Vocations, the Gift of the Love of God

MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER
FOR THE 49th WORLD DAY
OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS 

29 April 2012 FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Theme: “Vocations, the Gift of the Love of God”

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The 49^th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which will be celebrated on 29 April 2012, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, prompts us to meditate on the theme: Vocations, the Gift of the Love of God.

The source of every perfect gift is God who is Love – Deus caritas est: “Whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” (1 Jn 4:16). Sacred Scripture tells the story of this original bond between God and man, which precedes creation itself. Writing to the Christians of the city of Ephesus, Saint Paul raises a hymn of gratitude and praise to the Father who, with infinite benevolence, in the course of the centuries accomplishes his universal plan of salvation, which is a plan of love. In his Son Jesus – Paul states – “he chose us, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him in love” (Eph 1:4). We are loved by God even “before” we come into existence! Moved solely by his unconditional love, he created us “not … out of existing things” (cf. 2 Macc 7:28), to bring us into full communion with Him.In great wonderment before the work of God’s providence, the Psalmist exclaims: “When I see the heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and the stars which you arranged, what is man that you should keep him in mind, mortal man that you care for him?” (Ps 8:3-4). The profound truth of our existence is thus contained in this surprising mystery: every creature, and in particular every human person, is the fruit of God’s thought and an act of his love, a love that is boundless, faithful and everlasting (cf. Jer 31:3). The discovery of this reality is what truly and profoundly changes our lives. In a famous page of the Confessions, Saint Augustine expresses with great force his discovery of God, supreme beauty and supreme love, a God who was always close to him, and to whom he at last opened his mind and heart to be transformed: “Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.” (X, 27.38). With these images, the Saint of Hippo seeks to describe the ineffable mystery of his encounter with God, with God’s love that transforms all of life.

It is a love that is limitless and that precedes us, sustains us and calls us along the path of life, a love rooted in an absolutely free gift of God. Speaking particularly of the ministerial priesthood, my predecessor, Blessed John Paul II, stated that “every ministerial action - while it leads to loving and serving the Church - provides an incentive to grow in ever greater love and service of Jesus Christ the head, shepherd and spouse of the Church, a love which is always a response to the free and unsolicited love of God in Christ” (Pastores Dabo Vobis, 25). Every specific vocation is in fact born of the initiative of God; it is a gift of the Love of God! He is the One who takes the “first step”, and not because he has found something good in us, but because of the presence of his own love “poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Rom 5:5).In every age, the source of the divine call is to be found in the initiative of the infinite love of God, who reveals himself fully in Jesus Christ. As I wrote in my first Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, “God is indeed visible in a number of ways. In the love-story recounted by the Bible, he comes towards us, he seeks to win our hearts, all the way to the Last Supper, to the piercing of his heart on the Cross, to his appearances after the Resurrection and to the great deeds by which, through the activity of the Apostles, he guided the nascent Church along its path. Nor has the Lord been absent from subsequent Church history: he encounters us ever anew, in the men and women who reflect his presence, in his word, in the sacraments, and especially in the Eucharist” (No. 17).

The love of God is everlasting; he is faithful to himself, to the “word that he commanded for a thousand generations” (Ps 105:8). Yet the appealing beauty of this divine love, which precedes and accompanies us, needs to be proclaimed ever anew, especially to younger generations. This divine love is the hidden impulse, the motivation which never fails, even in the most difficult circumstances. Dear brothers and sisters, we need to open our lives to this love. It is to the perfection of the Father’s love (cf. Mt 5:48) that Jesus Christ calls us every day! The high standard of the Christian life consists in loving “as” God loves; with a love that is shown in the total, faithful and fruitful gift of self. Saint John of the Cross, writing to the Prioress of the Monastery of Segovia who was pained by the terrible circumstances surrounding his suspension, responded by urging her to act as God does: “Think nothing else but that God ordains all, and where there is no love, put love, and there you will draw out love” (Letters, 26).

It is in this soil of self-offering and openness to the love of God, and as the fruit of that love, that all vocations are born and grow. By drawing from this wellspring through prayer, constant recourse to God’s word and to the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, it becomes possible to live a life of love for our neighbours, in whom we come to perceive the face of Christ the Lord (cf. Mt 25:31-46). To express the inseparable bond that links these “two loves” – love of God and love of neighbour – both of which flow from the same divine source and return to it, Pope Saint Gregory the Great uses the metaphor of the seedling: “In the soil of our heart God first planted the root of love for him; from this, like the leaf, sprouts love for one another.” (Moralium Libri, sive expositio in Librum B. Job, Lib. VII, Ch. 24, 28; PL 75, 780D). These two expressions of the one divine love must be lived with a particular intensity and purity of heart by those who have decided to set out on the path of vocation discernment towards the ministerial priesthood and the consecrated life; they are its distinguishing mark. Love of God, which priests and consecrated persons are called to mirror, however imperfectly, is the motivation for answering the Lord’s call to special consecration through priestly ordination or the profession of the evangelical counsels. Saint Peter’s vehement reply to the Divine Master: “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you” (Jn 21:15) contains the secret of a life fully given and lived out, and thus one which is deeply joyful.

The other practical expression of love, that towards our neighbour, and especially those who suffer and are in greatest need, is the decisive impulse that leads the priest and the consecrated person to be a builder of communion between people and a sower of hope. The relationship of consecrated persons, and especially of the priest, to the Christian community is vital and becomes a fundamental dimension of their affectivity. The Curé of Ars was fond of saying: “Priests are not priests for themselves, but for you” (Le cure d’Ars. Sa pensée – Son cœur, Foi Vivante, 1966, p. 100).Dear brother bishops, dear priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, catechists, pastoral workers and all of you who are engaged in the field of educating young people: I fervently exhort you to pay close attention to those members of parish communities, associations and ecclesial movements who sense a call to the priesthood or to a special consecration. It is important for the Church to create the conditions that will permit many young people to say “yes” in generous response to God’s loving call.

The task of fostering vocations will be to provide helpful guidance and direction along the way. Central to this should be love of God’s word nourished by a growing familiarity with sacred Scripture, and attentive and unceasing prayer, both personal and in community; this will make it possible to hear God’s call amid all the voices of daily life. But above all, the Eucharist should be the heart of every vocational journey: it is here that the love of God touches us in Christ’s sacrifice, the perfect expression of love, and it is here that we learn ever anew how to live according to the “high standard” of God’s love. Scripture, prayer and the Eucharist are the precious treasure enabling us to grasp the beauty of a life spent fully in service of the Kingdom.It is my hope that the local Churches and all the various groups within them, will become places where vocations are carefully discerned and their authenticity tested, places where young men and women are offered wise and strong spiritual direction. In this way, the Christian community itself becomes a manifestation of the Love of God in which every calling is contained. As a response to the demands of the new commandment of Jesus, this can find eloquent and particular realization in Christian families, whose love is an expression of the love of Christ who gave himself for his Church (cf. Eph 5:32). Within the family, “a community of life and love” (Gaudium et Spes, 48), young people can have a wonderful experience of this self-giving love. Indeed, families are not only the privileged place for human and Christian formation; they can also be “the primary and most excellent seed-bed of vocations to a life of consecration to the Kingdom of God” (Familiaris Consortio, 53), by helping their members to see, precisely within the family, the beauty and the importance of the priesthood and the consecrated life. May pastors and all the lay faithful always cooperate so that in the Church these “homes and schools of communion” may multiply, modelled on the Holy Family of Nazareth, the harmonious reflection on earth of the life of the Most Holy Trinity.

With this prayerful hope, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to all of you: my brother bishops, priests, deacons, religious men and women and all lay faithful, and especially those young men and women who strive to listen with a docile heart to God’s voice and are ready to respond generously and faithfully.

From the Vatican, 18 October 2011
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

OLPP Vocabulary Level Up

1. repast

2. tabernacle (pronunciation)

3. coiffure

4. ambrosial

5. spot-on

6. achuchuchu

Resurrection is for real.

The risen Christ appeared to his disciples many times.

Jesus wanted to assure his disciples that resurrection is for real. More than words, Jesus showed them his wounded hands, his wounded feet. Jesus showed them his pierced side. Jesus ate with them. Jesus wanted them to touch him, to touch his body scarred by the crucifixion. The risen Lord is the crucified Lord. Resurrection is more than news. It is not rumor. Resurrection is  for real.  Our God is a living God.

And so we ask ourselves:

How real is resurrection for us today? How do we see resurrection? Are we able to touch resurrection?

I know of a parish volunteer who lost both of her parents in a span of two years. While mourning for the loss of her parents, she was diagnosed with cancer. She had to undergo chemotherapy. And as if this is not enough, while undergoing chemo, their house got burned. What a tragedy? I could have understood her if she began to question God, to question her faith. I could have understood her if she asked for a leave in her parish work. Mag-lay low muna. Hindi muna magserve. Maglaan muna ng panahon para sa sarili.

But, no, I never heard her complain. I never heard her question God. She never stopped serving the parish, spending time in prayer and offering her time to help the needy. Every time I asked her how is everything she would always say: May awa ang Diyos, Father.

Resurrection is our refusal to give in to despair and hopelessness even when we are faced with burdens that seem too heavy to carry. Resurrection is our rejection of cynicism, negativity and bitterness even when illness, loss and separation beset us. Resurrection is our continued trust in goodness and grace even when things happen not according to our plans and expectations. Resurrection is our persistence to remain warm, kind and hospitable even when we have a just cause for hatred.

The living God is for real. Resurrection is for real. Look at your heart. Look at your life. Do you see resurrection?

STATEMENT of the Philippine Academy of Liturgical Research

As the fiftieth anniversary of Vatican II’s Constitution on Sacred Liturgy (SC) approaches (December 4, 2013), the Philippine Academy of Liturgical Research states its full support of the Council’s fundamental principle of liturgical reform, namely “the full, active, and conscious participation” (cf. SC 14) of all God’s people in liturgical celebrations especially the Holy Mass.

While the Academy respects the use of the Tridentine Missal on account of genuine pastoral and spiritual need of some of the faithful, it urges the clergy and the faithful to be always mindful of the fundamental principle of the reform.

The Council desired that the rites and prayers of the liturgy should be made understandable so that the faithful could grasp with ease the meaning of the ceremonies and prayers. In this way they are enabled to enter more fully into the mystery of Christ and the Church and be spiritually renewed (cf. SC 34). Thus, besides catechesis, the reform was carried out by simplifying the rites, allowing the use of vernacular languages, and encouraging inculturation (cf. SC 37-40). Over the years the Council’s liturgical reform was actualized by the Holy See and the local Churches. Consequently, the Filipino faithful continue to be spiritually enriched through their active participation in the worship of the Church.

The Academy joins the entire Church in the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Constitution on Sacred Liturgy, giving thanks to Jesus Christ, the Divine Leitourgos. Through the Council, he granted to the whole Church, especially the Filipino faithful, the inestimable gift of active participation, inclusive of lay involvement in liturgical ministry.

Unwarranted innovations, often verging on banality and even abuse, tend to obscure the purpose of the conciliar reform. The Academy considers it a duty to remind the clergy and faithful about the sacred character of every liturgical celebration. The liturgy of Vatican II, if celebrated devoutly and with decorum, provides ample means to encounter God in prayer and to experience what it means to be Church.

That in all things God may be glorified.

April 13, 2012

Resurrection and Forgiveness

Second Sunday of Easter

"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..."

The disciples were gathered in fear. The gospel tells us that they were afraid of the Jews. They were afraid that the Jews might do to them what they did to Jesus.

But it is also possible that part of that fear is the memory of what they did while Jesus was undergoing his passion. Remember when Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane, the disciples fled in fear. They left Jesus on his own. They deserted him. Peter even denied Jesus three times. Only a handful remained at the foot of the cross. The disciples abandoned Jesus.

In the midst of this fear, the risen Christ appeared to his disciples. The abandoned one returned to those who abandoned him. And his first words were,"Peace be with you." These are words of forgiveness; words of reconciliation. Three times Jesus assured his disciples of his great mercy and understanding. Not only that, after offering reconciliation, Jesus sent them into mission: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

Tanong ko sa sarili ko, Hindi pa ba natutuo si Jesus?
Ito ang mga alagad na ginabayan niya ng tatlong taon. Tinuruan. Pinangaralan. Mga alagad na itinuring niyang malalapit na kaibigan. Pero kahit ganun, iniwan pa rin siya. Itinatwa. Nilayuan. Hindi lubos ang kanilang paniniwala at pananalig sa kanya. Sila pa rin ang isusugo? Hindi ba magandang humanap na lang ng ibang mga alagad?

Jesus chose not to give up on his disciples. Jesus, the abandoned one is also the faithful one. Jesus knew that his forgiveness and his resurrection are enough to change them.

The Lord will not give up on us. He reminds us that his forgiveness and his resurrection are enough to change us. They are enough to inspire and sustain us. They are enough to transcend our weaknesses, to conquer our doubts, and make us believe and serve him until the end.

The Lord chose not to give up on us. Please do not give up on your family, on your love ones. Please do not give up on our country. Please do not give up on yourself.

The grace of the risen Christ is the grace of hope. Things may not be as we want them today. But the living God enables us to hope that in his time all things will become well according to his benevolent will.

Easter changes everything.

 Easter changes everything.

Easter changed Mary Magdalene.

She was one of the women followers of Jesus. She waited on him. But Easter made her the resurrection's messenger just as we heard in the gospel today.

Easter changed Peter.

He was just an ordinary fisherman who always got in trouble because of his impulsiveness. The first reading reveals how convinced he has become in his faith in the Risen Christ.

Easter changed Paul.

He hated Christians. He persecuted them. The second reading today reveals to us how Paul was changed by his vision of the risen Christ. He became a zealous follower himself. He preached to the pagans and built communities around the Lord.

Easter changed suffering.

Trials and difficulties do not necessarily mean the absence of God. We may be afflicted in every way, but we do not lose faith. We may be confused, but not hopeless. We may be persecuted, but not abandoned. We may be struck down, but we do not give in to despair. In the resurrection of Jesus, suffering can only make us stronger, more mature, more closer to God.

Easter changed death.

A Christian is no longer slave to the clutches of death. It does not have the last say. It is not anymore the end. It has become a doorway into everlasting life.

Jesus is alive, and he changes everything!

Life is no longer defined by what this world can give and offer, or by what we know and understand. No. In the resurrection of Jesus, life opened up to embrace eternity and take in the mystery of the Divine.

The story of the resurection is not fiction.

This is not a myth or a story made up to inspire us or to give us hope.

Resurrection is truth.

Hindi ito chismis.

Hindi ito kuwentong barbero.

Jesus is truly risen!

He is alive here and now.

This is the truth of easter and this truth changes everything.

Will this Easter change anything... in our community?

Will this Easter change anything... in you?

Amen.

Not even death.

May ilang mga bagay sa ating buhay ang nagdudulot sa atin ng pagkabagabag. May ilang mga bagay na ang dala ay kalungkutan, panghihinayang, o panghihina ng kalooban. There are things that weigh us down; things that bring us sadness and grief; things that break our heart.

What can be more heart-breaking than death?

May hihigit pa ba sa bigat na dulot ng kamatayan?

When death comes, it brings to an end the life we love. It puts to a halt the world we know. It robs us of the relationships we nourished. More often than not, when we face the reality of death, our own or of a loved one, we are brought to our lowest. Oftentimes it engenders the darkest moments of our lives. Sometimes it begets helplessness and hopelessness.

Good Friday reminds us that God died on the cross. God united himself to us in death. Thus, accompanying us in the most serious predicament that we shall have to face. He joined us in our lowest, in the darkest moment of our life. By dying, God joined us in our helplessness, in our hopelessness.

In Jesus Christ, God took upon himself the sting of death and conquered it by rising again. He died alone, but he led us all in rising from the dead.

Namatay ang Diyos. Sinamahan tayo sa kadiliman ng kamatayan. Sinamahan tayo sa hapdi at karimlang dulot ng kawalan. Sinamahan tayo sa pinakamabigat na pagsubok na di maiiwasan nino man. Sinamahan tayo sa kamatayan upang akayin tayo sa kanyang buhay na walang hanggan.

If God willingly joined us in death, the most serious condition in which we can find ourselves, will he not be with us in less weighty challenges in life? 

And so with St. Paul we proclaim, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Not even death.

Judas had to be practical.

Judas is one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. He was a trusted friend; he's the treasurer. He saw the miracles of Jesus. He heard his words, his commands, his parables. But Judas had to be practical. He had to choose where his future is secured; to choose who he thought was more powerful, more cunning, more clever, more influential.

Judas chose to be practical at the expense of loyalty, of fidelity, of commitment, of trust. Judas chose to be practical at the expense of the Son of God.