NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE SACRED HEART

IN THIS LIFE I WAS LOVED BY YOU LORD

2012-01-15T23:36:00.001+08:00

IN THIS LIFE BY RONAN KEATING

For all I've been blessed with in this life
There was an emptiness in me
I was imprisoned by the power of gold
With one honest touch, You set me free

Let the world stop turning, let the sun stop burning
Let them tell me love's not worth going through
If it all falls apart, I will know deep in my heart
The only dream that mattered had come true
In this life, I was loved by you

For every mountain I have climbed
And every raging river crossed
You were the treasure that I longed to find
Without Your Love, I would be lost

DECEMBER 2011 SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

2011-12-08T15:35:00.001+08:00

NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE SACRED HEART

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

DECEMBER, 2011

2-Fri. FIRST FRIDAY DEVOTION

NOVENA to the Sacred Heart Of Jesus at all Masses

Entire Day until Night ADORATION of the Blessed Sacrament.

7:00 PM Additonal First Friday Mass

7:30 PM 12:00 MN VIGIL
In Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

12:00 MN MIDNIGHT MASS followed by continuation of VIGIL until 5:00 AM

3-Sat. DAWN PROCESSION 5:00 AM

In honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary (San Antonio Route)

After 6:30 PM Mass, Advent Talk by Bishop Broderick Pabillo

8-Thu.

SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE

BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (Holy Day of Obligation)

Morning Masses: 6:00 AM, 6:45 AM, 7:30 AM

9:00 AM Kasalan Sa Shrine

Evening Masses: 12:15 PM, 6:00 PM, 7:15 PM, 8:00 PM

PARISH WIDE PROCESSION after the 6:00 PM Mass

6:30 PM Mass at Sta. Cruz Chapel

10-Sat.

9:00 AM-11:00 AM Free Legal Consultations; and

SSS, NSO, and City Civil Registration Assistance Desk

6:30 PM Youth Mass / Advent Talk by Rev. Fr. Joel Jason

11-Sun. 7:30 AM Mass for the Elderly, with Special Blessing

12-Mon. FEAST OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

SIMBANG GABI SCHEDULES

15-24 Thu-Sat.

Simbang Gabi (Dec. 15-23) 8:00 PM / (Sunday 10:00 PM)

(Dec. 17 Sat. 7:45 PM) Sta. Cruz Chapel 9:00 PM

Dawn Masses / Misa De Gallo (Dec. 16-24) 4:00 AM, 5:30 AM

Sunday: Sta. Cruz 7:30 AM Mass only; No 6:30 PM Mass

17-Sat. 8:45 PM - "JUVELEUM" Youth Festival,

Closing of the CBCP Year of the Youth

24-Sat.

10:00 AM BINYAGANG BAYAN

CHRISTMAS EVE MASSES
8:00 PM and 10:30 PM Sta. Cruz 9:00 PM

25-Sun. CHRISTMAS DAY - A BLESSED CHRISTMAS!

Sunday Mass Schedules at the Shrine, without 6:00 AM Mass

Sta. Cruz - No 7:30 AM Mass; 6:30 PM Mass only

Pondo Ng Pinoy Sunday

30-Fri. FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY

With Special Blessing of Families at all Masses

After 6:00 PM Mass, Parish Night with Family Gift Giving

31-Sat. 8:30 PM NEW YEAR'S EVE MASS

No Bible Study after 6:30 PM Mass

Jan. 1, 2012 NEW YEAR'S DAY - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sun. SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD

Sunday Mass Schedules at the Shrine, without 6:00 AM Mass

Sta. Cruz No 7:30 AM Mass; 6:30 PM Mass only

PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD

2011-12-04T15:58:00.001+08:00

"I HAVE BAPTIZED YOU WITH WATER;

HE WILL BAPTIZE YOU WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT."

The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way.

A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’ ”

John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Whenever man experiences the bites of suffering, he raises his voice to God asking Him to “show His kindness and grant salvation.” Such has always been the attitude and prayer of Israel, especially in the long period of exile and at other moments in their history when they were harassed by aggressive neighbors.

The prophet Isaiah reassured his own countrymen that their loving God was not insensitive to the cries of His repentant, suffering people. The Lord was about to “turn His face” to them in mercy and loving concern. He Himself, actually, would move toward His own people and take care of them, especially the weak and the defenseless, as a shepherd does with his flock. (See Is 40:11.)

The forgiving and consoling love of the Lord, who was going to “turn” toward His people would make them experience a rebirth after the long pangs of the Exile. But for this wonder to happen, they had to do their share – i.e., they had to “make straight in the desert a highway for their Lord” (Is 40:3).

This same proclamation was made by John the Baptist to the whole people of Israel. Fulfilling the promises of old, the Lord had turned with love toward His people and was about to manifest His mercy in the most personal way; a way that would outshine all previous manifestations.

People of all times may, occasionally, feel the Lord is “late in coming” – late in fulfilling His promise of salvation. St. Peter reminds us today in the second reading that God has not forgotten His promises, nor has He reneged on them. The implementation of His plan is “on course.”

Rather than questioning God’s “punctuality,” we should see whether something may not be lacking in our preparation for the “great encounter.” There are important things that we have to do, things that we may have neglected altogether or done in an unsatisfactory way. “God is patient with you,” explains Peter, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

On God’s part, the promise stands: the promise of “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (v.13). But for that promise to become a reality, our cooperation is essential. And that cooperation has a realistic, demanding, and even harsh name: repentance! This means that the people are to turn toward God with a repentant heart, and move to encounter Him, treading the thorny path and steep road of a sincere conversion.

This call to conversion spans the centuries and reaches us today as pertinent and demanding as ever. We, too, need God and His forgiveness. We, too, yearn to see the light of His loving countenance. And we can encounter Him and enjoy His presence only in a life of righteousness in atonement for our sins. Then “Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss.” Thus, the Savior and the saved shall celebrate the encounter of their converging love.

CHRIST THE KING: AT THE LAST JUDGMENT

2011-11-20T02:00:00.000+08:00

CHRIST THE KING

Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’

Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’

And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

DECISIVE ISSUE AT THE LAST JUDGMENT

A personal judgment at the end of life and a universal judgment at the end of time come as no surprise. Man was created free but also “accountable.” Everyone will have to account to the Eternal Judge for the way he/she has used His gifts and opportunities.

However, what comes as a surprise in the dramatized account of the Last Judgment presented by Jesus is the “limited scope” of accountability. Though granting that the instances mentioned by the Judge are not exhaustive, the fact remains that they are all and only about our attitudes/actions toward people. Not a single question about our attitude toward God.

This is surprising indeed for – after all – wasn’t Jesus the one who taught his disciples to pray, who wanted them to pray always (see Lk 18:1), and who himself spent hours in prayer? (See Mt 6:9 and Lk 6:12.) And was He not the one who stated that the greatest commandment is to love God with all one’s heart, soul and mind? (See Mt 22:37-38.)

And yet, today, we seem to learn from him that what will matter in the end will be only the way we treat our neighbor, especially the needy! Only the second group of commandments seems to hold.

Reflecting further, however, the surprise ceases. Actually, we find it could not be otherwise. With the Incarnation, God has become a brother to every human being. It is not just a matter of proximity and relation, but a matter of effective identification. In addition to loving God in Himself, we have also to see, love, and serve God in our neighbor. “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me!” (See Mt 25:40.)

The Last Judgment is the mystery of the Incarnation brought to its utmost practical consequences. It is not that God and our love for Him have been “left out.” They are “in” as an indispensable prerequisite. But the Gospel for today reminds us that our love for God has to be proven through the way we treat people, especially the people we dislike and those we usually avoid: the hungry, the sick, the unpleasant, the convicts . . . .

These are some of the categories of people in whom it is so difficult to see Christ, the all-holy God. To see and serve Christ in them demands not only mercy and generosity, but an immense faith as well. The Final Judgment will be a judgment on our practical acceptance of the Word who became “flesh,” a judgment on our “Yes” to the God steeped in our very frailty and needs.

WONDER OF GOD'S WORD

2011-07-10T00:32:00.003+08:00

"BUT SOME SEED FELL ON RICH SOIL, AND PRODUCED FRUIT"

One day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore.

And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirty-fold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

God’s Word shares in His creative and healing power. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made” (Ps 33:6). And when the Word became a frail human being, the words He uttered possessed a power which no human word could have. They stilled storms (see Mt 8:23); restored sick people to health (see, for instance, Lk 17:11-14); called dead persons back to life (see Lk 7:11-17; Mt 5:41 and Jn 11:43f); subjugated the devil (see Mk 1:25-27). By the power of His Word, a piece of bread and a cup of wine were and are transformed into His Body and Blood!

The word of Christ had the power to transform people: a simple fisherman was transformed into the leader of the Church (Peter); a persecutor, into a tireless apostle (Paul); a hardened sinner, into an announcer of the Resurrection (Mary Magdalene).

Sown like a seed in the hearts of men, Christ’s word can work incredible wonders. But, for all its divine, omnipotent power, his word will bear fruit only if and to the extent that we allow it to do so. Its fruitfulness depends on our response – our openness, sincerity, generosity, perseverance.

The wonderful transformation undergone by Peter, Paul, Mary Magdalene and innumerable others can become our own personal experience, if we want. Thanks to the power of the Word, in spite of our weakness, we can soar to greatness and thus make the Kingdom a magnificent reality in us and around us. But if we are proud, self conceited, backsliding, inconsistent, stone-like. , then the Word’s Divine Power will be reduced to nothing because of our weakness and wickedness.

Today, as at the creation of the world and as two thousand years ago, God sends His Word to us. It is up to me and you to let it bear fruit in plenty as it has the power to do.

But there is more to today’s message than the challenge to let the seed of God’s Word bear fruit in our lives.

The other part of the message concerns the sower – the sower we are called to be. This is very much a part of our vocation as disciples of the Lord who are expected to become apostles, i.e., believers sent to proclaim the Word. We are all called not only to receive and treasure God’s Word in our hearts and to make it bear abundant fruit in our life, but also to sow it in the hearts of other people. This demands of us the faith, the hope, the humility, and the optimism of the sower.

The sower scatters the seed with faith because he believes that the seed has immense potentials of life, and the land to which he entrusts it has the power to transform those potentials into reality. We should have the same faith when we present God’s Word to our brothers and sisters.

The sower scatters the seed abundantly even in days of drought, hoping that the rain will come and transform the dusty fields into the fertile wombs that will bring forth an abundant harvest. So should we continue preaching the Word with undying hope, even when we do not see signs of a positive response. God’s Word has a very long life. It can bear fruit at a time and in ways that elude our limited perceptiveness.

Faith and hope, joined together, produce optimism: the optimism of the one who knows how to confidently wait for the rain to fall, the sun to shine, and the breeze to blow . . . till the harvest season comes, in God’s own time.

HUMBLE SERVANT OF THE SACRED HEART: FR. FERNANDO SUAREZ

2011-07-02T00:26:00.056+08:00

FR. FERNANDO SUAREZ WITH FR. VICTOR APACIBLE CONCELEBRATING THE FEAST OF THE SOLEMNITY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS ON JULY 1, 2011 AT NSSH

When it was announced that Fr. Fernando Suarez would be the main celebrant of the July 1, 2011 6:00 PM Mass of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart at the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart, I knew it was an answered prayer that was long overdue.

My first encounter of Fr. Fernando was in 2007 in one of his earlier healing Masses in MonteMaria Batangas; where I had the privilege of getting to be acquainted of his Healing Ministry when he was still relatively unknown as the humble healer.

"TRUST IS WHAT WE NEED TO LEARN FROM HIS MEEK AND HUMBLE HEART."

Previously, I had known him to be a faithful Sacred Heart devotee, and this he confirmed in tonight’s Homily through an anecdote he related as to the origin of the Sacred Heart Devotion. Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque, a French Visitandine nun at the convent of Paray-le-Monial consulted Father de la Colombiere regarding the Sacred Heart visions and intentions revealed to her by our Lord Jesus Christ.

So to test the authenticity of her revelations, Fr. Colombiere instructed her to ask Jesus what his most recent sins were. To which the merciful Jesus replied, “I have already forgotten your sins.” He recognized these to be actions as emanating of the Spirit of God and consecrated himself to the Sacred Heart and directed Sister Margaret Mary to write down her account and to circulate it throughout France and England. And this was how the Sacred Heart devotion flourished from Europe to spread throughout the entire world.

Fr. Fernando says, “When I visited the Chapel of Visitation in Paray-le-Monial in France, I fully appreciated the relevance and importance of the Sacred Heart Devotion to me. This same portrait of the Sacred Heart of Jesus with outstretched hands offering His Most Sacred Heart as a refuge to the burdens and trials of daily life is truly an invitation for the weary to entrust all their cares upon Him. This is because Jesus loves us so much that He cares for us.”

"THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS IS THE MOST POWERFUL FORM OF PRAYER FOR HEALING."

He stresses, “I am not the healer, Jesus Christ is the Divine Healer, I am only God’s human instrument. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the most powerful form of prayer for healing. When the Blessed Host is raised; this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, happy are those who are called to partake of the Supper. Then you respond, Lord, I am not worthy to receive You, but if You only say the Word, then I shall be healed."

"Do not underestimate the power of the Word. Depending on how one uses it, words can heal or destroy a person. So if one has nothing better to say of somebody, better not to say anything at all for the words that pass judgment on others may be the same judgment to be rendered on that very person.”

Fr. Fernando continues, “Life is full of various problems and worries. It is a normal process of daily living to have many problems, as its purpose is to teach us and to become learning constructive experiences for us. These are also necessary to inculcate in us that we need to cling to God and that He is always there to cast all of our worries upon Him."

"When my mind is greatly troubled and beset by so many worries, I call to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and pray to cast all of my worries and fears to Him. Lord, I can’t take this anymore so I let you take care of these for me. Trust is what we need to learn from His meek and humble Heart. So don’t be afraid, to always call on God, because He knows your situation even without you telling Him so. We only need to come to Him, trust in Him and ask from Him.”

"IT IS A LONG FULFILLED WISH THAT I CELEBRATE MASS TODAY ON THE FEAST OF THE SOLEMNITY OF THE SACRED HEART HERE AT THE NATIONAL SHRINE."

“Being an ardent devotee of the Sacred Heart, I have long wanted to celebrate Mass here at the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart and it is a long fulfilled wish that I celebrate it most especially today on the Feast of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart.” explains Fr. Suarez.

It has been over four years since I last attended a healing Mass of Fr. Fernando in MonteMaria Batangas. So much has happened since then including the major relocation of the original MonteMaria project from Batangas to their presently owned 33-hectare San Miguel property in Barangay Amuyong, Alfonso, Metro Tagaytay. The new permanent site requires extensive development such as infrastructure installation of the Oratory of the Blessed Virgin Mary and massive facilities enhancements such that financial assistance, contributions and pledges/donations to their MMP Charitable Organization (Mary Mother of the Poor) are a welcome alternative.

My lasting impression of Fr. Fernando Suarez is that of a humble healer. He is characterized by his friendliness and naturally warm-relations, joviality and simplicity, but his outstanding traits are his humility and genuine sincerity to serve. Today, he impresses me more as a humble servant of the Sacred Heart. This man’s heart is truly sincere in his desire to serve others that he has no pretenses of acknowledging where his healing power comes from. He does not tire of sharing his healing gift to others even when it requires so much of his own private time, to the point of self-exhaustion.

Often declaring that he is only an instrument of the Divine Healer, he actualizes it. Every time I see how the people call on him, running to him and desperately wanting to touch even just the hem of his priestly garment, I am reminded of Jesus, the Divine Healer. We are just like the bleeding woman who needs to have enough faith in Jesus Christ to accomplish our own healing, as He would say to us “By your faith, you are healed.”

HUMBLE SERVANT OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS AND IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

Toward the end of the Thanksgiving Prayer, Fr. Fernando sat in front of us and the people nearby were all reaching with their hands to touch him at different parts of his sides and shoulder. He realizes how so much the people wanted to relate to him so he turned to us and started to touch everyone within his sight. I can sense his natural fondness and affection for these devotees who were anticipating healing miracles from him.

At that very moment, seeing Fr. Fernando in that very same situation, I now clearly understood what Jesus Christ’s situation was like when everyone crowded and wanted to come near Him to ask for a miracle. It is not easy being a servant of the people when the desire to serve doesn’t emanate sincerely from one’s heart.

The Divine Love that emanates from the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a selfless and honorable act of service whose only intention is to propagate love of others without expecting anything in return. Tonight, I have witnessed this similar trait in Fr. Fernando Suarez; the humble servant of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

We continuously pray to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for Fr. Fernando Suarez and his congregation for the continued fulfillment of his MonteMaria project, his Healing Ministry and the Ministry of the Poor.

PRAISE BE TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS AND IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY!

EDWIN L. YAP

Makati City, Philippines

MOTHER OF MERCY DEVOTION: MESSAGE FROM JESUS OF MERCY

2011-07-02T00:09:00.001+08:00

"I IN MY MOTHER, MY MOTHER IN ME."
WE BOTH BECOME ONE, ONE HEART."

For full appreciation of its relevance and in celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on July 2, 2011; this urgent message from Jesus, is posted herein as sourced from where it was initially published and through the courtesy of the movingheartfoundation.com

Message (2) from YOUR JESUS OF MERCY

To THE WORLD

September 13, 2005 through Chris Courtis,

a visionary in Maryland, U.S.A.

My Dear Ones,

Today I come, and I ask you again to have devotion to My Most Holy Mother. My Mother is the fountain from which graces flow, including mercy. I cannot stress to you enough what she does for humanity. She has seen fit to appear before you throughout the whole world to lead you to Me. She is Mercy Itself, just as I am Mercy Itself. How can She not be, for We share the same Heart?

Remember this little saying, “I in My Mother. My Mother in Me.” We both become one, one Heart. If My Heart is a Merciful Heart, how can She not have a Merciful Heart? If I am Love and Mercy Itself, how can She, who God created without sin and to be My Mother, not be Love and Mercy Itself?

I have come to add validity to the messages of the Mother of Mercy. Listen! She intercedes for you before My throne. Sometimes, when I will not pardon you, it is through Her prayers that I pardon you. I love you, dear children. My children, reclaim your kingdom which is your rightful inheritance in your Father’s kingdom.

And I desire to give you also this instruction. The Mother of Mercy Devotion, it is a devotion, and I desire it to be placed alongside the devotion to My Divine Mercy. Why is this so strange to understand? Did I not request, even to Lucia in 1929, that I desire the devotion to Mary’s Immaculate Heart be placed beside devotion to My Most Sacred Heart.

Therefore, it is the same today. I desire that the Mother of Mercy devotion and chaplet and so on, be placed alongside the devotion to My Divine Mercy. Pray both chaplets every day. Receive abundant grace and mercy, and remember, She is your mother! When times are difficult and confusing and I seem far off to you, She is always near. Through Her prayers, I listen.

You honor so many saints, but the best saints that you have are St. Joseph and My Most Holy Mother’s prayers. It is through their prayers, sometimes even beyond the saints, that I honor most. Go to Her. She is your Mother of Mercy. She desires to save all her children by returning them to Her Most Merciful Immaculate Heart. She is returning them to My Most Merciful Sacred Heart.

Bless you, My little ones, in the name of the Father who has sent Me, in the name of the Son which I am, and in the name of the Holy Spirit which I pour out to you abundantly and who lives in you. Thank you for your response. Now go in My peace.

Herewith is the source site where one can download a printed PDF copy of the Devotional Chaplet of Our Mother Of Mercy.

www.movingheartfoundation.com

FROM DEVOTEES TO LOVERS OF THE SACRED HEART

2011-07-01T00:23:00.000+08:00

"COME TO ME, ALL YOU WHO LABOR AND
ARE BURDENED, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST."

I invite you to contemplate on the Image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the main altar of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart. You will see an Image of His Heart held by His left hand. The right hand pointing to His Heart. The Heart has a crown of thorns around it. On the top of the Heart is a flame, burning as a torch with a Cross. Blood drips from the Heart where the thorns pierce it. The face of Jesus shows no agony. You sense a peace and calm in it.

The CROWN OF THORNS shows how we pierce His heart with our terrible sins and betrayal. Our sins make His Heart bleed as each sin drives the thorns deeper. Yet His Love burns for us. The BURNING FLAME of His True Love for us is never extinguished. It burns brightly. His Sacred Heart reveals the true faithfulness of His Love, a Love without end. The CROSS symbolizes His death and resurrection, showing us that Jesus is with us in our suffering and pain; that He reaches out to give us the hope and love we need to survive life's trials and cruelties. This Paschal Mystery embedded in His Sacred heart is the ultimate proof of His Great Love for us. It is an invitation to our own "resurrection". It is what drives us to give and feel love the same way.

His Heart is never drained of blood and the flame of love never dies. Just as you can tie the Image of the Sacred heart to His Crucifixion, so too can you tie it to the Holy Eucharist. He gives us Himself, whole and entire in the Eucharist: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. His True Presence is never diminished nor divided, It is given the same, whole and entire, to each one who receives Him.

His Heart symbolizes the deepest core of God's Love reflected in Christ's words and actions in all of Scripture. His outstretched Hand INVITES us to go to His wounded Heart to ask for forgiveness for our sins and start anew.

We, as followers of Christ, are called to love as He loves us. We do not love perfectly as He loves us, but we strive for perfection. We fall short of loving Him and one another many times in our life. We turn our back on Him and one another. We break love and block relationships for love to build on. Married couples stop working at love and let it fail and end in separation. Girlfriends and boyfriends fall in and out of love turning relationships on and off so easily. For many people, love is seen as a convenience and not sacrificial as True Love found in Christ. The Love of Jesus knows no limits. He never turns His Love on or off like the flip of a switch but keeps it burning brightly no matter how many times we turn Him off.

If we are called to love one another with the love of Christ, then we first have to accept Christ's love for us, allowing our hearts to be set aflame with His Love. Then the love we share from Him will never fade.

As we celebrate a meaningful SOLEMNITY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, may our great devotion, as devotees, makes is lovers of Jesus Christ and one another; FROM DEVOTEES TO LOVERS. We cannot enter heaven as a devotee; only as a LOVER of Jesus and one another. Let us strive to make our hearts like His, burning with passion and compassion for each other, and "supplied by" God's Love, nurture an ability to give love that fills all the emptiness in the world.

A JOYFUL FEAST OF HIS LOVE TO ONE AND ALL!

Rev. Fr. Victor Y. Apacible
Rector/Parish Priest
NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE SACRED HEART

DEVOTION TO MY FATHERLY SACRED HEART

2011-06-30T21:37:00.022+08:00

"I GIVE MY HEART AS A SYMBOL OF MY LOVE AND
TO DRAW THEM BACK TO MY SPIRIT WHICH I GIVE FREELY
THROUGH JESUS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT."

Message from GOD THE FATHER

TO THE WORLD

April 13, 2006, through Chris Courtis

(The angels are all around. I see God. He's seated on this big, carved throne, and He's in a long white gown, and I can see His body, I can see His hands and His feet, and I don't see His face – it's all light. Angels are singing. They're singing "Glory to the Lord." God the Father, He says,)

My Dear and Beloved Children of My earth,

Today I have come among you to give to you a very special message for all of mankind. Today, I hold out My heart to humanity. (He's holding out his heart. There's so much light. His heart is out, and it's over us. It's gold, and the flames are just fire, it's fire of light. He says,)

I hold out My heart to give it to humanity, to all My children in a last and desperate attempt to save their souls and restore life to My children. I desire that people venerate the image of My Fatherly Sacred Heart. I desire that people place this picture alongside the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary painting and pictures. I desire to be venerated in the homes. Every family should honor the heart of the Father, for it is out of the heart of the Father that I sent you My only begotten Son to save and redeem humanity.

Today, I give My heart as a symbol of My love and to draw them back to My Spirit which I give freely through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Come back to My Heart, live in My kingdom, and receive My true peace. For this to happen, people must venerate and acknowledge My Fatherly Sacred Heart. Oh, how so often it is spoken of in Holy Scriptures, yet no one pays any attention to it.

My Heart is real! It truly beats and longs for all My children to be in My kingdom and free from sin and Satan. My heart yearned to send the Savior, My Son, into the world, and through that I send also, through My heart, your only mother, your Most Holy Mother, and she loves you so much and desires you to return back to the Kingdom of Heaven also. I desire that through this painting, great conversions will be given, and that the family that venerates Me and My Fatherly Sacred Heart will receive grace in abundance.

The first is that the family shall have peace, and second, the fathers shall be given all the graces that they need to lovingly discipline their children and draw them closer in love to My heart and to Jesus. Three, I shall give to those who make a request to My heart, peace, true peace. I shall answer your request but only according to My Will. I shall also give to you the grace of knowing My Will. Whatever My Will is for you, you will know when you venerate My Sacred Heart. It is only through veneration of My Fatherly Sacred Heart that you will know what My Will is for you.

Let Me explain, My dear beloved children. My Will always existed, but yet no one has knowledge of what I desire of them. They do not know where to go or where to turn in their life. I am there! I am here! Ask Me, "What is Your Will, Oh Heavenly Father?" and I will reveal to you what My Will is for you. I will open doors to the poor. I will open doors to the lonely, for all those who venerate My Fatherly Sacred Heart.

And to promulgate this devotion, I desire that people, when they receive an image of this painting, that they go before it, pray, first from your heart, whatever comes to your heart, and pray an "Our Father" and mean it! You cannot error if you pray the "Our Father", for the "Our Father" is the most perfect Will (prayer?) to Me, perfect in prayer and perfect in unity to My Will. (And there's a big light. It's engulfing the Father. It's a big, big light. It's landing on the painting! The painting is coming to life. He's alive! He's right there where the painting is!)

My heart I give to humanity. Take up My heart by living the gospels of My Son and by living every word of Sacred Scripture. Receive My heart, My dear ones, by loving Me and accepting Me as your Father. All graces come to you through Me first. I am the Father. I am God. Every grace I give, I give to you. I also give through Jesus, My Son who is the second person of the Most Holy Trinity, and through Our Lady, your Most Holy Mother.

I give you My heart. Do not blaspheme My heart. Do not mock Me. Never tempt Me, for My eyes see all. For those who love Me, I shall bless. For those who hate Me, I shall curse. I desire to give you My heart, but you must receive it in a state of grace. You must be willing to love unconditionally.

I shall bless you, My dear little ones, with the blessing of My heart. (He's taking a flame from His heart! Yes, there's a flame in His hand!) Just one single speck of this flame can purify you and give you all the graces that you will need. Come to Me every day so that each day I may give to you new flames of graces and purification. This is My blessing for you. (He threw it! He says,)

The flame that you have received is going into you. (He's making the Sign of the Cross, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.)

Now I shall depart, but before I shall depart, I desire to tell you that I mourn over the separation of churches, especially the Orthodox and Catholic churches. Everyone should realize that they are one Church united through My Son and dwell within My heart. The separation of the churches is of your own doing. I desire to save humanity, but it is humanity's choice whether they will receive My heart or reject it.

If they reject it, the greatest chastisement that I will send upon humanity will be to forsake you. I will leave you to your own doing. This is the worst punishment ever because I have always dwelt with My people throughout all times. But when My people did not listen, even in the Old Testament, I departed from them. So do not be concerned about worldly goods, but be concerned about the love you have for Me, My Son, the Holy Spirit, and your Blessed Mother.

Now, I shall bless you again and depart, (In the name of The Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.)

movingheartfoundation.com

FEASTS OF THE THREE SACRED HEARTS: ALL ARE UNITED AS ONE

2011-06-30T20:52:00.012+08:00

On April 13, 2002, in a message to the world through Chris Courtis, God the Father asked that devotion to His Sacred Heart be spread and that His feast day be established the Thursday before the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Friday) and the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Saturday). These are all moveable feasts and this year 2011 they fall on June 30, July 1 & 2.

The feasts of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary are well known, and now with the addition of the feast of the Sacred Heart of God the Father in 2002, and in 2010 the addition of the Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph, they are known as the Feasts of the Four Hearts,

According to Our Lady, "It is imperative that men realize that the feasts of these Three (now four) Sacred Hearts are not just to receive graces, but also to make reparation against the sins committed against Our Three Hearts. These are holy days, holy days in June when all Three Hearts are united as One." (May 25, 2002 through Chris Courtis)

Following is:

Message from GOD THE FATHER
To THE WORLD
April 13, 2002 through Chris Courtis, a visionary in Maryland, U.S.A.

(I see St. Michael the Archangel. He's blowing the trumpet. He says, "All kneel down before Our Lord, and God and Creator" I see God the Father! I see Him! I see the Holy Spirit, too. He's coming to rest on a cloud. By His left arm I see Jesus. I see His mother holding Jesus in her arms. I see St. Joseph by the right hand of Jesus. Jesus is a child. He's nine months old. I see angels, the little faces that Mary steps on, I see them. I see angels dressed in blue robes, in white robes. I see St. Michael on the right, St. Gabriel on the left. I see in the background three people. It's St. Therese of the Child Jesus. I see St. Thomas More, but I should point out he doesn't look like that in the picture. His nose isn't big either. I see St. Anna, too, dressed all in white. Our Lady says that I should look up to see God the Father. God the Father, there He is. I see His Sacred Heart. He says,)

My Dear Ones,

Today I come among you to establish devotion to My Sacred Heart. On this anniversary day and on every anniversary day up until the date that I choose, I shall appear. Today my message is this: I wish that all people throughout the world have a devotion to My Sacred Heart. (He's holding out His Heart.) I wish My Sacred Heart to be spread and to be put beside the Sacred Heart of My Son, Jesus, and before the Immaculate Heart of your mother, Mary.

My children, this June shall begin the special day, My feast day of My Fatherly Sacred Heart. The day established by My Church for the Sacred Heart of My Son, Jesus, the day before that, is My feast day of My Sacred Heart.

I did not just come to reveal that date to you, but to tell you that I wish for everyone to know the eight promises that I shall give for those who have a devotion to My Sacred Heart.

I shall establish peace within all families and the father shall be the head of that household.
I will bring peace to a nation who so consecrates themselves to My Sacred Heart, or in your case, state.
I shall also protect these children from war, poverty and hunger. Plus, I shall establish peace within that community who has a devotion to My Sacred Heart.
I shall give to you My Divine and Most Holy Will. The people who consecrate themselves to the Sacred Heart of Me, their Father, shall learn to live and pray in The Divine Will. This gift I can give to anyone I choose and I freely choose to dispose this gift upon you. When you consecrate yourselves to My Sacred Heart, you shall live, know, and do My Will.
Those who consecrate themselves to My Sacred Heart shall also be consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to Mary, your most holy mother. They shall not be My people, but they shall be My children, sons and daughters of God most high. As Jesus is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, and as Mary is My beloved daughter, so shall you all be sons and daughters of God, a beloved royal family, consecrated to My Most Sacred Heart.
(He's looking over everyone.) I shall establish within each person the grace of loving Me, their Father, with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their mind. If anyone comes to Me and consecrates his soul and his life to My Sacred Heart, I shall fill him with the burning desire of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit shall imprison his heart with fire and it shall be set on fire for love of Me and their mother Mary, and Jesus, My Son. I shall do this to every heart that consecrates themselves to me, the Sacred Heart of the Father.
I will answer your prayers powerfully and unexpectedly. But know this, you shall gain the gift of the Kingdom of the Divine Will. Therefore, if it is not in The Kingdom of the Divine Will for you to ask of this, then it shall not be given unto you. If you are led by the Spirit and with the Divine Will, I will answer your prayers.
I will heal the hearts of My children. I see your pain. I see your sufferings. And if I in all My glory can cry in seeing you suffer, then know that I rejoice in healing men's hearts. Come to Me, My children who suffer and who cry, and I shall heal your heart and make it like unto My Heart, rich in love and mercy and free from wounds and injuries. Just a touch of the Golden Love from My Heart is enough to heal your hearts of pain forever.

This is what I have come to say today. The eight promises I shall give to all nations, all kindred and tongues and people who accept My Heart as the Sacred Heart of the Father.

In 1917 your Blessed Mother has asked you for devotion to her Immaculate Heart to stop World War II. Now, before the coming chastisements and before a greater war that may be looming in the future, I come to ask for this devotion to not only be spread, but practiced in all religious institutions and homes throughout the world. I tell you in truth. Those who love God their Father would humble themselves before My Son, and those who seek to not only have a devotion to Me, but to serve Me should love and serve their mother. This is My desire and My wish. I bless you today with the sign of the Most Holy Trinity, which is the cross and I extend to you as a blessing My Most Fatherly, Sacred, Loving Heart. (He's blessing us with the Sign of the Cross. He says that He will come every year on this anniversary to speak about this devotion and He also says Mary shall now give me a private message.)

From JESUS, LORD AND LOVER OF THE DIVINE WILL
April 23, 2001 at 3 pm in a private apparition to Chris Courtis.

My Dear Ones,

Today I stand at the right hand of the Father with majesty and grace, and it is in that majesty and grace that I rule over everything in this world and in the next. My lesson today is on a sure way of living in and of doing My Most Holy Will, and that is by abiding in God My Father's Most Sacred Heart. When you abide in love, in My Father's Most Sacred Heart, you are attached to one single Will alone and that is the Will of the Father who has sent Me. To be one in love in My Father's Heart also means to be one in His Will. Make no mistake about this, My little ones, God My Father's Heart does exist. It was only through God's Most Loving Heart, love beating with His Most Holy Will, that everything did come into being.

And it was at the Immaculate Conception of My Mother that God My Father did enclose half of His heart to My mother Mary. And it was from her heart that My Body and Heart were formed.

That is why the Three Hearts, though, separate are joined together as One, One in love, and One in Will. Everything that God My Father does in His Sheer Will is done all in love.

But, My little ones, you must ask yourselves how can I be united to the Father's Sacred Heart?

First, you must love God the Father with all your heart and ask Him to grace you with love so that you may grow in God's love.

Second, you must love Him back. God the Father, just like Me His Son, waits for you to be affectionate with Us. Be affectionate with Us, tell God the Father that you love Him and that you wish to do His Will and thus live in It, for you cannot hope to live in Our Most Holy Will when you can't even do what He asks of you. I say to you this, you cannot be united to living in God's Most Holy Will without being united to His Most Sacred Heart.

The last and final thing you must do is consciously consecrate your heart to the Sacred Heart of the Father. Pray simply and ask Him thus;

Our Father who resides in Heaven, I approach your throne and ask that You give to me the grace of abiding within your Most Sacred Heart. I promise to love Thee and to adore Thee with all my heart and soul. O Mighty Father, love me and let me love you so that I may also be one in Your Most Holy Will.

You, O God, are my Creator and my Father of Mercy and Love, and it is in Thee that I do trust that Thy love becomes my own, and that Thy Will becomes my will, and that I may live and do Thy Will, not just in this world, but in the next. O Most Merciful and Loving Heart of the Father, I love and trust in Thee through Your Son Jesus Christ. Ahmen or Amen, whichever one you prefer.

I love you all my little ones and I bless you with my peace. Peace be with you all.

Message from MARY, MOTHER AND QUEEN OF THE DIVINE WILL
To Jesus and Mary’s Prayer Group
Original Date - May 25, 2002 through Chris Courtis

Praised be Jesus!

My dear little children, I ask you this very day to be united to the Three Hearts – to the Sacred Heart of God the Father, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and to my Most Immaculate Heart. June 10, 2010 is the feast day of God the Father’s Sacred Heart. I call you to pray, to prepare yourselves for these three holy feast days.

On Thursday, June 30, 2010:

If you can, go to Confession that week or on Thursday, and receive the Blessed Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. And I invite you to pray one rosary and one chaplet (either God the Father Chaplet or the Divine Mercy Chaplet) in reparation for your sins and for others. (This chaplet is in addition to your regular daily rosary and chaplet.) Make reparation and console the heart of your God, your Father, who loves you.
Pray also thus on this day,

“Oh God the Father, I consecrate myself to You in the oneness of Your Holy and Divine Will. I pray an act of reparation for the conversion of sinners and for healing of our souls and Your Heart. I pray this rosary and chaplet in penance for my own sins and for those of others. Amen.”

On Friday, July 1, 2011:

Again go to Mass, receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
Recite again, one chaplet, one rosary, in reparation for the sins committed against Jesus’ Sacred Heart
Pray thus:

“My Lord Jesus, I consecrate myself to Your Most Sacred Heart. I consecrate my heart, my soul, and my body to Your Most Sacred Heart, and I pray that You will help me to do and make reparation and penance for my own sins and those of others. I offer you this chaplet and rosary in reparation and in penance for my own sins and for the conversion of all sinners. Amen”

On Saturday, July 2, 2011:

Go to church and receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
Pray one rosary and one chaplet, (may pray the Mother of Mercy Chaplet)
And pray thus again:

“Oh Mary, my Mother, my Most Holy and Blessed Mother, I come before you to make reparation for the sins committed against your Immaculate Heart, and I offer up to you this sacrifice of this rosary and this chaplet for the conversion of sinners and in penance for my own sins and those of others, to take the wounds and to heal your wounds, and to take the crown of thorns away from your heart and to heal your wounds forever more. Amen”

It is imperative that men realize that the Feasts of these Three Sacred Hearts are not just to receive graces, but also to make reparation against the sins committed against Our Three Hearts. These are holy days, holy days in June when all Three Hearts are united as One.

I promise you little children, if you pray and do reparation and penance to console Our Hearts and heal Our Hearts, Our Hearts will heal and We will in turn heal yours.

Do not underestimate the importance of this message that I give to you. It is imperative that men amend their ways and return to God and make atonement for their sins that grievously offend my Heart, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Sacred Heart of God Our Father. He will touch you with the touch of His golden love and heal your hearts, but He calls you to do the same for His, My Son’s, and my Immaculate Sorrowful Heart.

MY UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND MERCY IS GIVEN IN CONFESSION

2011-06-28T23:27:00.001+08:00

"I AM IN THE CONFESSIONAL, AND IT IS I, MYSELF,

WHO ABSOLVES YOU AND WHO EXTENDS TO YOU
MY MERCY AND LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY."

Message from JESUS OF MERCY

TO THE WORLD

April 13, 2008 through Chris Courtis,
a visionary in Maryland USA

My Dear and Beloved Children of My Father’s earth,

My Dear Ones, I come today to invite you to complete surrender and trust in Me. I have spoken very often of trust in Me, but yet you have very little trust in Me. Take small steps by reaching out to Me through prayer and by going to Mass, but the greatest and the biggest trust that you can give to Me is by going to Confession. I am Love and Mercy itself, and it is true I am present in the Blessed Sacrament and for Adoration, but My unconditional love and mercy is given to you through Confession.

You desire peace, My little ones. There I point the way to My peace, through Confession. How can I give you My love or My mercy when you will not open your heart to receive it, or even be willing to go to Confession to be forgiven of your sins? I have come to free you from the bondage of sin, but yet how many of My little ones desire to remain in bondage.

The door of My mercy is easily accessed through the door of Confession. My Mother is a key for you to opening that door through her merits, her graces, her beauty, her love, and her intercession for you. She will give you the strength to turn the key to open the doors and to confess with all your mind and with all your heart. Then you will truly be set free, and you will feel My love and mercy wash over you, and you will understand that I am in the Confessional, and it is I, myself, who absolves you and who extends to you My mercy and love unconditionally.

My message for the world is one of hope. If people repent and turn back to Me, I will save many souls. I will build a new ark in My mother’s heart, consecrated to God the Father’s Fatherly Sacred Heart, but I will only do this as long as the world responds to my invitation of love and mercy and peace. Do not think to yourself, “Tomorrow I have time to decide,” for I call you to decide right now where you stand and who you stand with. Go to Confession, receive forgiveness, and pray.

Never cease praying because through prayer there exists hope, hope from the Holy Spirit of renewal and peace. (He’s looking at every one. He’s looking around the room. He’s looking past the room.) My words of love and mercy and peace should be enough. If the world will not respond to these gifts, then I will be forced to show My Justice.

I love you, and I bless you all, and I take your prayers and your petitions into My Heart, and I will present them to My Father and your Father. And I bless you in My name, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Go in My peace.

movingheartfoundation.com

FOOD AND DRINK OF ETERNAL LIFE: CORPUS CHRISTI

2011-06-25T20:42:00.006+08:00

"WHOEVER EATS MY FLESH AND DRINKS MY BLOOD HAS ETERNAL LIFE,
AND I WILL RAISE HIM ON THE LAST DAY."

As we observe the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, today we have the opportunity to reflect more thoroughly on the richness of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Let us express our gratitude to the Lord for giving himself to us under the forms of Bread and Wine, the supernatural Food and Drink which nourishes, strengthens, and supports us during our earthly pilgrimage.

Let us also remember that Jesus is present in the Eucharist as a PERSON and as a FRIEND who loves us so dearly and wants to establish with us that perfect COMMUNION that is the essence of eternal life.

Let us keep these wonderful truths in our minds and hearts as we are about to begin our Eucharistic celebration that will enable us to meet the Lord in the most personal and fulfilling manner.

Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.

Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

JUNE 2011 NOVENA MASSES OF THE SACRED HEART

2011-06-22T21:43:00.023+08:00

NOVENA MASSES / ACTIVITIES IN HONOR OF THE

MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS

June 22-30, 2011

Feast Day Theme:
"HEART OF JESUS, FOUNT OF LIFE AND HOLINESS"

Please note that on all consecutive Novena Day Masses, Liturgical Novena Prayers are to be recited within the portions for Prayers for Petition/Communion Thanksgiving.

June 22 Wed Day 1
12:15 NN Mass: Rev. Fr. Victor Y. Apacible,
NSSH Rector/Parish Priest
Sponsors: AP Vicariate of Sts. Peter and Paul
Choir: APY

06:00 PM Mass: Rev. Fr. Edison D. Escario,
NSSH Parochial Vicar
Sponsors: Charismatic: CCC/HJM/Shepherd's Flock
(Lil Bunagan: Aida de Guzman/Orly & Aida Visaya/Ludz Buslig
Choir: CCC

June 23 Thu Day 2
12:15 NN Mass: Rev. Fr. Edison D. Escario,
NSSH Parochial Vicar
Sponsors: Business Groups (Rey Macalino / RCBC (Lita Galano)
Choir: RCBC Choir

06:00 PM Mass: Rev Fr. Gabby Garcia,
Our Lady of La Paz Parish Priest
Sponsors: DMI (Gloria Gomez)
Choir: LOM

June 24 Fri Day 3
12:15 NN Mass: Rev. Fr. Peter Nang,
NSSH Resident Guest Priest
Sponsors: Brgy. San Antonio (Charito Go) / Homeowners (Geraldine Ito)/
MAPSA (Herminigildo San Miguel) / Police (Forilan Bonifacio)
Choir: IC

06:00 PM Mass: Rev. Fr. Victor Y. Apacible,
NSSH Rector/Parish Priest
Sponsors: CFC (Allan Prado) / SFC (John Andrew Roque)
Choir: CFC/SFC

June 25 Sat Day 4
12:15 NN Mass: Msgr. Dennis S. Odiver,
St. Andrew The Apostle Parish Priest
Sponsors: Senior Citizens (Cipreano Guarin / Jun Estorque) /
KOA (Paolo Alarcon) / Parents
Choir: Senior Citizens

06:30 PM Mass: Rev. Fr. Jason Laguerta,
Holy Cross Parish Priest
Sponsors: Youth (Carlo dela Rosa) / LOM-Sr. & Jr. (Cecille Ubas / Cathy Shaw)
Choir: CHORI ANGELORUM

June 26 Sun Day 5
10:30 AM Mass: Rev. Fr. Victor Y. Apacible,
NSSH Rector / Parish Priest
Sponsors: Parish Pastoral Council (Noel M. David) /
Open to all
Choir: IC

05:30 PM Mass: Rev. Fr. Edison D. Escario,
NSSH Parochial Vicar
Sponsors: EMHC (Boyet Natividad) / MW (Lita Galano)
Choir: APY

June 27 Mon Day 6
12:15 NN Mass: Rev. Fr. Juanito C. Arroco, Jr.,
Santa Monica Parish Priest
Sponsors: MBG Archdiocese of Manila (c/o Rita Sales) / Schools
Choir: IC

06:00 PM Mass: Rev. Fr. Romeo Agustin Miciano, SDB,
St. John Bosco Parish Priest
Sponsors: Ministry of Greeters & Collectors / (Mel de Leon)
Choir: Knights of Columbus

June 28 Tue Day 7
10:00 AM Talk On The Sacred Heart 1:
Msgr. Ding Coronel, Rector San Carlos Seminary
12:15 NN Mass: Msgr. Ding Coronel,
Rector San Carlos Seminary
Sponsors: CWL Archdiocese of Manila (Nieve Marie Laraya)
Choir: CWL

06:00 PM Mass: Rev. Fr. Victor Y. Apacible,
NSSH Rector/Parish Priest
Sponsors: Knights of Columbus / TOC (Lee de Gala / Rosie Baltasar)
Choir: Knights of Columbus

June 29 Wed Day 8
10:00 AM Talk On The Sacred Heart 2:
Rev. Fr. Francis Gustilo, SDB
12:15 NN Mass: Msgr. Emmanuel Sunga, Rector/Parish Priest
of Archdiocesian Shrine of Our Lady Of Loreto
Choir: IC

06:00 PM Mass: Rev. Fr. Jose Alipino SSP
Provincial Superior, Society of St. Paul
Sponsors: Barangay Sta. Cruz (Vynia Salenga)
Choir: SYC

June 30 Thu Day 9
12:15 NN Mass: Rev. Fr. Francis Gustilo, SDB
Sponsors: Makati City Hall
Choir: CITY HALL

06:00 PM Mass: Rev. Fr, Victor J. Apacible,
NSSH Rector/Parish Priest
Sponsors: Vicariate SSDM (Sol delos Santos)
Choir: CCC

07:00 PM Parish-wide Procession

JULY 1, 2011 Fri SOLEMNITY OF THE SACRED HEART FEAST DAY

06:00 AM Mass: Rev. Fr. Max A. Ocampo,
NSSH Parish Priest Emeritus

06:45 AM Mass: Rev. Fr. Blas U. Briones, Jr.,
NSSH Attached Priest

07:30 AM Mass: Rev. Fr. Edison D. Esacrio,
NSSH Parochial Vicar
Choir: IC

08:15 AM RUSTANS

10:00 AM Imposition of Sacred Heart Scapulars

12:15 NN Mass: His Excellency Most Reverend
Broderick S. Pabillo, DD., Auxiliary Bishop of Manila
Choir: IC

05:00 PM Mass: Rev. Fr. Peter Nang,
NSSH Resident Guest Priest
Choir: LOM

06:15 PM Mass: Rev. Fr. Fernando Suarez,
Companions of the Cross
Choir: APY
Healing Services after Mass

12:00 MN Mass: Rev. Fr. Victor Y. Apacible
NSSH Rector/Parish Priest

GLORY TO THE TRINITY: OUR HEAVENLY FATHER

2011-06-16T00:07:00.001+08:00

Jesus said to Nicodemus: “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

Whoever believes in Him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

WAYS TO HONOR THE MOST HOLY TRINITY

The simplest way to honor the Most Holy Trinity is to begin every day by making the Sign of the Cross with deep faith and devotion, paying special attention to the words that we say: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!” Then worship the Triune God in your heart by reciting the prayer “Glory Be . . .” and the Creed through which we renew our faith in the tri-personal God from whom we come, in whom we live, and in whom we will find our eternal happiness.

Then thank the Blessed Trinity for all the graces and favors received so far, ask for His protection during the day, and offer Him all the actions that you will perform and the pains that you will endure. In this way, all that you are and do will be offered as a “living sacrifice of love” to the God who is our Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier and Source of our happiness.

These prayers can be repeated during the day, especially the shorter ones as simple acts of love and worship. The Sign of the Cross should be made also before every important action that we do, such as when we begin our daily activity, before and after taking our meals, when we travel, when we feel tempted or in danger.

Every day should end in the same way we should begin it. Our final thought should be an act of entrustment of ourselves and all those who are dear to us to the Most Holy Trinity.

In addition to honoring the Trinity through our prayers, we should also make every effort to become in our daily lives a reflection of the “personal loving communion” which the Blessed Trinity is.

We do that by relating with respect, openness, and love to all human beings, and especially the members of our family, colleagues and other people we interact with. It is only by respecting and loving our neighbor that we can say that we respect and love the Blessed Trinity, for He dwells in each human being. As St. John says, “One who has no love for the brother he has seen cannot love the God he has not seen” (1 Jn 4:20).

As families celebrate with love the importance of human Fatherhood today, we likewise gratefully acknowledge our Infinite Source of Eternal Love and Divine Providence that emanates from our Heavenly Father.

For all that we are and all that we have comes from Him, through Him and by Him. His Perfect Love for us is so great that He didn't withhold His very own Son for our sake; so that all of mankind may ultimately be reconciled and united through Jesus Christ.

May this acknowledgment prayer be lovingly recited in our grateful hearts not only today but everyday of our lives to thank Him for unceasingly providing us with eternal graces as His ever dependent children.

GRATITUDE THAT ENDEARS US TO GOD

2010-10-10T11:55:00.011+08:00

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.

They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going, they were cleansed.

One of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice. He fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”

THE BEAUTY OF GRATITUDE

The word “thanks” is just one syllable, but many are unable to pronounce it. This is due not to a speech impediment but to a moral deficiency which paralyzes their hearts. Some are fast in asking for favors, but very slow in showing gratitude once they have received what they wanted.

The group of nine lepers who were cured by Jesus and walked away unmindful of their benefactor, is just a tiny delegation of the immense throng of ungrateful persons who take everybody, every service, everything for granted. They take people for granted, even when the favor or service received may have cost a lot of sacrifice.

They take God for granted – His gift of creation, the gift of their very persons, with all the wonderful qualities of soul and body. They take for granted His grace, the Church, the Sacraments, eternal life!

Ungrateful people are too blind, too deaf, too insensitive, too dull or too proud to say thanks to anyone, including God. If He could ever be saddened, human ingratitude would surely make Him very sad.

Gratitude is spontaneous for few. For most of us, however, it is a virtue acquired gradually, just like humility, generosity and honesty, virtues on which it is based. We have to learn to be attentive and responsive even to the smallest signs of kindness or generosity toward us. We have to learn to show appreciation for what other people and God do for us.

Without our realizing it, such an awareness enriches us immensely as does the awareness that we are loved, and the desire to love in return. Gratitude is indeed a form of love – love returned. A simple way of being great. A great way of being human.

There are so many ways of being thankful. It can be a written note, a frank smile, a sincere handshake, a delicate caress, a silent tear, a word uttered when it is time to speak it, or a word kept unsaid when grateful love demands that it should not be said.

Whatever form it may take, gratitude can never be a momentary formality. When it becomes such, it is hypocrisy. Then it is no better than ingratitude. Real gratitude is rooted deep in the “heart” of a person. It is “utang na loob” that characterizes a person’s life and establishes him/her in a permanent attitude of being a grateful debtor. Such deeply rooted attitude becomes alive whenever the occasion arises.

Then life becomes an unceasing “Eucharist” - a Holy Thanksgiving, a joyous giving of self to God and neighbor, in imitation of, and in union with Jesus, the one who taught men the real meaning and the million shades of “utang na loob.”

GOD'S LOVE FOR THE LOST: WE ARE MOST PRECIOUS TO GOD

2010-09-12T18:05:00.007+08:00

Every human being is most precious in God’s sight. Created in His image and likeness, we are invited to be with Him for ever in heaven!

Unfortunately, sin has always threatened to thwart such a beautiful plan through the wrong use of our freedom. That is why our loving Creator has become also our Good Shepherd who, not only leads His flock to verdant meadows and refreshing waters, but also seeks out and brings back to the fold the sheep that have gone astray.

Every Eucharist is both a memorial of the suffering which the caring Shepherd endured in order to save the lost sheep, and a joyful celebration of the fruitfulness of his search. Let us participate in this Eucharist with gratitude, for we, too, have been among the sheep that got lost and who were rescued by God’s self-sacrificing love.

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So to them he addressed this parable. “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep!’

I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost!’

In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

WE ARE MOST PRECIOUS TO GOD

We manifest the value we attach to what we own by the care with which we use it or the way we keep it, and especially by the pain we experience when we lose it. That is why Jesus used the parables of the lost sheep and of the lost coin to impress on his audience how dear each individual human being is to God.

We are precious to Him because He has created us in His image and likeness, and has destined to share His life for ever. And the proof of how dear we are to God is in what He does when we run the risk of getting lost.

When this happens, He does not sit back and conclude in a detached manner, that such has been our choice and that He respects it. Nor does He find consolation for our loss in thinking that, after all, He still has so many other people who remain close to Him.

We are not just precious to Him. We are UNIQUELY PRECIOUS to Him and He loves each of us as if he/she were the only one who exists. Both parables in today’s Gospel passage speak of ONE getting lost, be it a sheep or a coin.

That is why, when we make a wrong choice, God does not get resigned to the idea that we should suffer the consequences for it. He would not get resigned to this loss even if we were the only ones to be lost. This is the reason for the Incarnation. This is the reason for all that Christ did and endured in order to find the “lost sheep” and bring them home to the safety of the Father’s house. There is no greater sign of how precious each of us is to God than the incarnation, suffering, and death of God’s Son.

The reaction of the shepherd and the woman when they lose what they hold so dear is one of ANXIOUS CONCERN and ACTIVE SEARCH in view of finding that one lost item. The meaning of all this is that God’s LOVE for sinners does not just wait patiently for them to come back. Instead, it goes in search of them, as if nothing else mattered.

The case of Paul’s conversion in today’s Second Reading is a practical example not only of God’s immense patience with sinners (see v. 16), but also of how mercifully and generously He deals with them. (See v. 14.) Each of us could tell the same story, for all of us have experienced God’s merciful love not just once, but numberless times.

Today’s parables also tell us that when God manages to rescue a sinner (symbolized by the finding of the lost sheep/coin), He REJOICES and CELEBRATES with His “friends and neighbors.” Love rejoices and celebrates and invites others to be part of it! It is the pure rejoicing that replaces the past sorrow and overflows on to all those who shared the pain of the loss. It is just right that all the friends of God should rejoice. They are part of His “family.” We should feel part of the family!

So the two parables do not just tell us how precious every human being is to God, but also how much we should share in His appreciation and love for each human person, participate in His concern over those who are in danger of getting lost, and be one with Him in rejoicing over the finding of the lost brothers or sisters.

ONLY THE HUMBLE CAN BE GENEROUS

2010-08-29T09:50:00.005+08:00

On this Sunday, the Word of God invites us to reflect on the disastrous consequences of pride and the preciousness of humility. Pride was what cast Lucifer into hell. Pride and ambition is what brought Adam and Eve to disobey God, as a consequence of which they were driven out of the Garden of Eden.

Pride has caused so much suffering to so many millions of human beings along the centuries. Its opposite – HUMILITY – brings joy, peace, and encouragement to all. Humble people readily acknowledge that all the good qualities they have are gifts from God and that every success has its origin and support in Him.

In this Eucharistic celebration let us ask for the grace to be truly humble. This will enable us to be GENEROUS and thereby become a source of happiness for so many of our brothers and sisters.

On a Sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him,and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you, he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Then he said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. Blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

A literal and superficial interpretation of the conclusion of the first part of today’s Gospel passage can be misleading. It sounds as if one should choose the lowest place in order to be invited to move higher, right in front of everybody. (See Lk 14:10.) Such an intention/attitude could hardly be called humility. Nor can this form of subtle hypocrisy be what Jesus is trying to teach his fellow guests and us.

This section should not be understood as suggesting a wrong intention in the one who chooses the lowest place; rather it states a fact – how God (the Host) will treat those who in this life have treasured humility. He will exalt them, even as He will clamp down those who have proudly exalted themselves. (See v. 11. See also Mary’s Canticle, Lk 1:52.) All this amounts to an exaltation of God’s justice and fairness. He promises a reward to all those who deserve it, even as He threatens punishment to the unworthy.

And rightly so, for there is nothing more revolting than pride, and nothing more pleasing than genuine humility. While pride is the ultimate root of all sins and vices, humility is the mother of all virtues. Quite simply, these are the two fundamental opposite attitudes which will determine our eternal destiny.

Contrary to all appearances, pride is the manifestation of a terrible spiritual poverty and blindness. For all his self-sufficiency, a proud person needs others against whom to measure himself and feel that he is stronger, richer, prettier, more intelligent, more powerful, more everything! In their moral blindness, proud people refuse to recognize that all the good qualities and assets they possess are gifts from the Lord.

Deeply envious of the qualities or success of others, they deny them or attribute them to wrong intentions or dealings. Proud people feel a devouring need to display their trophies and achievements. They absolutely refuse even to contemplate the possibility of failing, but all the while they keep nose-diving into their final, irreparable failure – hell!

Diametrically opposite to such spiritual misery and self-destructive attitude towers humility, the sign and fruit of a wonderful spiritual richness. Humble persons see themselves and others as gifts. They readily acknowledge this truth, and joyfully thank the Donor. Mary is the most stupendous example of such humility. (See the “Magnificat,” especially Lk 1:46-49.)

Happy in receiving with gratitude, and happier still in giving without expecting thanks or reward, humble people readily rejoice in the good qualities or successes of their neighbor. They see no place, no occupation as being too low for them, while considering all others worthier than themselves.

Humble people see themselves as having the mission to be helpful to others, and continuously try their best to accomplish such mission. They can be defined as “people for others.” When they fail, they never feel humiliated, for even the most bitter failure is for them a stepping stone toward the final success – heaven!

Jesus Christ, the greatest of all, was also the most humble of all. He is the champion of all the humble. All his life (including his death) was the clearest example of what a humble person should be and do.

CHALLENGE OF THE NARROW GATE: WAY TO HEAVEN

2010-08-22T00:44:00.006+08:00

Modern psychology gives great importance to “feeling good” and “loving one’s self” as a precondition to love others. But in today’s Gospel passage Jesus warns us that there is no easy way to be His disciples as He declares that the Kingdom of God can be “accessed”only through a “narrow gate.” Obviously, Jesus is not speaking of a material gate but of the “narrow gate” of daily faithfulness to one’s duties and the loyal observance of God’s law in all circumstances of life.

That is what makes life challenging, but that is also the only way that leads to eternal happiness in heaven. In this Eucharist, let us ask for the grace to have the moral strength to choose the “narrow gate” of self-denial, in preference to the wide gate of self-indulgence and other forms of self-gratification.

Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.

After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’ And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves cast out.

And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.

BUILDING THE KINGDOM OF GOD

2010-07-04T08:16:00.018+08:00

"THE HARVEST IS ABUNDANT,
BUT THE LABORERS ARE FEW."

Long before any human being dreamed of creating a “New Society” or a “New Order,” God had the plan to fashion humankind into a community characterized by love, solidarity, justice, and peace.

It was Jesus who revealed that “Grand Plan,” called it the KINGDOM OF GOD on earth, and laid its foundation in the group of disciples he had chosen. Before He ascended into heaven, he also commissioned them to proclaim and establish the Kingdom in every nation and human heart.

Today we are reminded that the proclamation and the building of the Kingdom is the call and responsibility not just of the leaders and a few enthusiasts, but of all those who believe in Christ. The Kingdom we are called to build should be viewed as our home and our best aspiration.

At that time, the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.

Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment.

Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, ‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.’ Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand! I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.”

The seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power to ‘tread upon serpents' and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy, and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

So few workers for such an abundant harvest! This remark, justified in the time of Jesus, is more than appropriate today. There is the whole world to be brought to Jesus. Or better, Jesus has to be made present to the whole world. More than five billion human beings have not yet received the Good News. They are not yet aware of how much God loves them and of what a wonderful future He has in store for them!

The workers are few. This is a fact and more. It is a lament, an invitation, and a challenge. For centuries the Church has endeavored to respond to the challenge through her elite troops: the clergy and the religious. Now she has come to realize ever more clearly that she needs many, many more apostles if she is to fulfill her mission of preaching the Gospel to all men.

What was never denied in the past is now proclaimed loud and clear: the Church needs the Laity. They are an immense potential of 99% that has been kept dormant for too many centuries. The 1987 Synod acknowledged it frankly. “Christifiddeles Laici” (the post-synodal exhortation written by Pope John Paul II after that Synod) proclaims it bravely and as a matter of urgency. The time for a re-evangelization has come, and the lay faithful are to play their rightful role in it.

The magnitude of the task to be accomplished should not discourage anyone. It has never been easy to be a worker in the field of God. Jesus told the seventy-two that he was sending them as “lambs in the midst of wolves.” (See Lk 10:3.) Proportionally, the wolves are as numerous today as in the times of Herod and Nero. We need to be as brave as the Apostles, none of whom died of old age, except John.

The harvest is plentiful. Indeed, there is so much to be done. There is peace to be sown and nurtured in the hearts of men, if we want to see it flourish among the nations. There is so much healing to be done among the numberless victims of the terrible cancer called “sin.” There is a Kingdom yet to be proclaimed and established, in the endless alternation of victories and setbacks.

If billions of humans do not know and love Christ, no Christian should try to excuse himself/herself. Woe to us if we do not preach the Gospel! (See 1 Cor 9:16.) This is a duty and a privilege that none of us may delegate to others. The roles and styles may be different and change with the times and circumstances. The essence remains: every Christian is called to be a worker in the harvest of God, today.

JUNIOR SHEPHERDS FOR CHRIST FLOCK

2010-04-25T01:10:00.000+08:00

To be a shepherd of God’s people demands purity of intention and of heart. It requires total dedication to the point of being ready to lay down one’s life for the good of the sheep, following in the footsteps of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. As members of God’s flock, we have the right to demand all this of our shepherds, but we have also the duty to pray for them, and to support them in all their worthy enterprises.

We have also the duty to promote and sustain new vocations to priestly and religious life. We must pray that God’s flock may never lack holy representatives of the Eternal Shepherd. Let this be the main intention for which we offer this Eucharist.

Jesus said:

“My sheep hear my voice.I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

DEDICATED ASSISTANTS OF THE DIVINE SHEPHERD

Being mostly a shepherding people, Israel enjoyed thinking of the Lord as its divine “Shepherd.” The pious Jews expressed their trust in God’s provident care and protection by singing: “The Lord is my shepherd There is nothing I shall want. I fear no evil!” (Ps 23:1.4)

And the Lord did take care of His “flock” in all circumstances. In most cases, however, He entrusted the ordinary care of Israel to “human shepherds”: the political and religious leaders of His people. These were expected to be the symbols and instruments of the fatherly concern which the Divine Shepherd showed for His people at all times.

Often, however, the leaders had turned into “bad shepherds” who pastured themselves, while treating the sheep harshly. (See Ez 34:3-6.) The Lord threatened to dismiss the bad shepherds, and promised to take care of His own flock personally. (See Ez 34:11-16.)

Such a promise was fulfilled eminently in Jesus Christ, the Son-of-God-made-man. In his short earthly existence, through his teaching, his miracles,
and his loving kindness, Jesus showed himself in innumerable instances that he was, indeed, the good shepherd who really cared for his “flock.” Eventually, he went to the extent of laying down his life for his sheep, thus living up to the definition of “good shepherd” which he himself had given. (See Jn 10:11.)

After his resurrection Jesus did not forget his “little flock” of frightened disciples. Knowing that he would not be visibly present among them any longer, he entrusted them all to the care of Peter, the chief “vice shepherd” (see Jn 21:15-17), and of all the other apostles (see Mt 28:19-20), and their successors.

UNDER THE CARE OF A LOVING SHEPHERD

2010-04-18T17:56:00.009+08:00

On this Third Sunday of Easter, our attention is focused on the Risen Christ, who appears to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and on his choice of Simon Peter as the chief-shepherd of the Church. This appointment is particularly significant because it happened only a few days after Peter had miserably denied being one of Jesus’ disciples.

But Jesus offered Peter the possibility to redeem himself by answering the challenging question: “Do you LOVE me?” The question, repeated three times, elicited a triple profession of love from the humbled disciple, as a result of which Jesus made him the first Pope.

This tells us the basic importance of a sincere love for Jesus not only by the shepherds of the Church, but also by all the members of their flocks. Love is the essence and nothing can make up for its absence.

At that time, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore (only about a hundred yards), dragging the net with the fish.

When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.

Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to Simon Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” Jesus said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY: WITNESSES OF GOD'S MERCIFUL LOVE

2010-04-11T01:12:00.002+08:00

"HAVE YOU COME TO BELIEVE BECAUSE YOU HAVE SEEN ME?
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN AND HAVE BELIEVED."

Today, the Second Sunday of Easter, we honor the Risen Christ under the title of “King of Divine Mercy.” Each of us has surely experienced the infinite mercy of the Lord in so many ways, including the reception of the gift of faith and the forgiveness of our sins.

We should manifest our gratitude to the Lord Jesus for His mercy toward us by being merciful to our neighbor. In this way, our lives will become a living witness to Christ’s resurrection and will bring others to believe that, indeed, Jesus has risen from the dead.

Like the converted Thomas, let us approach the merciful Christ in this Eucharist and renew our profession of faith by proclaiming aloud: “My Lord and my God!”

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.

But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

CHRIST OUR HOPE, IS RISEN, ALLELUIA

2010-04-04T04:46:00.000+08:00

A most Happy Easter to one and all! The joy of the Resurrection fills our hearts and urges us to share it with all our brothers and sisters. Something wonderful has happened not only to Jesus but also to us: we have risen to a new life. Prepared by the Lenten season, we have left behind our moral miseries and weakness, and have come to share in the new life that Jesus offers to all those who make him Lord of their hearts.

Echoing today’s Sequence, we gather to offer thankful praises to the Paschal Victim who is the Prince of Life and who reigns immortal over sin and death. He is the reason for our joy. He is the source of our peace and our determination to become better Christians.

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first. He bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple, who had arrived at the tomb first, also went in. He saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

WELCOMING JESUS IN OUR LIVES

2010-03-27T21:37:00.006+08:00

"THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS."

Characters: J: Jesus; N1: First Narrator;
N2: Second Narrator; P: Pilate; C: Crowd,
Chief priests; S: Soldier/centurion

P –The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke

N1 –The elders of the people, chief priests, and scribes arose and brought Jesus before Pilate. They brought charges against him, saying, C –“We found this man misleading our people; he opposes the payment of taxes to Caesar, and maintains that he is the Christ, a king.”

N1 –Pilate asked him,

P –“Are you the king of the Jews?”

N1 –Jesus said to him in reply,

J –“You say so.”

N1 –Pilate then addressed the chief priests and the crowds,

P –“I find this man not guilty.”

N1 –But they were adamant and said,

C –“He is inciting the people with his teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee, where he began, even to here.”

N2 –On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean; and upon learning that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod who was in Jerusalem at that time.

N1 –Herod was very glad to see Jesus. He had been wanting to see him for a long time, for he had heard about him and had been hoping to see him perform some sign. He questioned Jesus at length, but he gave him no answer.

N2 –The chief priests and scribes, meanwhile, stood by accusing him harshly. Even Herod and his soldiers treated him contemptuously and mocked him, and after clothing him in resplendent garb, he sent him back to Pilate. Herod and Pilate became friends that very day, even though they had been enemies formerly.

N1 –Pilate then summoned the chief priests, the rulers, and the people and said to them:

P –“You brought this man to me and accused him of inciting the people to revolt. I have conducted my investigation in your presence and have not found this man guilty of the charges you have brought against him, nor did Herod, for he sent him back to us. So no capital crime has been committed by him. Therefore, I shall have him flogged and then release him.”

N2 –But all together they shouted out,

C –“Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us.”

N1 –Now Barabbas had been imprisoned for a rebellion that had taken place in the city and for murder. Again Pilate addressed them, still wishing to release Jesus, but they continued their shouting,

C –“Crucify him! Crucify him!”

N2 –Pilate addressed them a third time,

P –“What evil has this man done? I found him guilty of no capital crime. Therefore, I shall have him flogged and then release him.”

N1 –With loud shouts, however, they persisted in calling for his crucifixion, and their voices prevailed. The verdict of Pilate was that their demand should be granted. So he released the man who had been imprisoned for rebellion and murder, for whom they asked, and he handed Jesus over to them to deal with as they wished.

N2 –As they led him away, they took hold of a certain Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country; and after laying the cross on him, they made him carry it behind Jesus. A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said,

J –“Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.’ At that time people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall upon us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ for if these things are done when the wood is green what will happen when it is dry?”

N1 –Now two others, both criminals, were led away with him to be executed.

N2 –When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. Then Jesus said,

J –“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”

N2 –They divided his garments by casting lots.

N1 –The people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said,

C –“He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.”

N1 –Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine, they called out,

C –“If you are King of the Jews, save yourself!”

N1 –Above him there was an inscription that read, “This is the King of the Jews.”

N2 –Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying,

C –“Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

N2 –The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,

C –“Have you no fear of God? For you are subject to the same condemnation! And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.”

N1 –Then he said,

C –“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

N1 –Jesus replied to him, J –“Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

N2 –It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus cried out in a loud voice,

J –“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit!”

N2 –And when he had said this, he breathed his last. (All kneel and pause for a while.)

N1 –The centurion who witnessed what had happened glorified God and said,

S –“This man was innocent beyond doubt.”

N2 –When all the people who had gathered for this spectacle saw what had happened, they returned home beating their breasts; but all his acquaintances stood at a distance, including the women who had followed him from Galilee and saw these events.

MARCH 2010 HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE

2010-03-21T19:48:00.000+08:00

NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE SACRED HEART

MARCH 2010 SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

Mar 3 Wed
Lenten Recollection by Rev. Fr. Juanito Arroco, Jr. after 6:00 PM Mass

Mar 5 Fri FIRST FRIDAY DEVOTIONS
Novena to the Sacred Heart in all Masses
Veneration of the relic of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.
Stations of the Cross inside the Church after 6:00 PM Mass
7:30 PM Additional Mass, followed by one-hour
Holy Vigil of The Blessed Sacrament

Mar 6 Sat
5:00 AM Dawn Procession (Sta. Cruz Route)
8:00 AM-12:00 NN MAGPAS Meeting at Paco Catholic School
7:00 PM Street Stations of the Cross at Barangay Sta. Cruz
7:30 PM At Barangay San Antonio

Mar 10 Wed
Lenten Recollection by Rev. Fr. Juanito Arroco, Jr. after 6:00 PM Mass

Mar 12 Fri
Stations of the Cross inside the Church after the 6:00 PM Mass

Mar 13 Sat
9:00-11:00 AM Free Legal Consultation
and SSS/City Civil Registration Assistance Desks.
6:30 PM Youth Mass
7:00 PM Street Stations of the Cross at Barangay Sta. Cruz
7:30 PM At San Antonio Village

Mar 14 Sun
7:30 AM Mass for the Elderly at the Shrine and Sta. Cruz Chapel

Mar 15 Mon
10:00 AM Pilgrims from San Pedro Apostol Parish,
Diocese of San Pablo, Binan, Laguna

Mar 16-18 Tue-Thu
6:00 PM Triduum Masses for St. Joseph

Mar 17 Wed
Lenten Recollection by Rev. Fr. Juanito Arroco, Jr. after 6:00 PM Mass

Mar 19 Fri
Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary
Stations of the Cross inside the Church after 6:00 PM Mass

Mar 20 Sat
Youth Lenten Pilgrimage/Recollection at Tagaytay
7:00 PM Street Stations of the Cross at Barangay Sta. Cruz
7:30 PM At San Antonio Village

Mar 22-24 Mon-Wed
6:00 PM Triduum Masses in honor of Annunciation of the Lord

Mar 24 Wed
Lenten Recollection by Rev. Fr. Juanito Arroco, Jr. after 6:00 PM Mass

Mar 25 Thu
Annunciation of the Lord

Mar 26 Fri
6:00 PM onwards KUMPISALANG BAYAN at the Shrine
Stations of the Cross inside Church after the 6:00 PM Mass

Mar 27 Sat
7:30 AM Mass of Pilgrims from St. John the Baptist Parish, Taytay Rizal
7:00 PM Street Stations of the Cross at Barangay Sta. Cruz
7:30 PM At San Antonio Village

Mar 28 Sun PALM SUNDAY
Palm Sunday Procession to commemorate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem
5:00 AM Assembly at Sta. Cruz Chapel for first Blessing of Palms
5:30 AM Procession from Sta. Cruz Chapel to Shrine
Regular Sunday Mass Schedules at the Shrine.
6:30 PM Sunday Mass at Sta. Cruz Chapel
Thereafter, blessing of Palms outside Church before the Mass

Mar 29 Mon HOLY MONDAY
2:30 PM Pilgrims from Maria, Ina Ng Diyos Parish, Muntinlupa

Mar 30 Tue HOLY TUESDAY
6:30 PM General Rehearsal of Church Servants for Holy Thursday/Good Friday

Mar 31 Wed HOLY WEDNESDAY
Lenten Recollection by Rev. Fr. Juanito Arroco, Jr. after 6:00 PM Mass

Apr 1 Thu HOLY THURSDAY
No Morning Masses at the Shrine
6:00 AM CHRISM MASS at the Manila Cathedral
9:00 AM AGAPE of Clergy and Parish Servants
6:00 PM MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER and
Washing of the Feet inside the Church followed
by VIGIL of Parish Organizations until 12:00 midnight

Apr 2 Fri GOOD FRIDAY
Morning Activities
6:00-8:00 AM COMMUNITY-WIDE STATIONS OF THE CROSS
(7 Stations at Barangay San Antonio Village, 6 Stations at
Barangay Sta. Cruz, Last Station at the Church)
12:00 NN-03:00 PM SEVEN LAST WORDS by Rev. Fr. Francis Gustillo, SDB.

Afternoon Activities
4:00 PM COMMEMORATION OF THE LORD'S PASSION:
Good Friday Services inside the Church,
with VENERATION OF THE CROSS
followed by Community-wide Procession of
STO. ENTIERRO and MATER DOLOROSA

Apr 3 Sat HOLY SATURDAY
9:00 AM General Rehearsal of Church Servants for Easter Vigil
8:00 PM EASTER VIGIL MASS inside the Church.

Apr 4 Sun EASTER SUNDAY
SALUBONG
4:00 AM Start of Procession of Two Images
Men will come from the Shrine with Image of the Risen Christ
Women will come from Sta. Cruz Chapel with Image of Mater Dolorosa
SALUBONG ends before Mass
5:00 AM EASTER MASS at Barangay Sta. Cruz at Yague corner Visita Street

Mass Schedule at the following:
National Shrine: Regular Sunday Mass Schedule
Camachile Chapel: 9:00 AM
Sta. Cruz Chapel: 6:30 PM only (No 7:30 AM Mass)

Apr 8-10 Thu-Sat
Triduum Prayers to the Divine Mercy after the 6:00 PM Mass
6:30 PM Mass at Saturday

Apr 11 Sun DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

"The souls that will go to Confession and receive
Holy Communion on that day shall obtain complete
forgiveness of sins and punishment. Let no soul fear
to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet."

Message of Jesus the Divine Mercy
to Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL FOR THEY SHALL OBTAIN MERCY

2010-03-21T01:35:00.003+08:00

"NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU. GO AND
FROM NOW ON, DO NOT SIN ANYMORE."

As we proceed in our Lenten pilgrimage, today we are enriched by the unforgettable example of Jesus who offers His forgiveness and restores dignity to the adulterous woman who had been dragged in front of Him in shame and fear. The teaching of mercy and forgiveness conveyed last Sunday through a parable, today is offered us through an example from real life.

The challenging sentence: “Let the one among you who has no sin be the first to cast a stone” is directed not only to the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees of two thousand years ago, but also to those among us who easily judge and condemn others. We should never forget that we, too, are frail and sinful, and that we must learn to be merciful if we want to enjoy God’s mercy.

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them.

Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle.

They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”

They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him.

Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on, do not sin any more.”

A HEART ALWAYS READY TO COME BACK TO THE FORGIVING FATHER

2010-03-14T01:20:00.014+08:00

"FATHER, I HAVE SINNED AGAINST HEAVEN AND YOU;
I NO LONGER DESERVE TO BE CALLED YOUR SON."

Conversion from a life of sin is a long journey back to the home which we left in the deceitful attempt to assert our freedom against all rules. Often, we have to reach the bottom of deprivation and alienation, before we realize the loss incurred and feel the urge to break away from that self-inflicted slavery.

But the realization of our miserable situation would only lead us to despair if, deep in our hearts, we did not feel sure that God is a loving and forgiving Father who is still willing to accept us. Today Jesus reminds us that God, indeed, is a merciful Father who is not only ready to accept us back in his house, but even runs to embrace us as we journey back to Him. This is what He does in every Eucharist, the splendid banquet He has prepared to celebrate our return.

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So to them, Jesus addressed this parable:

“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.

When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any.

Coming to his senses, he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.” ’ So he got up and went back to his father.

While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began.

Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns, who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’

He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ ”

LETTER FROM HEAVENLY FATHER: WORDS FROM GOD'S HEART

2010-03-07T22:41:00.015+08:00

A LETTER FROM YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER!

The following words come from the heart of God. After all God loves you, and He is the Father you have been looking for all your life. This is His Love Letter to you!

MY DEAR CHILD,

You may not know me, but I know
everything about you. (Psalm 139:1)

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
(Psalm 139:2)

I am familiar with all your ways. (Psalm 139:3)

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
(Matthew 10:29-30)

For you were made in my image. (Genesis 1:27)

In me you live and move and have your being.
For you are my offspring. (Acts 17:28)

I knew you even before you were conceived.
(Jeremiah 1:4-5)

I chose you when I planned creation.
(Ephesians 1:11-12)

You were not a mistake, for all your days
are written in my book. (Psalm 139:15-16)

I determined the exact time of your birth and
where you would live. (Acts 17:26)

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
(Psalm 139:14)

I knit you together in your mother's womb.
(Psalm 139:13)

And brought you forth on the day you were born.
(Psalm 71:6)

I have been misrepresented by those
who don't know me. (John 8:41-44)

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete
expression of love. (I John 4:16)

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
(I John 3:1)

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father.
(I John 3:7)

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
(Matthew 7:11)

For I am the perfect Father. (Matthew 5:48)

Every good gift you receive comes from my hand.
(James 1:17)

For I am your provider and I meet your needs.
(Matthew 6:31-33)

My plan for your future has always
been filled with hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Because I love you with an everlasting love.
(Jeremiah 31:3)

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand
on the seashore. (Psalm 139:17-18)

And I rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

I will never stop doing good to you. (Jeremiah 32:40)

For you are my treasured possession. (Exodus 19:5)

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul.

(Jeremiah 32:41)

And I want to show you great and marvelous things.
(Jeremiah 33:3)

For if you seek me with all your heart,
you will find me. (Deuteronomy 4:29)

So, delight in me and I will give you the desires
of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

For it is I who gave you those desires.
(Philippians 2:13)

I am able to do more for you
than you could possibly imagine.

(Ephesians 3:20)

For I am your greatest encourager.
(2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)

I am also the Father who comforts you
in all your troubles. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

When you are brokenhearted,
I am close to you. (Psalm 34:18)

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried
you close to my heart. (Isaiah 40:11)

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes.
And I will take away all the pain you have suffered
on this earth. (Revelation 21:3-4)

I am your Father, and I love you even
as I love my son, Jesus. (John 17:23)

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
(John 17:26)

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
(2 Corinthians 5;18-19)

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you.

(I John 4:10)

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love.

(Romans 8:31-32)

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus,
you receive me. (I John 2:23)

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again.

(Romans 8:38-29)

When it's time for you to come home and I'll throw
the biggest party heaven has ever seen. (Luke 15:7)

I have always been your Father,
and will always be your Father.

(Ephesians 3:14-15)

My question is . . . Will you be my child?
(John 1:12-13)

I am waiting for you. (Luke 15:11-32)

WITH LOVE, YOUR FATHER,

ALMIGHTY GOD

CALLED TO BEAR FRUITS OF HOLINESS

2010-03-07T21:32:00.006+08:00

PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE

God’s patience and goodness with us during this Lenten journey should not be taken to mean that there is nothing to change in our behavior. It can only mean that the Lord, in His patient love for us, is waiting for us to produce the fruits of a sincere and lasting conversion.

We should not think that conversion consists only in avoiding sin. It is also moving away from doing little for the Lord, to doing as much as we can for the building of the Kingdom and for our own sanctification.

Let our participation in this Eucharistic celebration be a renewal of our commitment to bear fruits of holiness through the fulfillment of our duties.

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them – do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”

And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it. It may bear fruit in the future. If not, you can cut it down.’ ”

THE CALL TO PRODUCE ABUNDANT FRUIT

Fig trees planted in vineyards receive preferential treatment – well tilled soil, good manure, protection from vandals and animals. If for one year they do not bear fruit, they are without excuse. The decision of the owner of the vineyard in the Gospel to have the barren fig tree cut down is more than justified. Its performance had definitely been disappointing. (See Lk 13:7.)

But barrenness is not a defect that can be found only in trees. It can also be found in people. Spiritual and moral barrenness means the absence of those dispositions and actions which God has a right to expect from us. In spite of the much care and love we have received from Him, our response is often disappointing.

In most cases, it is not a matter of laziness. We are very active. We do many things. We may even give the impression that we are achieving a lot . . . Many of our actions, however, are just like pompous leaves which suck most of our vital energies. We are constantly in danger of forgetting that what matters is not how many things we do, but rather, WHAT we do, HOW and WHY we do it. We are expected to bear fruits of holiness by doing our duty to the best of our ability and out of love for God.

The Lord, of course, is usually patient. But His patience should not be taken to mean that He is either indifferent to what we do, or that He has become unable to check our misbehavior. It simply means that, in His love, and thanks to the intercession of Jesus, He gives us another chance. But a day will come when we will have to account even for these additional signs of love.

These are days of grace; days for an honest evaluation of our performance in the light of God’s generosity and of His expectation. If we discover that our life is so full of “leaves” but lacks the fruits of piety, gratitude, honesty, generosity, purity, sense of responsibility, faith, hope, love . . . we have only one thing to do: UNDERGO CONVERSION and REFORM. In the first part of today’s Gospel, Jesus uses this word twice, both as an exhortation and as a warning.

But He does more than just exhort and warn us. Not only does He give the warning and intercede for us with the Father, but He also offers us His help to rid us from our barrenness. His teaching, His example, His grace will produce the miracle, if only we allow Him to work in us and cooperate with him.

This might be our last chance to finally start producing the long awaited fruits which will delight our divine Master. They will delight our very selves in the first place.

TRANSFORMING POWER OF PRAYER: DIALOGUE WITH GOD

2010-02-28T00:29:00.004+08:00

THE TRANSFIGURATION

This Second Sunday of Lent is like a breather in our Lenten pilgrimage which is characterized by penance and sorrow. Weak and wounded in many ways, we fix our gaze on the transfigured Christ, to derive from him the inspiration we need to undertake or continue our quest for the values of the Kingdom and the splendor of a holy life.

Let us remember that Jesus was transfigured while he was praying. It was in his dialogue with the Father that the glory of his true self was revealed. May our participation in this Eucharistic celebration bring about the same effect in us, both as individuals and as a community.

Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying, his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.

Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying.

While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.

THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF PRAYER

Prayer meant so much to Jesus. It was an essential dimension of his life. The Gospels contain numerous references to Jesus’ praying in seclusion or waking up before everybody else to pray in some quiet place.

Every prayerful encounter with his Father brought out the best in Jesus. Three of his disciples – Peter, James and John – witnessed this outpouring of the best in their Master in the episode we call the “Transfiguration.” That was an unforgettable visible manifestation of the transforming power which prayer had on Jesus as a human being.

There are good reasons to believe that such a “transformation” did not take place only on that occasion. It is much more probable, instead, that Jesus was transfigured every time he prayed. The only difference, on Mount Tabor, was that the event had eyewitnesses who could just marvel and rejoice in what they were seeing.

There was a time, however, in the earthly life of Jesus, on another mountain; the Mount of Olives! – when the loving dialogue of prayer turned into a monologue of distress. The usual “Partner” the Father, seemed absent. He appeared to have turned a deaf ear to what Jesus was saying. Nor did He talk to His pleading Son. It was as if God had “hidden His face” from Jesus.

Fortunately, on that occasion, too, Jesus closed his conversation in the way he had taught his disciples to pray: “Your will be done!” Then an angel appeared to console him in his distress. That, too, produced in him a transfiguration of sorts. The presence of the angel said that prayer had “worked.” Jesus’ Partner had been listening, after all. His full answer would come at the Resurrection, the “permanent transfiguration,” which Jesus has been enjoying ever since and which he will enjoy for ever.

Of that “eternal transfiguration,” the transfiguration undergone by Jesus on Mount Tabor was only a preview. It was a “foretaste,” meant to tell the astonished disciples to set their hearts on what really matters: their relationship with God, their filial conversation with Him.

Such is also the lesson for us, as we reflect on the transfiguration of Jesus while he was at prayer. (See Lk 9:29.) If we understand this point clearly, prayer will never be “boring” or “routine” or a monotonous “monologue.” It may happen that we, too, find ourselves praying fervently, crying our hearts out, apparently to no effect, for God seems not to be listening. In such situations the temptation is great to conclude that God does not care anymore about us.

But we know that God is always there. He is always listening even when we can’t see Him and we can’t hear His voice, there and then. His answer will come at the proper time – in His time – which is always the best time.

FIGHTING EVIL WITH POWER OF GOD'S WORD

2010-02-21T00:41:00.001+08:00

"YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD,
YOUR GOD TO THE TEST."

This First Sunday of Lent reminds us that life is a constant struggle against the devil. But we are expected to face up to the source of all evil in the power of God’s Word and in our determination to be faithful to Him. Jesus’ victory in all temptations encourages us to reject any compromise with the devil.

Today is also the 24th National Migrants’ Sunday, a day when the Church invites us to remember with special love and concern all our brothers and sisters who have migrated either from the provinces to the cities or from their homeland to work in more affluent nations. Let our internal migrants and the Filipino Overseas Contract Workers and their families be today the object of our special love and prayers.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry.

The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live on bread alone.’ ” Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.’ ”

Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and: ‘With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God to the test.’ ”

When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.

BEATITUDES: ROAD OF THE KINGDOM

2010-02-14T00:44:00.003+08:00

Today’s Liturgy of the Word invites us to reflect on two fundamental choices: blessing or curse, life or death. We choose the best when we put our trust in the Lord and live according to this choice. Such is the message of the Beatitudes. The Lord should be our only Treasure, our Friend, our Guide, and our final Reward.

In this Eucharist we will pray in a special manner for the grace to always stay close to the Lord and live by the light of his Beatitudes. We will also pray for those who are blinded by their passions and the negative influence of the culture of death that surrounds us. May all see the light and live according to the teaching and example of Jesus.

Jesus came down with the Twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground with a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon.

And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.

Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.

Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

THE WAY OF LIFE AND THE WAY OF DEATH

If some of the Beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew surprise us, all those in the Gospel of Luke shock us. In fact, they sound not only blunt, but alienating, as they project into a vague, unrealistic future the straightening up of situations that are definitely against our most natural aspirations.

A superficial reading of these four Beatitudes would easily lead us to conclude that Karl Marx was right when he stated that “religion is the opiate of the people.”

But a more attentive reading of both “Beatitudes” and “Woes” enables us to realize that they are not a sort of consuelo de bobo, but a striking restatement, within the perspective of the Kingdom of God, of the ancient saying of the “two ways,” one of which leads to life and the other to death.

Behind those four shocking statements which call “Blest” people who suffer in one way or another, there lies the unstated reason for such “blessedness”: their trust in the Lord and their choice to build their life on Him. This is their “fundamental option,” rooted in humble faith. This is what brings them to rely fully on God’s love, faithfulness, wisdom, and justice, even in situations of poverty, hunger, pain, persecution, and any other form of suffering which human beings can experience on earth. What makes them blessed is not their condition of deprivation or rejection, but their basic attitude of trust in the Lord, while doing their best to cope with such arduous and challenging situations.

For those who build on such a solid foundation, even conditions of poverty, hunger, pain, persecution and rejection – and any other form of suffering – will not be frightening or hopeless, for they do not last for ever. In the faith perspective of eternal life, what lasts for ever is the fulfillment of God’s plan and the reward which He has in store for those who have entrusted themselves to Him and have done their best to do His will.

It is this type of believers and doers, tested in the most adverse circumstances, whom Jesus calls “blessed,” for God will welcome them into His Kingdom. He will fully satisfy all their needs; He will amply make up for their past sufferings, and give them the reward of the saints. This is what the four Beatitudes of the Gospel of Luke are all about.

The four “woes” that follow focus on an opposite orientation in life. They speak about those who walk the road that leads to eternal death. They are the people for whom, apparently, things go well but who have committed the tragic mistake of trusting excessively in themselves and other creatures, giving to them the total priority which should be given to God alone. Their wrong choice has brought them to pin their expectation and hopes in something or someone that, in the end, will prove incapable of fulfilling them. Their situation is that of one who is building on the clouds or has entrusted one’s money to a bank that is doomed to go bankrupt.

Those who have made such a choice, may – for a time – feel rich, have all their cravings satisfied, enjoy life and popularity. But it won’t last, for nothing lasts for ever in this life. And for as long as they make these enjoyments their highest aspirations – their gods! – their life orientation will remain a perversion, and its final outcome a complete failure. The road that seems so attractive and easy, in reality will turn out to be deceptive and treacherous, for it leads to irreparable disaster.

With his stern “woes” Jesus today warns all those who are walking “the road of death” to realize the danger of their present situation and make an about-face before it is too late. And to those who are on “the road of life,” Jesus offers his encouragement to persevere in it, for that is the road of the Kingdom.

FISHERS OF MEN IN THE SAVING MISSION OF CHRIST

2010-02-07T04:36:00.014+08:00

"DO NOT BE AFRAID; FROM NOW ON,
YOU WILL BE CATCHING MEN."

On this 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we witness a miraculous catch of fish which symbolizes Jesus’ mission to save mankind from the forces of evil. In every generation and community of believers, Jesus, the Divine Fisherman, continues to invite people to share in his mission of saving people from the clutches of evil in all its forms. The response to Jesus’ invitation demands dedication, generosity and perseverance.

In this Eucharist we will pray in a special manner that all those who are called to fulfill this task may respond generously and persevere faithfully till the end of their life.

Today is also “PRO-LIFE SUNDAY,” an observance which marks the beginning of “Pro-Life Week.” We are all called to appreciate and protect life. In this Eucharistic celebration let us remember with admiration and gratitude all those who are involved in the “Pro-Life Movement” which bravely opposes the numerous assaults against life.

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, Jesus asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on, you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

PARTNERS OF THE DIVINE FISHERMAN

It must have been quite a shocking experience for seasoned fishermen like Simon (Peter) and his associates to haul in that extraordinary catch of fish. They had been toiling for it the whole night but in vain. Then, when the sun was already high, at a time when no fisherman would have hoped to get even small fry, that big catch had come which left everybody astonished! And this just because that wandering preacher from Nazareth had invited Simon to lower the nets at such an unlikely hour. . .

There was something unusual in that young preacher – some extraordinary, or even Divine Power. Simon was the first to sense it. And at the same time, he experienced what all honest souls feel in the presence of the supernatural: a deep awareness of one’s sinfulness and unworthiness. Hence the plea: “Leave me, Lord. I am a sinful man!” (Lk 5:8). Almost eight centuries earlier, Isaiah had experienced the same feeling during the theophany he witnessed in the Temple (Is 6:5). Utter terror grips an honest person at the prospect of what an all-holy Being can do to a sinful creature.

But Jesus doesn’t enjoy terrifying people. He immediately reassures the poor Simon who is trembling at his feet. And he does more than that. The miracle he has just performed is only a beginning. It is a symbol of something far greater that will keep happening until the end of time. That miraculous catch of fish is a prophecy: Simon and his partners and their successors will share in Christ’s mission of catching men (see Lk 5:10), i.e., rescuing them from the deadly power of the forces of evil symbolized by the sea.

That miracle, then, is not just Jesus’ way of expressing his gratitude to Simon for allowing him to preach from his boat. (See Lk 5:13.) It is part of a well thought-out plan: the plan to bring God’s salvation to mankind through the cooperation of frail and sinful creatures like Simon Peter himself and his associates; people like the Pope and the Bishops; people like you and me.

The miraculous “catch,” i.e., the salvation of men, goes on throughout the world, century after century, in spite of the inadequacy of the fishermen. It goes on because it is the work of God’s power; the work of God’s love and trust. In spite of His omnipotence and holiness, He does not disdain to avail Himself of our defective cooperation.

We are all in the saving boat of the Church. We all share in the salvation wrought by Christ. But we also share in the mission of helping Jesus to save others, for, thanks to him, we, too, have become “life-savers,” under the guidance of Simon Peter, the master of the fleet of God’s rescue team.

HERALDS OF FAITH HOPE AND LOVE

2010-01-31T00:22:00.007+08:00

"AMEN I SAY TO YOU, NO PROPHET
IS ACCEPTED IN HIS OWN NATIVE PLACE."

On this Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time we are invited to reflect on the courage of Jesus in the fulfillment of His Apostolic Ministry, as He faces an audience turned unfriendly in His native town of Nazareth.

Faithfulness to His mission, rather than quest for popularity and praises, is what characterized His stance not only in today’s episode but throughout His life. This should also be our fundamental choice as we are constantly challenged by an environment and a culture that seeks the spectacular and exalts pleasure in all its forms.

This last Sunday of January is also National Bible Sunday. This celebration reminds us of the importance of God’s written Word not only in the life of the Church, but also of society and of every believer.

The Scriptures are our “Book of Life.” It is our duty to know them well, to put their message into practice, and to share the riches of their content with all. Let this be our commitment today and one of the main intentions for which we are offering this Eucharist.

Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, saying: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’ ” And he said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.

Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.

But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away.

Prophets are a strange breed of people. Often a torment to themselves and others, they are the critical conscience of God’s people and of all mankind. They view people, behaviors and events the way God does, which is often different from the way people do.

Their perception is a “faith-view.” Endowed with a unique knowledge of God’s will and plan, they evaluate events and actions against the background of such knowledge, and then speak out. They shout even when others prefer to keep silent. True prophets are not after popularity, but after faithfulness to God’s service. Thus they show that they are people of faith.

Prophets are also people of hope. Even when the situations and behavior they denounce appear to be humanly “hopeless,” genuine prophets are always able to see beyond the present crisis. They perceive and outline the possibility of better days, if only the evildoers repent and return to the Lord. The hope that pervades them and which they inject in others is deeply rooted not in man’s merits but in God’s mercy and faithfulness to His promises.

Prophets are, most of all, people of love – a strong and faithful love for God and for all men. It is out of love for God and neighbor that they prophesy. Zeal for the glory of the Lord devours them. Zeal for the real good of their people impels them to denounce evils, to become the protectors of the oppressed, the voice of the voiceless, even at the cost of their tranquility. Sometimes, at the cost of their lives. Indeed, the life of a prophet is a “dangerous life.”

People often misunderstand the message of the prophets. They reject their call to conversion. Sometimes, they may reject the prophets themselves and even try to silence them through violent means. Jeremiah knew this from the day of his call. (See the First Reading.)

Jesus, the greatest and most faithful of all prophets, knew it even before his birth. On several occasions he experienced the bitter truth of the saying “no prophet gains acceptance in his native place.” Yet He did not back off. And for one reason only: His immense love for the Father and for all men. The Crucifix is the most eloquent sign of Christ’s rejection by the very people whose hopes he had come to fulfill, but it is also the greatest sign of his brave and generous love for all.

We Christians share in the prophetic ministry of our Leader. We should feel grateful for such a privilege, and live it out with courage, refusing to be intimidated by ingratitude, misinterpretations, bad example, and oppositions. When these things happen, we should remember His words: “Blessed are you when they insult and persecute you . . . because of me. Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven” (Mt 5:11-12).

FULFILLMENT OF THE SCRIPTURES IN JESUS: POWER OF GOD'S WORD

2010-01-24T00:25:00.002+08:00

"TODAY THIS SCRIPTURE PASSAGE
IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING."

Today is the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, the longest period in the Liturgical Year. Last Sunday we admired the pre-adolescent Jesus as the youngest “teacher of Israel,” shining among the renowned teachers in the Temple.

Today we see him as the fulfillment of God’s promises as recorded in the Holy Book. The content of God’s Word offers us guidance and encouragement today, no less than it did in the history of the people of Israel. Its vital message is ever relevant.

As we are about to start this Eucharist, let us open our hearts to receive God’s Word and make it the guiding light of our lives.

Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I, too, have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.

He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

WE LOVE JESUS IN THE CHILDREN AND YOUTH OF TODAY

2010-01-17T00:15:00.004+08:00

"DID YOU NOT KNOW THAT
I MUST BE IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE?"

Today we celebrate the feast of the Sto. Niño, the yearly celebration that is so dear to the hearts of all Filipino Catholics. This observance brings us back to the beginning of the Christianization of our land but also enables us to see the relevance of this devotion to our lives today.

In a special manner, it forces us to focus on our children and youth, with all the problems they pose and the hopes they raise.

Today, and especially the Eucharistic celebration we are about to start, are renewed opportunities for us to entrust our “niños” to the protection and guidance of the Holy Child. He, who is so much a part of our history and our lives, will surely take care of our children and will teach us how to do likewise.

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.

Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers.

When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them.

He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

GROWING WISER UNDER GOD'S CARE

The news must have spread like fire in a forest of pine trees: there was in the Temple a wonder boy who kept amazing the teachers of the Law not only with his answers, but also with his questions.

The audience of “experts” had been increasing steadily. By the third day, it had swollen to a sizable crowd of Scripture scholars all wondering at what the boy from Nazareth was saying and the questions he was asking.

No doubt, the child knew the Scriptures in all their details and nuances. He knew more than the text said. He knew its “message,” the “substance” of it all. His words were deep insights into events and statements, presented with mastery and authority. And he was just a child of twelve, coming from a remote village in the countryside! The great teachers just did not know what to make of it.

But Jesus was not just a “wonder boy.” He was, above all, a “wonder-faithful,” and an exemplary one at that. Having gone to Jerusalem with Mary and Joseph for the Passover pilgrimage and the fulfillment of all other duties connected with that feast, He showed that he appreciated and was actively involved in keeping the religious traditions and observances of his people, just as He was at home with the Scriptures. He had been taught to value those traditions, and felt that they were part of His life.

One often wonders whether our children and our youth could not be more like him as He progressed in knowledge and maturity with the passing of the years. Jesus had grown in His appreciation of the precious traditions of his people. He knew them thoroughly, and lived them out with the enthusiasm that characterizes this age. This is what our children and pre-adolescents would need to have and which many do not have.

Most of our youths are bright. Some are exceptionally bright. They are very familiar with the names and characteristics of movie and TV personalities, sports champions, war heroes. Yet, when it comes to religious knowledge, many hardly go beyond the level of their babyhood. When it comes to our religious traditions, they show coldness and boredom. When it comes to taking some commitment in their parish or religious association, they become overcautious and unreliable.

The feast of the Sto. Niño should offer them an opportunity to reflect on why things are so. Many parents and educators, likewise, should ask themselves at what point they went wrong and how the situation can be remedied in order to see our youth “progress steadily in wisdom and grace, before God and men” (Lk 2:52), as Jesus did.

HOLY CHILD JESUS: BAPTISMAL GIFT OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE

2010-01-16T00:40:00.018+08:00

TRADITIONAL STO. NINO IMAGE

One of the most precious Philippine natural jewels is the beautiful island of Cebu. This popular city is a favorite vacation and leisure destination of local Filipinos and foreign travelers alike. In my personal list of preferred worldwide travel destinations, I would rank Cebu as among the top ten of the world’s best vacation spots to consider.

Cebu’s majestic natural wealth is evidently spread out in the vast mountainous terrains, sprawling fertile land and crystal clear sea for which this beautiful paradise island has been bountifully blessed. Its natural serenity casually invites the weary traveler for an invigorating physical and spiritual rejuvenation.

The most important natural resource of Cebu are its people; the Cebuanos. The local residents are innately hospitable, warm, jovial, friendly, accommodating and devout religious Catholics. They are the island’s greatest asset that has made Cebu City tourist-friendly and perhaps the best reason why Cebu is a must-visit travel destination.

One of the best time to visit Cebu is the month of January. This being the first month is significant as it marks the start of a month-long schedule of festivities focusing on a very important annual celebration, the Sinulog Festival. The highlight of this much anticipated festival is an extravagant simultaneous thanksgiving celebration of Masses, prayers, singing, dancing and colorful parades to honor, thank and celebrate the Feast of the Sto. Nino (The Holy Child Jesus) officially observed every third Sunday of January.

It is a local tradition among the Cebuanos that participation in the Sinulog festivities is a sure way to have one’s personal petitions granted by the Sto. Nino. The highly revered image of the Sto. Nino which is installed at the Basilica De Sto. Nino is widely believed to come down from His pedestal to join the locals during the parade held in His honor. And this is the best time for the participants to ask and thank Him for personal petitions and favors which are surely granted.

Historically, Cebu has been blessed by God to be the planting ground of the first seeds of Christianity for the Philippines. When Magellan came to Cebu on April 17, 1521, he formally introduced Christianity to the locals. He then gave the image of the Sto. Nino as a baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Cebu’s Rajah Humabon who was later named Queen Juana. The baptismal rites were not limited to the rulers but also included about 800 of their subjects. From here, Christianity as a national religion was embraced and conversion soon sprouted to other parts of the country.

For who would have thought that a goodwill baptismal gift of an innocent Image of the Holy Child Jesus would herald the baptismal of the Philippine nation into the Catholic Faith. This inspirational token of the Sto. Nino brought forth the spiritual baptism of the Filipino people and our nation's eventual conversion to Christianity was the best gift ever given by Magellan and the Spaniards.

From Cebu, the Philippines was pre-destined by Divine Intercession of the miraculous Sto. Nino to become the largest Christian nation in the Far East and probably the single largest Catholic Christian nationality in the entire world. Thus, while the Sto. Nino is considered to be the Patron Saint of Cebu, it could very well be nationally honored as the Philippine Patron Saint of Christianity.

If only for this important reason, the celebration of the Sinulog festival shouldn’t be limited to Cebu. The entire Filipino nation should set aside the Third Sunday of January as a national holiday of Thanksgiving to honor and thank the miraculous Sto. Nino for His Divine Intercession in making the Philippines a truly blessed Christian nation that we are.

VIVA EL SENOR STO. NINO!

Edwin L. Yap
Makati City, Philippines

SON OF THE FATHER AND OUR BROTHER

2010-01-10T02:19:00.021+08:00

"YOU ARE MY BELOVED SON;
WITH YOU I AM WELL PLEASED."

Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan River is the second “Epiphany,” i.e., the second manifestation of his identity and mission. The Father’s voice reveals that Jesus is the “Son/Servant,” the man filled with the Spirit of the Lord, sent to “establish justice on the earth.”

His mission will also entail taking upon himself the weight of mankind’s sinfulness, as foretold in the last of the Servant’s Songs.

Jesus’ Baptism reminds us of our own Baptism when the Father pronounced over us the most splendid sentence we will ever hear: “You are my beloved son / daughter!” It is this unparalleled dignity which entitles us to participate in this Eucharist. Let us do so with gratitude and love.

The people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ.

John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

HOMAGE TO THE SAVIOR OF ALL NATIONS

2010-01-02T21:22:00.006+08:00

THEY PROSTRATED THEMSELVES
AND DID HIM HOMAGE.

Epiphany is the manifestation / revelation of Jesus as the King / Savior not only of the Jews, but of all human beings.

Today’s feast reminds us that God loves all nations and cultures of the earth, and that He communicates with us in many, often unforeseen ways – through internal inspirations, through external events, through people, and through His Word.

Many times these factors are combined in an interplay that becomes clear only in hindsight. The challenge is for us to “decipher” God’s message and respond to it with faith, persevering generosity and courage, just as the Magi did.

As we are about to start the Eucharistic celebration, let us include in our intention all the peoples of the world and all those who are working hard to bring about harmony and cooperation among all human beings.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”

When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.”

After their audience with the king, the Magi set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. The Magi were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

FAMILIES CENTERED IN GOD WITH GRATITUDE AND HOPE

2009-12-27T01:18:00.004+08:00

FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY

By a happy coincidence, this year the Feast of the Holy Family falls on the last Sunday of the year. This gives us a further reason to raise our minds and hearts to God in gratitude for the many blessings He has granted our families during the year that is about to end.

Although we may not be fully aware of all the blessings we have received from the Lord, the little we know is more than enough to bring us to thank Him with all our hearts, especially through this Eucharistic Sacrifice.

This is also the time to entrust our own family, as well as all the families throughout the world, to the protection of the Holy Family of Nazareth during the new year we are about to begin. May the Lord be the heart of our family. May we love and serve Him as Jesus, Mary, and Joseph did. May He watch over us as He loved and protected the Holy Family of Nazareth.

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers.

When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them.

He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

MAKING OUR FAMILIES HOLY AND HAPPY

Praying together as a family seems no longer fashionable nowadays. The reasons are varied: so many commitments, conflicts of schedule, practical impossibility of being together.

There are, of course, happy exceptions of parents who, every evening, gather their children for some moments of reflection on the Word of God, reconciliation,
shared prayer, and recitation of the Rosary.

These same people are the ones who, on Sundays, attend the Eucharistic celebration as a family. From this, they derive strength, harmony, cohesion. And at the same time, they become an inspiration to the whole parish community. It is when the family gathers together for prayer that its members – both parents and children – see themselves under the common fatherly authority of God.

A family that renews every day its covenant with the Lord will have no time for endless bickerings, jealousy, unfaithfulness, harsh manners on the part of the parents, or rebellion on the part of their children. The families that pray together are really “little Churches.” One wishes that these exceptions might become ever more numerous, till they become the rule!

It is in the family that the reform of society begins, because it is there that we learn to respect and help one another, we practise patience and justice, we learn to share and to love in an unselfish and practical manner.

A family where God is at home is a family at peace. Such was the Holy Family at Nazareth. And the yearly celebration of its feast is not just a well-deserved tribute paid to its three members.

It is also an invitation and encouragement to make our families today what the family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus was in those days – a haven of love of God and neighbor at its best, a home where God felt at home.

CHRISTMAS MASS: JESUS CHRIST, GOD-WITH-US

2009-12-25T00:00:00.002+08:00

AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH
AND MADE HIS DWELLING AMONG US,
AND WE SAW HIS GLORY,
THE GLORY AS OF THE FATHER'S ONLY SON,
FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH.

A Blessed Christmas to all! This is the day we have longed for, and for which we have been preparing during these past four weeks – the commemoration of the earthly birth of God’s eternal Son.

No words can express the importance of that event in the history of humankind as well as our personal lives. In all truth we can say that, after the birth of Jesus Christ, nothing and nobody has been the same as before, for in him God has become a brother to every human being in the fullest sense. God’s incarnate Son has come to share our problems, worries, and aspirations that we might share God’s peace and God’s very life.

With hearts full of gratitude, let us offer ourselves totally to the Lord, especially in this Eucharistic celebration we are about to begin.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.

What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.

And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.

9TH CHRISTMAS NOVENA: THE DAWN FROM ON HIGH WILL BREAK UPON US

2009-12-24T00:12:00.000+08:00

Welcome to our last Mass of the Novena in preparation for Christmas! A good number of us have persevered throughout the nine days, while others have joined the big group once again after a certain interval.

The Lord welcomes us all with fatherly love, even as He expects that we make a final effort to intensify our immediate preparation to welcome Jesus in our hearts and in our families.

On this last day of the Novena let us extend our concern and love to the immense family of mankind, especially those who find themselves immersed in the darkness of suffering caused by wars, natural disasters or sickness, or separation from their dear ones.

Together with our personal needs, let us present to the Lord also the needs and aspirations of all people of goodwill. May His light and peace come to all mankind.

Zechariah, the father of John, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David.

Through his prophets he promised of old that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hand of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

ZECHARIAH: THE TROUBADOR OF GOD'S FAITHFULNESS

Zechariah had lived his life with the unfulfilled hope of enjoying the blessing of a large family like the majority of the Jews. But, as he was ever more advancing in age, he saw himself and his barren wife Elizabeth “condemned” to spend his last years of life in loneliness and neglect. Little did Zechariah know that all was part of a wise and wider plan.

His experience of a divine revelation in the Temple had done nothing to improve his disposition. If anything, it had made things worse, especially when he found himself unable to speak and communicate in a normal manner.

Things had begun to change for the better with the visit of Mary, the young in-law from Nazareth who had come to visit with his wife Elizabeth. Her three-months’ stay with them had a tremendous impact on Zechariah. Although unable to speak, he benefited a lot from the presence and the words of Mary, and especially from learning that she was carrying the long-awaited Messiah.

Things were finally beginning to fall in place in the confused mind of the old man. And when finally he was able to hold in his arms his newborn child and got the chance to name him John, Zechariah’s happiness grew so full as to shatter even the last impediment that had kept him isolated. Zechariah became a new man – a man totally renewed in his mind and in his heart.

Overcoming his dumbness, he burst into a song of praise that expressed also the feelings of all those present. Having seen fulfilled two of the promises made by the angel in the temple – the conception and birth of a son from his barren wife, in spite of the old age of both, as well as his ability to speak – he now was able to look with firm hope to the fulfillment of the other promises made by God through the prophets along the centuries.

Zechariah had personally experienced that nothing is impossible to God. He felt so sure that all the promises of old concerning the Messiah would come true that he sang of their fulfillment using the past tense:

“He has come to His people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty Savior,
born of the house of His servant David.”
(See today’s Gospel.)

Clearly, Zechariah is not speaking here of his newborn baby boy, but of the One whose way his son, John, will prepare – the Messiah of God. He, and none other, is the one who sets God’s people free. He is the Savior of all mankind, the one who fulfills God’s promise to Abraham. He is “the dawn from on high who will break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death” and will “guide our feet into the way of peace.”

On the eve of the commemoration of the fulfillment of these promises, we should learn from Zechariah to trust God in Whose hands are the destinies of all peoples and Who never lets down those who put their faith in Him.

JESS P. BALON

JOY WITHOUT END IN THE FULFILLMENT OF GOD'S PROMISE TO ELIZABETH AND ZECHARIAH

2009-12-23T01:44:00.003+08:00

Elizabeth’s pregnancy in her old age had been much talked about in Ain Karim and possibly beyond it. Coupled with the loss of speech in Zechariah, it was definitely something so unusual as to border on the unbelievable: Curious people had so many questions to ask that Elizabeth decided it was better to remain barricaded in her house.

And perhaps she herself had her own questions: What if all that was just a self-delusion? What if “the thing” that was developing in her womb was not a baby but a tumor? And, if it was a baby, was it going to be “normal” or deformed? Stories abounded of children born late in life who were born handicapped either physically or mentally.

Nor was Zechariah of much help to her. All along, the poor man was clamped in a barrier of silence that made communication even more difficult. He, too, had his hard questions to grapple with, as he kept wondering where he had gone wrong and how all the big things said by the angel about the boy to be born could become a reality.

The visit of Mary with all that happened during the first encounter had done much to dispel doubts. The Holy Spirit had clarified many things to all and confirmed that, indeed, the child that Elizabeth was carrying was the object of God’s special design. Uncertainty and anxiety had given way to hope and expectation.

And when finally the baby was born, everything turned out better than expected. The baby was a boy, as the Angel had foretold. He was perfectly healthy and his presence filled the hearts of his mother and father with unspeakable happiness, even as he filled the house with his shrills of liveliness.

God had indeed kept His promise! The whole event became for everybody a source of rejoicing and celebration, more than any ordinary birth. The door of Zechariah’s house was flung open to welcome neighbors, relatives, and friends who crowded in to see for themselves the wonder of the newborn baby and share the happiness of his over-seasoned but overjoyed parents.

Everybody was bursting with joy, especially Elizabeth. All her doubts and uncertainties had vanished. Now she felt as happy and fulfilled as any mother does when she gives birth to her first child. Zechariah also was deeply happy. But his happiness could only be seen. It could not be heard, for the poor man was still unable to speak. Everybody pitied him, but Zechariah kept clinging to a last branch of hope as he looked forward to the fulfillment of the last part of the Angel’s promise. His dumbness, in fact, was not supposed to last for ever but only until what the Angel had announced would come to pass . . . (See Lk 1:20.)

Even that final cloud dissipated on the day of John’s circumcision, eight days after his birth. All kept debating about the merits of Elizabeth’s proposal to name the child “John” (God is gracious), rather than “Zechariah Junior,” as the tradition would have mandated. The elderly father could not participate in the debate, for his lips were still sealed. But he had the key to the solution, for he was the one who had the legal right to decide on the child’s name. “His name is John,” he wrote solemnly on the tablet they had handed to him.

The short sentence did much more than settle the dispute on his son’s name. It was a profession of faith in God’s goodness. This is why it loosened the bounds that had been fettering Zechariah’s tongue since the vision in the Temple. For the first time after nine months, everybody could
hear his voice as he praised the Lord for his perfect faithfulness to His promises.

Zechariah’s miraculous recovery of his ability to talk capped the series of extraordinary events that had surrounded the conception and birth of the child. Clearly, through those happenings, God was sending a message not only to Zechariah and Elizabeth, but to a much greater audience. God was in action, preparing something even more marvelous to be manifested in the future.

What such a “marvelous thing” would be was anybody’s guess. So people kept asking, “What will this child be?” The question had already been answered by the angel in the temple. The people would see the fulfillment of that additional promise thirty years later. Zechariah and Elizabeth were no longer around when that prophecy also was fulfilled. But as they closed their eyes to the light of the sun, they did not have the least doubt that what the angel said would come to pass in its own time. They knew by experience that God always keeps His promises. This is something we, too, should never forget.

JESS P. BALON

8TH CHRISTMAS NOVENA: GOD NEVER LETS PEOPLE DOWN

2009-12-23T00:24:00.002+08:00

On this eighth day of our Novena, as we rejoice with Elizabeth and Zechariah over the birth of the baby John, we are invited to reflect on God’s faithfulness to His promises. God never lets anybody down. The whole history of salvation is a glorious record of the fulfillment of His promises.

The Lord’s faithfulness is also a reminder for us to finally become dependable people who keep their promises to God and people, no matter what the cost. John the Baptist was faithful to his calling and mission even at the cost of his life. So was Jesus. So should we be, if we want to deserve the title of “Disciples of the Lord,” the Faithful One. In this Eucharist, let us ask for all the people we love and ourselves the grace to be faithful to our baptismal promises.

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.

Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.

SINGING WITH MARY OUR GRATITUDE TO GOD

2009-12-22T01:40:00.002+08:00

THE VISITATION

Mary’s reaction to Elizabeth’s greeting and high praises was an explosion of unrestrainable joy and gratitude to the Lord. In the exuberance of her teens, she expressed in vibrant words the deep feeling that had been bubbling in her heart since the moment she had received God’s message through the archangel Gabriel.

Humble to the marrow, Mary knew and proclaimed that all she had and was were gifts from the Most High. Joyfully grateful in her humility, she thanked her Lord and Savior for the “great things” that He had done for her, with expressions that reveal the features of the God in whom she believes. She magnifies the God who is merciful toward those who revere Him, lifts up the lowly, and fills the hungry with good things.

The God of Mary is a strong and just God. He is not intimidated by the arrogant, the rich, the powerful, or the famous. He has no time for them, but He calls them to account for the sufferings they inflict on all those who are weak and defenseless.

Such is the God of Mary. Such is the God who will be portrayed by her Son Jesus in the “Beatitudes” and throughout his life.

Mary had very good reasons to be so full of admiration, praises, and gratitude for God. He preserved her from the devastation of original sin; He has chosen her to be the Virgin Mother of His only eternal Son. God has, indeed, done for this daughter of Israel, greater wonders than He has done for any other human creature, save Her own Son. No wonder all generations will call Her “Blessed.”

And what about us? We definitely have not been conceived and born without original sin. But the Lord has done great things for us, too: our very existence, our intelligence and our memory, our affectivity and especially the call to live for ever in communion with our Creator, Redeemer and Friend; the gifts of faith, hope and charity; the gifts of the Church, Revelation and the Sacraments; the gifts of solidarity, friendship and pure joy.

These are the gifts we share with Mary Most Holy. Rather than focusing on the few that she alone has received, we should focus on the thousands we share with her. The list could be almost endless. Noble hearts know how to count them and be grateful for them.

This will spontaneously bring us to make our own Mary’s hymn of thanksgiving – the one we call “Magnificat.” The only thing we could leave out is the sentence, “From this day all generations will call me blessed.” This seems to fit only her.

On second thought, however, even this sentence can be retained, if we do our best to faithfully live the Gospel given us by Jesus. Those who have done so will be “Blessed” by the Divine King Himself as He will invite them to take possession of the Kingdom prepared for them by God’s love since the foundation of the world. (See Mt 25:34.)

JESS P. BALON

7TH CHRISTMAS NOVENA: THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US

2009-12-22T00:38:00.002+08:00

Today’s theme is gratitude to God – “UTANG NA LOOB SA DIYOS” – for the wonders the Lord has done not only for Mary Most Holy, but also for our community and each of us. A grateful heart is a wonderful heart, a heart that knows all is grace and knows how to be thankful to the Lord, the Source of all blessings.

We thank the Lord together with our Blessed Mother for the wonderful things He has done for Her and for us. Let us equally express our gratitude to all those who have done good to us by praying for their needs and intentions. Let our grateful prayer in this Eucharistic celebration be our best advance Christmas gift for them.

Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior for he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.”

Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her home.

6TH CHRISTMAS NOVENA: IN PRAISE OF MARY, MOTHER OF THE LORD

2009-12-21T00:32:00.002+08:00

Today’s Gospel brings us to meditate on the second Joyful Mystery: Mary’s Visitation to Elizabeth. The two holy women have been the recipients of God’s special favor: the gift of a child. For Elizabeth, her child is a most unexpected gift in her old age; for Mary, her child is an even more precious gift: the very Son of God.

Together with Elizabeth, we greet and proclaim Mary as “the Mother of our Lord” and “the Woman of Faith.” In this Eucharistic celebration, let us open our hearts to welcome Jesus, who is brought to us by his Most Holy Mother to be our Brother, Savior, and Model.

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? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

5TH CHRISTMAS NOVENA ADVENT SUNDAY: TIME TO OPEN OUR HEARTS TO THE LORD

2009-12-20T00:18:00.002+08:00

"BLESSED ARE YOU AMONG WOMEN,
AND BLESSED IS THE FRUIT OF YOUR WOMB."

On this last Sunday of Advent, we are expected to give the final touches to the preparation we have been carrying out during the past weeks. The Lord is already at the gate. It is now for us to open wide the door of our hearts to welcome Him as He deserves.

In practical terms, this means to have in ourselves a deep desire to do the Father’s will, as the eternal Son Himself proclaimed when He was about to come into this world.

It means to receive the Lord with the same eagerness, humility, and gratitude with which Elizabeth welcomed him, though still hidden in the womb of his earthly Mother, Mary Most Holy.

The Sun of the day of our salvation is about to rise. Let us open the doors and windows of our hearts that He may flood us with the splendor of His grace and the abundance of His everlasting peace!

Mary set out 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, “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? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

JOSEPH, A MAN OF GREAT FAITH

2009-12-19T02:47:00.001+08:00

A dark cloud had brought trouble into the tranquil life of Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth who was betrothed to Mary, the prettiest girl in the village. He had not yet taken her into his house, so the would-be bridegroom was thrown into a deep crisis by the unexpected pregnancy of his fiancee.

For weeks he was torn between his love for Mary and the temptation to accuse her of infidelity and thereby see her condemned to be stoned, according to the provision of the Law. (Dt 23:24-25.) He just could not understand how that “terrible thing” could have happened, nor was he able to come up with a quick-fix satisfactory solution.

Others would simply have gone ahead with a strict application of what the law mandated on the matter. Thus their wounded pride would have been avenged and other girls would have thought twice before betraying their fiancé. But Joseph was a considerate and wise person. For sure, he prayed a lot.

In the end he came up with what seemed the best solution, under the difficult circumstances. He would neither marry nor accuse Mary, but would simply dissolve his engagement “quietly,” without stating the reason in public. He thought that such a solution was the least painful for all concerned.

But God had a different plan and brought it to the knowledge of the troubled young man through a dream: Joseph should not hesitate to take Mary as his wife and to officially recognize the child as his own, for the baby she had conceived was the work of the Holy Spirit, and not of a man. (See Mt 1:20-21.) That entailed quite a change of plans!

Others would simply have ignored such a “dream.” Yet, Joseph did not ask for further explanations. He did not ask for “a sign” that might prove the divine origin of such an order. In his deep faith, he said “Yes” readily and immediately. He sacrificed his own plan, in order to embrace God’s plan. He thereby became the husband of the holiest and most loving of all wives, and enjoyed the unique privilege of being called “Daddy” by the very Son of God!

We, too, may be troubled sometimes and experience a painful uncertainty as to what to do. We devise solutions which are not what God wants . . That’s the time for us to pray for enlightenment, as Joseph surely did. And we may be sure that the Lord will find ways and means to lead us to understand what He wants of us.

Then it will be our turn to humbly submit to His plan, forgetting our own short-sighted solutions, and to accept the role God has assigned to us in His all-wise and saving plan. “You will never regret it!” Joseph assures us, and with very good reasons.

JESS P. BALON

4TH CHRISTMAS NOVENA: PUTTING OUR TOTAL TRUST IN GOD

2009-12-19T00:24:00.003+08:00

"DO NOT BE AFRAID, ZECHARIAH,
BECAUSE YOUR PRAYER HAS BEEN HEARD.
YOUR WIFE ELIZABETH WILL BEAR YOU A SON,
AND YOU SHALL NAME HIM JOHN."

On this fourth day of our Novena we are reminded that, occasionally, God challenges people to trust Him even when He plans to do “impossible things.” The episode of the disbelief of Zechariah warns us that those who doubt God’s Word will be left to witness, ashamed and speechless, the fulfillment of the divine plan. On the other hand, those who accept God’s plan in full trust and are ready to cooperate become His partners and instruments of His love and power.

Today’s liturgy challenges us to choose between being spectators of God’s wonders or His enthusiastic collaborators along the highway of salvation history. Likewise, we are invited to reflect on and pray for the elderly and the childless relatives within our families. Their happiness depends so much on how we treat them.

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. Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”

Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute. Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home.

After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.”

3RD CHRISTMAS NOVENA: HOLDING ON TO GOD'S PROMISES

2009-12-18T00:40:00.001+08:00

BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD
AND BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL NAME HIM
EMMANUEL, WHICH MEANS "GOD IS WITH US"

On this third day of our Novena we are invited to reflect on yet another instance of God’s faithfulness to His promise to send a Savior who would be a descendant of Abraham and of David. Today the focus is on Jesus as “the righteous shoot of David” who will bring salvation and security to God’s people and will be the “Emmanuel,” God in our midst.

God repeated His promise at a time of severe crisis, when the people of Israel had forgotten the solemn promises He had made to Abraham and David. But the Lord neither forgets His promises nor is He unfaithful to them.

Today, through the prophet Jeremiah, He renews the promise of a Savior coming from the stock of David, and in the Gospel He announces its fulfillment to Joseph, a descendant of the great King. God’s faithfulness should be a source of encouragement to all of us, especially in moments of crisis and uncertainty. It should also be a reminder to readily cooperate with His plan the way Joseph did.

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 to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ ” When Joseph awoke, 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.

GOD'S FAITHFULNESS IN HIS PLAN FOR MAN

2009-12-17T00:27:00.000+08:00

God is inexhaustible creativity, but He does not improvise. Everything that He carries out in time is the actualization of a well thought-out plan that has its roots in God’s eternal love.

This important principle is applied and verified in the overall plan of our salvation which has its “center” in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who became a human being at the appointed time in the divine plan.

This event of exceptional importance for the whole of mankind (and for God Himself!) took place at the time of Emperor Augustus, some 2,000 years ago. The unfolding of this plan, however, started with the call of Abraham, about 18 centuries before Jesus Christ’s birth.

To the pagan, childless Abraham, God revealed Himself, and promised him a prosperous homeland and a descent in whom all peoples of the earth would find a blessing. From that moment onward, as he left his native land, Abraham’s life was characterized by a seemingly endless quest for the Land of the Promise and a heart-rending waiting for the gift of a son who would carry the torch of God’s promise to the generations to come.

Abraham’s faith in God’s promise was rewarded with the birth of Isaac and, from him, of Jacob and Esau. Today’s Gospel leads us in a “trip in time” over an arch of about 18 centuries, which starts with Abraham and ends with Jesus Christ, the Son of Mary and the legal son of Joseph, a distant descendant of David and Abraham.

In the family line of Jesus, there is a series of three sets of 14 generations each, whose representatives include both great heroes and great sinners, especially among the descendants of David in the period of the monarchy. The prevarications and moral aberrations of certain kings, such as Ahaz and Manasseh, would have been more than enough reason for God to withdraw the promise made to Abraham and reiterated to David. But God did not give up on Israel. He remained faithful to the promise of a descendant of Abraham who would “bring a blessing” to all nations, both Jews and non-Jews alike, which is salvation to the whole of mankind.

This means that God’s faithfulness was not thwarted by man’s unfaithfulness. That is why, “in the fullness of time” (i.e., at the designated time in God’s plan), the promised Messiah was conceived and born and given the prophetic name JESUS – Savior.

We have a lot to learn from God’s persevering love and unshakable faithfulness to His great promise. We have to learn to be grateful for the absolutely undeserved gift of the Messiah / Christ. We have to learn to derive inspiration from God’s faithfulness and to make it our guiding paradigm in this world characterized by so many forms of unfaithfulness and betrayal.

In a special manner, we have to learn to be faithful to God by honoring our commitments to Him. A faithful God deserves a faithful service. Let this Christmas Novena re-awaken in us the awareness of such a duty and instill in us the grace we need to fulfill it.

JESS P. BALON

2ND CHRISTMAS NOVENA: GOD'S FAITHFULNESS IS UNSHAKABLE

2009-12-17T00:14:00.000+08:00

On this second day of our Christmas Novena we are reminded that the Messiah comes as the fulfillment of God’s plan to redeem mankind from sin and offer eternal life to all human beings. The Lord revealed and implemented His plan by stages with a faithfulness that has its roots in his tender and strong love for each human being. This plan was carried out at the proper time, in spite of the many failings and betrayals on the part of the human “partners.”

Today we are invited to reflect on God’s faithful love. The challenge for us is to be grateful to Him for His faithfulness and to reciprocate it by being faithful to our Baptismal commitments, both as individuals and as a community of believers.

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. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king.

David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.

After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Christ, fourteen generations.