but today, everything happened in a very simple house in Nazareth, the only place of significance and importance in the New Testament never mentioned in the Old Testament. It was a place looked down upon by many like St. Bartholomew asking Philip, “can anyone good come from Nazareth?”
There was a major feast going on, the Yom Kippur, with a lot of people present when Zechariah was informed of the birth of John; Mary was alone in her house when the angel came to announce to her the birth of Jesus on the six months after going to Zechariah.

Intense Presence of God and of Mary

Usually, as we have seen yesterday in the annunciation of the birth of John, God always acted in silence and hiddenness. He blends and flows with world history as well as with our own personal histories.

But, there are times even in our own experiences when God really pulls something extraordinary, a miracle to bless us, to save us.

That was the case in the Annunciation to Mary. God “freely acted on his own” for the good news to happen, regardless of whoever was the king of Judea or emperor of Rome. He set the stage and everything for the fulfillment of his plan of salvation for us.

And the very good thing here is we find a perfect congruence or an equilibrium wherein, God was intensely present and so was Mary.

In the annunciation of John’s birth, God was very much present answering the prayers of his parents but Zechariah was miserably absent, doubting the good news!

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:38

God is always coming to us in many instances and persons who come to our lives. Are we present to him?

Notice how she entered into a dialogue with the angel Gabriel in explaining how things would happen. She was so open and so absorbed too as if the Holy Spirit must have had a perfect landing on her that she became pregnant with Jesus!

It sounds funny but that was how it happened because tomorrow, we would hear St. Luke telling us how Mary hurriedly went off to see her cousin Elizabeth, meaning there was a transforming change that occurred in Mary right away!

And that is how God truly works – if we can be truly open like Mary with God’s intense presence, we can experience overnight conversion and transformation that we have heard experienced by many unbelievers, sinners, addicts of all kinds. All they could say was there was a very brief moment when they felt God so intensely present and boom! everything changed for the best.

Mary believed

Mary was not only open to God but most of all, she has always believed in him. See how St. Luke tells us after the Annunciation, “then the angel departed from her”, never to come again to inform her of special messages from God unlike St. Joseph.

After the Annunciation, Mary was left on her own in the sense that all she had was her firm faith in God through Jesus Christ her Son.

Mary believed in everything that was spoken to her! It was all she had up to the foot of the Cross when Christ died, when she waited with the apostles in Jerusalem for the Pentecost and in all her other apparitions later. She has always believed in Jesus her Son.

Today, we complain a lot of people no longer believing in God, leaving the Church, refusing to pray and celebrate the sacraments.

Perhaps it is about time for us to ask our very selves too, especially us your priests and pastors as well as the parents: do we truly believe what we are doing, what we are practicing as Catholics?

It is always easy to say we believe in God like King Ahaz in the first reading who refused to ask God for signs that Israel would be delivered from the advancing Babylonians.

It was merely a “show” because Ahaz had already entered into alliance with small kingdoms to fight the Babylonian invaders. He had never believed God or his Prophet Isaiah; hence, Israel was conquered and crushed as a nation, thrown into exile in Babylon for a long time.

A Filipino painting of the Annunciation to Mary on a wall facing the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. Photo by author May 2017.

God’s power and his intense presence can only work in proportion with the faith we have. This is what Jesus had told the apostles when they asked him to “increase their faith”: “If you have the faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to the mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and panted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Lk.17:5-6).

In another instance, the apostles failed to cast away the demon possessing the son of a certain man. After Jesus had driven away the evil spirit, his apostles came to him in private to ask, “Why could we not cast it out? And Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your little faith'” (Mt.17:19).

Like Mary, let us believe wholly to God by giving our whole selves to him. Let us create a room in ourselves for God so he can be present in us and transform us like Mary. Amen.

Holy presence in hiddenness

The Lord Is My Chef Simbang Gabi Recipe, 19 December 2019

***Judges 13:2-7, 24-25* ><)))> ><)))> ><)))> Luke 1:15-25***

The Walls of Jerusalem, May 2019. Photo by the author.

From St. Matthew, we now move to the Christmas story by St. Luke that starts in the temple of Jerusalem. And surprisingly, not precisely with Jesus or his parents.

In the days of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years. Once when he was serving as priest in his division’s turn before God, according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense.
Luke 1:5-11

We know what happened, of how Zechariah doubted the good news announced to him about the birth of his son John the Baptizer.

Many times in our lives, especially in this age of too much communications in the social media where everything is exposed, we hardly notice the best and nicest things in life happening in silence, mostly in hiddenness.

And the saddest part of this present reality is that it is God whom we miss in this “overexposures” we have in social media because he always comes to us hidden in the most ordinary and simple things in life.

Yesterday St. Joseph taught us the need to value silence and stillness in the Lord as an important lesson in facing life’s many adversarial situations.

Today we hear Zechariah forcibly silenced to experience the Lord’s power and grace, his very presence in fact.

An inside section of the remaining Walls of Jerusalem. Photo by author, May 2019.

God’s presence hidden in our time and space

Advent is the season that reminds us that God comes to us always hidden in our very time and space. Unless we know how to be silent and simple, we shall never experience the Divine presence that has covered the whole world ever since.

Of the four evangelists, St. Luke is the only one who claims to have “investigated everything accurately” about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ (Lk.1:3). That is why he has the most stories and details about Christmas.

For St. Luke, Christmas begins with the coming of St. John the Baptizer, Jesus Christ’s precursor. In a very unique manner, he tells us how God’s presence came through a husband and wife yearning so much to have a child of their own, Zechariah and Elizabeth, both belonging to the upper crust of the Jewish society having descended from the priestly families.

In fact, Zechariah was a priest who was so blessed that Day of Atonement known as the Yom Kippur of the Jews that happens around September 18-24. (That is how we come to celebrate Christmas on December 25: Elizabeth conceived John in September, giving birth to him in June 24; tomorrow, we shall hear in the Annunciation to Mary that Elizabeth was six months pregnant which falls on March 24. Simple math, we arrive at December 25 as Christ’s birthdate.)

During the Yom Kippur, priests drew lots on who would incense the Holy of Holies where the “Ark of the Covenant” was kept containing the stone tablets of God’s commandments given to Moses. It was the closest thing they have as signs of God’s presence among them. Hence, until now they venerate and pray at the “wailing Wall” of Jerusalem because that is supposed to be the only remaining structure of their temple destroyed in 70 AD closest to that part of the Holy of Holies.

It was so rare at that time to be assigned to incense the Holy of Holies because there were so many priests drawing lots and only one would be chosen for the rite that happens about twice daily for the whole week. It was a tremendous blessing indeed to be chosen to incense the Holy of Holies.

Here we find St. Luke setting the stage of his Christmas story to remind us all that God comes right into our time and space, in our history, in our here and now.

See his descriptions:

It happened in a specific time during during “the days of Herod, King of Judea”, when Zechariah was “chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense” while people were outside praying and waiting.
It happened in a specific place, the temple of Jerusalem.
Most of all, it happened to real people, “Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was from the daughters of Aaron.”

A view from the Walls of Jerusalem of the Jewish section; dome is the Moslem section, Mount of Olives at the background. Photo by author, May 2017.

The Presence of God, the Absence of Man

When we are deeply hurt and disappointed, we are usually less rational. Worst, although we try to keep our faith alive, that is also when we doubt God, refusing to recognize his presence among us, and even right in us.

In this story of the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptizer, we find God giving Zechariah the tremendous grace to approach his Divine presence by having the rare opportunity to incense the Holy of Holies.

Most of all, at their most important feast when priests gather in the temple to pray for the people and for their personal intentions, God sent Zechariah the angel Gabriel to personally tell him his and Elizabeth’s prayers have been heard and granted!

But what happened? Zechariah doubted, even questioned God!

“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
Luke 1:18

That’s the problem with us: God is always present but we are always absent that we never meet him. And every time he comes to visit us, we are so busy with so many other things.

If we cannot see and experience God in the most ordinary things and events in our lives, nothing would be enough to convince us of his love and mercy, of his presence and power.

That is why Zechariah was silenced by the angel, who, by the way, is already the presence of God yet Zechariah doubted.

This remaining week before Christmas, let us try to have some silence, or better, let us create a space for silence and solitude to experience God’s loving presence among us, in us.

It is only in silence where we can truly learn how to trust and be intimate with God and with our loved ones because it is only in silence where we can dare to open our selves to God and to others.

Let “the spirit of the Lord stir” you like Samson in the first reading (Jgs.13:25) this Christmas by creating silent moments with Jesus. Amen.

IQ, EQ, and AQ

The Lord Is My Chef Simbang Gabi Recipe, 18 December 2019

Jeremiah 23:5-8 ><)))> ><)))> ><)))*> Matthew 1:18-24

Mosaic at the Chapel of St. Jerome, underneath the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem where St. Jerome lived while studying and translating the Bible into Latin. It is believed to be the place where St. Joseph received in a dream the message of the angel for him to take Mary as his wife. Photo by the author, May 2017.

First, we were told for a very long time the importance of IQ or “Intelligence Quotient” for anyone’s success in life.

Then came the EQ or “Emotional Quotient” this past decade that experts claim has more impact in determining one’s success in life than the IQ.

Now, scientists are claiming that more important than the IQ and the EQ is “AQ” or “Adversarial Quotient”, our ability to respond to various adversarial situations in life.

According to the proponents of AQ, the better we are able to deal with life’s troublesome situations like handling crises involving our many forms of relationships, the better we are equipped in having a more fuller life.

Dream of St. Joseph (Oil on canvas) by Francisco Goya. From Google.

Today we hear the story of St. Joseph facing an extremely adversarial situation when Mary who was betrothed to him was found pregnant with a baby not his!

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.”
Matthew 1:18-20

IQ + EQ + AQ = HQ

St. Matthew describes St. Joseph a “righteous man” or, in Jewish thought, a holy man, a saint who lives his life according to the word of God. Also known as a zaddik in Hebrew, a righteous man delights in the Torah (Law), entrusting everything to God.

According to the Book of Psalms’ first chapter, a righteous man or a zaddik is like a tree planted near a river bank that symbolizes God’s words, growing into maturity with good fruits because he is filled with God, putting into practice the Sacred Scriptures and the Laws.

That is precisely what holiness is all about: being filled with God, not being sinless!

Though holiness means being perfect and whole as its Greek origin tells us, holiness as preached by Jesus Christ is an ongoing process when he commanded us to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt.5:48).

Holiness does not happen overnight; it takes time and a lot of cultivation on our part.

(One rule of thumb, though, that we must keep in mind: if you think or feel you are holy, definitely you are not. Saints do not know they are saints.)

IQ, EQ, and now AQ are in a sense, scientific expressions of holiness, of being filled with God to become better persons.

During the Solemnity of St. Joseph last year, Pope Francis issued “Gaudete et Exsultate” to reiterate Vatican II’s universal call to holiness by proposing practical ways in our modern time on how to be holy based on the beatitudes of Jesus Christ.

The Lord asks everything of us, and in return he offers us true life, the happiness for which we were created. He wants us to be saints and not to settle for a bland and mediocre existence. The call to holiness is present in various ways from the very first pages of the Bible. We see it expressed in the Lord’s words to Abraham: “Walk before me, and be blameless” (Gen 17:1).
Gaudete et Exsultate, 1

Very interesting in our Simbang Gabi is how the Pope mentions Abraham, the very beginning of Jesus Christ’s genealogy, as a model of holiness now being expressed in our gospel by the last person in that genealogy, St. Joseph!

St. Joseph bridged faith and practice

St. Joseph is exactly that kind of Jewish zaddik who lived in constant dialogue with God in praying the Scriptures, concretely living it minus the legalisms of the Pharisees and scribes of his time.

For him, the Torah was a good news meant to make life better, not bitter by applying it to daily living which is to love by preserving life.

In dealing with his extremely adversarial situation, St. Joseph did the most important step we have totally disregarded these days: silently pray to God for guidance and grace.

As a man, one can just imagine the many thoughts running through St. Joseph’s mind and heart when the woman he loves so much is found with a baby not his.

Sunrise at Atok, Benguet. Photo by Ms. Jo Villafuerte, September 2019.

His decision to silently leave Mary was due to his great love for her, not in disregarding the letters of the Law that declares that any woman betrothed to a man who bears a child not his must be stoned to death.

Read again St. Matthew’s account we have quoted above and you will feel the solemnity of the scene, of “how the birth of Jesus Christ came about” according to St. Matthew.

There was no sense of agitation or any other negative vibes, purely positive.

Very clear, St. Joseph’s holiness was not merely due to his bloodline or genealogy but his decision to bridge his faith and religion with his life and daily practice.

St. Joseph must be so purely absorbed in prayer that even at his sleep, there was his continuing communing with God that when he woke up, “he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus” (Mt.1:24-25).

Finding holiness in adversarial situations

Almost every month we find in social media so many videos and reports of road rage and people freaking out everywhere.

Sometimes I think that with the presence of too many CCTV’s and prevalence of smart phones around, people should be more well behaved, more kind. But the exact opposite is happening!

Life has become one big, giant TV show with everybody grandstanding, artificially creating their own limelight of fame that usually turns into five minutes of shame and notoriety.

Everybody wants to be on TV or Youtube but unknown to many, television screens tend to bring out the worst in us.

Whenever I would see people with their smartphones taking pictures, “talking alone” and doing all those crazy scenes, I fear how most of us have drifted away from our real gounding in life, God.

The story of St. Joseph reminds us of the need to resolve every issues in our lives by going back to our roots and grounding, God. And this happens by being deeply in touch with life and its realities! He was truly grounded and knew what could happen to Mary.

The more we experience life in each other, the more we experience God.

And the more we look at God, the more we see others.

Such was the holiness of St. Joseph that in bridging his faith with his daily life, the deeper his love for God and Mary grew! In looking up to God, the more he saw Mary and so Jesus Christ came too!

Photo from Forbes.com via FB, June 2019.

This is the problem of our time: we keep on looking outside, somewhere else to find meaning and life, answers to our many questions.

We just have to look inside our hearts where God truly dwells like St. Joseph.

His being “whole” as a righteous man is the reason why he could sleep soundly in the midst of many crises in life as he completely trusted God. Indeed, St. Joseph’s silence is his most remarkable sign of holiness that even in his sleep, he is filled with God.

There are four instances in the gospel of St. Matthew when the angel spoke to St. Joseph to deliver messages from God. He can sleep soundly because he never dilly-dallied with important decisions in life like secretly divorcing Mary.

We cannot sleep not because we have big problems but because we refuse to make decisions about them.

The word crisis is from the Greek krisis that means “requiring decision”; hence, critical situations require decisions.

St. Joseph was decisive because he was always grounded in God, discerning always his holy will.

Photo by GMA News editor Ms. JJ Jimeno of a man losing his head in prayer at the UP Diliman Parish, June 2019.

In the first reading we heard the prophecy of the coming Christ who shall be called “the Lord our justice” (Jer.22:6). Again, in Jewish thought, justice is not merely giving what is due but also means holiness.

The coming Christ is the Holy One of God, one who would completely entrust himself to the Father on the Cross. Very much like his foster father, St. Joseph who trusted God completely.

Sleeping and dying are essentially the same in the closing of our eyes when we entrust ourselves to God completely without knowing what will happen next, if we would still wake up or, in the case of death, really rise again.

Christmas happens, Jesus comes to us when like St. Joseph we abandon everything to God, especially our “adversarial situations” and go to sleep to be ready and prepared for new, unexpected, and even incredible things in this life. Sleep tight, and be surprised by the Lord! Amen.

Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exsultate, paragraph 32.

What is in a name?

The Lord Is My Chef Simbang Gabi Recipe, 17 December 2019

Genesis 49:2.8-10 ><)))> ><)))> ><)))> Matthew 1:1-17*

Parokya ng Banal na Mag-Anak, Violeta Village, Guiguinto, Bulacan. Photo by Arch. Philip Santiago.

Today we shift our focus in our Advent preparations to the first coming of Jesus Christ when he was born in Bethlehem more than 2000 years ago. Strictly speaking, the Christmas countdown officially starts only today especially with our very long but beautiful gospel from Matthew.

Maybe you are wondering what’s good with our gospel today when it is all about names that mostly sound very funny.

Importance of names: origin and mission

In ancient time, giving name to children was a very serious matter among peoples, especially the Jews.

For them, a name indicates two very important things about a person: one’s origin and mission in life, something parents of today have entirely forgotten, even ignorant because they are more concerned with fad and being unique in naming their children that always end up as a joke as it is always bizarre and weird.

And their poor kid suffers for the rest of his/her life like that man named “Fantastic”. All his life he felt so sad being called Fantastic that he told his wife when he dies, never put his name on his tombstone.

Eventually Mr. Fantastic died and the wife kept her promise not to put his name on his marker. But she felt the need to honor her beloved husband who was so good and honest that in lieu of his name, she asked a tribute written to honor him.

It said, “Here lies a very gentle and loving husband and father who never looked at other women except his wife.”

Every time passersby see and read that tribute, they would always exclaim “Fantastic!”

Going back to the importance of giving names….

Corporations are more serious than parents in choosing names and trademarks to their products and services. Every trademark and brand always evokes deeper meanings than just being a product or entity that some of them have entered the vocabulary of many languages like Google, Xerox, and Frigidaire.

And the sad thing about this is how many babies are now being named to follow things and products than the other way around, giving more value to things than human beings!

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Matthew 1:1-2

Detail of the ceiling of Parokya ng Banal na Mag-anak after the front or main door: the genealogy of Jesus Christ that starts with Abraham. Great concept by the Parish Priest, Fr. Ed Rodriguez. Photo by Arch. Philip Santiago.

Genealogy of Jesus as direction of Matthew’s Gospel

St. Matthew opens his gospel account with the genealogy of Jesus to settle right at the very start the question about the origin and mission of Jesus Christ.

Here we find the artistry and genius of St. Matthew, some 2000 years ahead of the late Stephen Covey’s third habit of highly effective people: “begin with an end in mind.”

By starting his genealogy with Abraham and David, St. Matthew gives us the whole gospel message in a glance because they are the two key figures in the beginning and realization of God’s promise to send Jesus Christ who would save us all.

Let us just focus on Abraham which means “he who is the father of many.”

It was to him that the story of God’s promise began after the dispersal of mankind following the collapse of the Tower of Babel.

From then on, Abraham points to what is ahead in God’s divine plan, not only for himself but also for the whole mankind for it is through him that blessings come to all. His journey from his birthplace of Ur into Canaan is symbolic of his journey from the present into the future, walking in faith following the Lord’s path and divine plan.

In Abraham we find God starting anew the history of mankind after the Fall that leads up to Jesus Christ who came to lead us all back into the Father.

With Abraham as the main header of Christ’s genealogy, we find not only the beginning but also the end of St. Matthew’s gospel which is the universality of God’s plan of salvation with Jesus telling his disciples to make disciples of all nations (Mt.28:19).

Detail of the ceiling near the sanctuary of Parokya ng Banal na Mag-Anak, the culmination of the genealogy of Jesus. Photo by Arch. Philip Santiago.

Imitating Abraham into our time

Last December 10 was a very important date for me and my parish: it was the ordination date of our first priest.

While waiting for the start of the Mass at the front door (which is actually the back of the Cathedral or any church), I just prayed in silence thinking about my role in the ordination of Fr. RA Valmadrid.

While I marveled at the beautiful renovations of our Cathedral, my sight was slowly moved towards the altar.

It was like an “Abraham experience” in Matthew’s genealogy for me: a wayfarer on a journey into the future, towards God, walking in faith.

In a quick glance, I kind of saw the future glory of every faithful coming to the altar to receive Jesus Christ in the sacraments especially the Holy Eucharist.

I just felt the beauty of entering the Cathedral, or any church which is more than stepping into a building but more of entering God himself, our point of origin and final destination.

Do we realize this tremendous blessing and grace of being baptized, of being a child of God, not only given with a name but most of all, of being counted into the family of God our Father?

In the first reading we have heard Jacob calling his 12 sons. What is so striking here is the blessing Jacob had bestowed upon Judah, instead of Joseph who was the best of all his sons, the holiest and most intelligent.

Like Abraham and Judah, or anyone in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, we can find our own selves too not as the vida or contravida but simply being called to be God’s instrument in fulfilling his plan in sending his Son Jesus Christ.

Truth is, God always comes in the most unexpected situations and peoples most of the time.

In Christ Jesus through our Baptism and faith, we find our genealogy – our origin and mission – as children of God.

If you want to get a feel of this reality, try reading aloud, very slowly, the genealogy of Jesus Christ. At the end, include your self, mention your name, your mother and father. Then close your eyes and let your life flash back in silence.

In the silence of your heart, do you find God coming more to you than you to God?

So amazing, is it not? We are all part of Christ’s genealogy. Let’s bring him forth into the world in our life of faithful witnessing like Abraham. Amen.

Inclusive Christmas

The Lord Is My Chef Simbang Gabi Recipe, 16 December 2019

Isaiah 56:1-3. 6-8 ><)))> ><)))> ><)))> John 5:33-36*

Our Parish Altar, Simbang Gabi 2018. Photo by author.

When we were still seminarians, our spiritual director became a victim of “hold-up” while walking home from an evening mass nearby. He is now a Trappist monk at Guimaras, a very kind and gentle priest we fondly call “Fr. Esteng”.

According to Fr. Esteng, everything happened so fast. But, after taking all his money, the suspect demanded Fr. Esteng’s big bag too, his “mass kit”. This time, Fr. Esteng refused to give into the demand of the hold-up man, insisting there’s nothing of value inside because they are things for celebrating the Mass of which no one would really buy.

To convince the hold-up man, Fr. Esteng got the “brilliant idea” of inviting the suspect to come with him to the seminary to get some food so he would no longer need more money.

Good that the hold up man did not accept the “invitation” of our good priest who got some “scolding” the following morning from his brother priests the following day after learning his brilliant idea, telling him to never to invite thieves into the seminary again!

“For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the dispersed of Israel: Others will I gather to him besides those already gathered.”
Isaiah 56:7b-8

Inclusive God, exclusive people.

Praying at the Wall of Jerusalem Temple, 2017.

Welcome everyone!

It’s the start of our Simbang Gabi, our nine-day novena before the Lord’s birthday on Christmas.

God tells us in the first reading how he welcomes everyone into his house without any exceptions. That is how good and loving our God who is not contented in calling us all into his house but even sent us his only Son Jesus Christ to gather and lead us back to him.

Our God is very inclusive, always including everyone especially those rejected, those in the margins.

So unlike us people who are very exclusive and judgmental of others too.

We want everything exclusively ours. Just us. And when we meet strangers, those who do not look like us or do not speak and dress like us, we feel uncomfortable.

Worst is when we meet people of different faith and beliefs that we feel uneasy and even threatened simply because they are not like us!

It is good that for this final year before we celebrate our 500 years of Christianization, our bishops have dedicated 2020 to be the “Year of Ecumenism, Interreligious Dialogue, and Indigenous Peoples”.

This is to “celebrate human fraternity by promoting the culture of dialogue as a path of peace.” The Church wants to “work for unity and harmony while respecting diversity and to recognize peoples’ identities, spiritualities and ancestral domain.”

Logo for the Year of Ecumenism, Interreligious Dialogue, and Indigenous Peoples.

Jesus told the crowd, “But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.”
John 5:36

See everyone and everything in Christ.

In our gospel today, Jesus was questioned by the Jews for healing a man sick for 38 years on a sabbath day at Bethesda.

Jesus was so different from them who have fallen into rituals and replaced God himself with their laws and traditions. They wanted Jesus stopped and even put to death simply because he did things so differently when, in fact, he was trying to bring back what was lost like the precedence of God and human life over laws and rituals.

Pope Francis reminds us that the Church exists to remind us that God loves and welcomes everyone. He is absolutely right that so often it happens right in our churches, in our celebrations we go on our own exclusivistic ways forgetting we are supposed to be a community.

On this first day of our Simbang Gabi, let us focus more on Jesus so we may find him among other people easily because when we are focused with our “work” and ministry, the more we see ourselves and forget Christ among the poor and marginalized.

Do we find Jesus when we serve and celebrate the liturgy or do we simply have ourselves?

Is it Jesus Christ whom we share with others in our dealings and service in the Church or our proud self?

Where is Jesus really in our lives today that we simply do things for the sake of doing it, because it is a tradition and not because of a personal conviction and relationship with him?

A blessed Monday to you!

Our sacristy, Advent 2018. Photo by author.

Advent is joyful, patient waiting

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul

Third Sunday of Advent or Gaudete Sunday, 15 December 2019

Isaiah 35:1-6, 10 ><}}}> James 5:7-10* ><}}}> Matthew 11:2-11*

Malolos Cathedral, 10 December 2019. Photo by author.

For most people, our title is something odd and weird, perhaps even an oxymoron, for how can waiting be joyful and patient?

Many people hate to wait. Waiting for them is a waste of time because they believe it is an activity that is empty, full of risks of leading to nothing and disappointments. That is why they make all kinds of excuses in having all the devices and gadgets they need to busy themselves with while they are – after all – still “waiting”!

This Season of Advent is the most opportune time to rediscover the beauty and joy of patient waiting, especially this Third Sunday known as “Gaudete Sunday” from the Latin gaudere, to rejoice.

Advent teaches us that waiting is both joyful and patient; that it is more than an activity but a being that is always indicative of having something leading to fullness!

Patience is waiting that leads to fulfillment.

Pink is our motif this Third Sunday of Advent to signify joy in waiting for the Lord’s Second Coming. Waiting is an experience in itself filled with joy – if we really know how to wait patiently.

Patience is from the Latin word patior, to suffer. Its Greek origin is hupomone that suggests continuance and submission that literally means “submissive waiting”.

Both in its Latin and Greek origins, patience is a condition or a being of willing to wait because it knows there is something coming. It is never empty: you patiently wait because you already have something, you are holding onto something already. We wait in line whether in the grocery or at the doctor’s clinic because we know we would be attended to later. We wait precisely because we have something – almost – but not yet.

In this sense, patient waiting is more than an activity but more of a being and a condition that leads us to trust and faith, then into hope, and eventually into fullness.

Impatient people cannot wait because they do not see beyond the present condition. Their perceptions are very limited that they have to satisfy their wants immediately, just like our culture of instants these days or the so-called IGG for “Instant Gratification Generation”.

The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song. Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing
Isaiah 35:1-2, 3-6

An oasis in the Dead Sea desert, May 2017. Photo by author.

Intimacy: the joy of patient waiting

There are three key personalities in Advent: Isaiah, John the Baptist, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Isaiah saw the coming of the Christ from a very distant past while John pointed everyone that the awaited one has already come. Mary, on the other hand, celebrated Advent because she brought forth Jesus in her womb.

Today we are joined by Isaiah and John the Baptist to complete our joy of patient waiting that Christ in fact is already with us though not yet…

In our first reading we have seen the imagery of the desert like last Sunday in John’s preaching. The desert evokes the feeling of nothingness and emptiness like waiting itself as most people think.

But, in the bible since the time of Abraham, the desert is the favorite place where God would always meet with people. It was always in the desert where the prophets and the people waited and experienced God.

Wild flowers in the desert of Jordan, May 2019.

So you see, my dear reader and follower, the desert is more than a place but also the intimacy of God with his people and later with his Son Jesus Christ who would always go to the desert or deserted place to pray like in the Transfiguration, or when he prayed and fasted for 40 days and nights before being tempted by the devil after his baptism by John at Jordan. It was also in the desert where Jesus did many of his memorable conversations that led to conversions like at Jacob’s well where he met a Samaritan woman one hot afternoon.

Examine your lives, dear reader and follower: it is always in the desert of our lives, in its bareness and desolation, when we are empty and thirsty when we truly experienced God closest.

Isaiah spoke of this prophecy when the Israelites were at their lowest point of misery and defeat as exiles in a pagan country with no freedom, no temple, even no God.

When we are full of material things, full of ourselves, when everything is going so perfectly well in life, that is when we are ironically shallow and superficial. What really deepened us in life are those desert moments of tribulations and trials because that is when we have found and rediscovered true intimacy – with God and with our loved ones!

Patient waiting is a desert full of joy because that is where we experience intimacy and fullness, the tension of the already here but not yet, not only with God but also with one another.

Here we find St. James imagery of the farmer as finest example of patient waiting, of trusting in God that what we have sown would grow and be fruitful. Despite our culture of instants, there are so many things that cannot be rushed, when we have to patiently wait in time like intimacy.

How do we recognize our true friends? They are the ones who always stand by our side especially when we our down and out, the ones who accompany us in our patient waiting when we are in the middle of a storm, or in the desert, desolate.

Malolos Cathedral Dome, December 2019. Photo by author.

Proceeding in joy in the presence of the Lord

One problem with waiting is when we are superseded by our so many expectations that may also be unrealistic. We hate waiting, we stop hoping because we feel disappointed and frustrated because we do not get what we really expect from our waiting.

The problem is with us, not with waiting itself. So often we await things instead of persons. To wait in joy with patience demands openness for the one who is coming not on what is coming.

True waiting is always about persons, not things. Waiting is beautiful and joyful because you are not alone in waiting, there is always another person waiting for you, waiting with you. And when we finally meet with the one we are waiting, then we have presence!

This is why the synonym for gift is also present, from presence.

Every waiting is directed to another person who also awaits the other person. When we focus our waiting on things than persons, then we miss everything in our waiting which is the presence of the other person.

This is the meaning of the response of Jesus to the emissaries of John.

When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ, he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them.”
Matthew 11:2-5

Jesus was telling the emissaries of John that the one they have been waiting had come, already present among the people especially the sick and the poor. God had come in the midst of his people, healing them, consoling them, uplifting them.

This Third Sunday of Advent, Jesus is asking us like the crowds: what are we looking for, what are we waiting for? Set aside or totally forget all your expectations, open yourself, open your heart, open your eyes to see and experience the presence of the Christ who had come, who will come again, and always comes among us.

Indeed, we are so blessed because despite our being sinful, of being the least in the kingdom of heaven, we have Jesus coming to us day in, day out. Share his coming, share his healing, share his joy! Amen.