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.

Remember and Learn: Lessons for 2010

December 31, 2009

Today is the last day of 2009. A year has passed. A new one is about to begin. This is a good time to look back, to remember and pocket lessons before embarking full speed into a new beginning.

Three people, I remember this year. I remember them because they passed away. And through their passing, I have learned important lessons that I want to share with you tonight; lessons that can help us have a great new start for the coming year.

This year we saw the passing of Micheal Jackson. I am not really a fan, but his music has become a kind of soundtrack for my youth and childhood. I cannot go back to my elementary days without remembering how I wore tattered clothes and used ketchup for fake blood, in order to dance to the iconic “Thriller.” His passing kind of took away the soundtrack of my childhood and youth. In his death, I learned that no amount of fame and wealth can prepare us for death. Not popularity. Not money. Nothing of this material world can prepare us for what lies beyond this life. So what prepares us for death? What prepares us for the life the goes beyond this material world?

This year too, I witnessed the passing of Tatay Sisong. Tatay Sisong is the father of Fr. Gilbert Dumlao. During the funeral, Fr. Gilbert in his homily talked about the unconditional love that Tatay Sisong showered upon his family. When the “Our Father” was sung, the family of Fr. Gilbert held each others hand and the mother went out of the pew, walked in front of the coffin and touched the coffin as if holding Tatay Sisong in her heart. All of us who saw what happened had tears in our eyes. At that moment, I said to myself, this family will overcome this trial in their life, for Tatay Sisong has left a deep and strong foundation of love for his family.

Lastly, only early this week, Nanay Dada passed away. Only yesterday, Nanay Dada was cremated and interned in Manila Memorial Park. I celebrated mass at her wake last Tuesday. Nanay Dada is the yaya of a friend. She has been with her family for 50 years. Nanay Dada chose not to get married. She chose to stick out with the family until she became family. Nanay Dada was truly an example of faithfulness.

Fame and fortune cannot prepare us for death, love and fidelity do. These are values that are also found in Mama Mary, whose solemnity we celebrate today. Love and faithfulness offer us life beyond what this world can give. Love and faithfulness are gifts that thieves cannot take from us, that moths cannot destroy. These are values that last. Love and faithfulness are lessons that we bring into 2010, because these are that will truly make our new year happy.

Marunong ka bang magalit?

3rd Sunday of Lent, Cycle B

Lahat tayo nagagalit pero sa iba’t ibang dahilan. Me nagagalit dahil hindi nasusunod ang gusto. Me nagagalit dahil high blood. Me nagagalit dahil naapi ang bida sa paborito nilang teleserye. Me nagagalit dahil sa kawalan ng katarungan, dahil sa mga kurakot sa gobyerno, dahil sa dayaan, dahil sa kawalan ng hustisya. Lahat tayo nagagalit pero sa iba’t ibang dahilan.

Lahat tayo marunong magalit pero sa iba’t ibang paraan. Merong tahimik lang, kinikimkim ang galit. Meron namang bungangera, alam ng buong bayan na galit siya. Merong walang pinapatawad, kahit sino ang kaharap. Merong malumanay lang, galit na pala hindi mo pa alam. Merong nagmumura. Merong nanglalait. Merong nangungutya. Meron mahinahon. Merong marunong magalit ng hindi nakakasakit ng damdamin. Lahat tayo marunong magalit pero sa iba’t ibang paraan.

Bakit nga ba nagalit si Jesus? Ano ang dahilan ng galit ni Jesus ? At paano siya nagalit ? Una, nagalit si Jesus hindi dahil sa sarili niya kundi dahil sa kawalan ng respeto sa tahanan ng Diyos. Nagalit si Jesus hindi dahil sinaktan siya, o naagrabyado siya, o dahil tinraydor siya, o dahil binalewala siya. Hindi. Nagalit si Jesus dahil hindi ibinigay sa Diyos ang tamang paggalang. Pangalawa, nung pinalayas niya ang mga nagtitinda sa templo, sabi ng ebanghelyo, “Isinabog niya ang salapi ng mga namamalit at pinagtataob ang kanilang mga hapag.” Ang galit ni Jesus nakatuon sa mga bagay – sa mga salapi, sa mga paninda, sa mga hayop – hindi sa tao. Kung sarili lang ang dahilan ng galit, hindi iyan ang galit ni Jesus. Kung nakakapinsala naman ng tao ang galit, hindi rin iyan ang galit ni Jesus. Dahil ang galit ni Jesus ay pagkagalit sa masama, sa kasalanan at sa paraang makakabuti hindi makakapinasala sa tao.

Ngayong panahon ng kuwaresma, magandang suriin natin kung bakit at kung paano tayo magalit. Hindi po masama magalit, basta’t hindi lang sarili ang dahilan ng galit at hangga’t maari wala sanang masasaktan. Magalit tayo sa kasalanan. Magalit tayo sa masama. Magalit tayo sa kasinungalin, sa pagnanakaw, sa karahasan, sa kawalan ng disiplina, sa pagkakanya-kanya, sa panlalamang. Magalit tayo sa paraang may malasakit sa kabutihan ng ating kapwa, hindi para makasakit, o makapaghinganti. Magalit tayo sa masama para mapabuti tayo at ang lahat.

Ang galit ay puedeng maging tanda ng pagmamahal kung ang galit ay magiging daan para kumilos laban sa masama at ipaglaban ang mabuti para sa atin at para sa kapwa. Magalit tayo kapag hindi ginagalang ang Diyos. Magalit tayo kapag hindi ginagalang ang tao. Magalit tayo ng may pagmamahal sa Diyos at pagmamalasakit sa kapwa. Amen.

Love Your Enemies

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." How does one loves one's enemies? How do we love those who persecute us? How do we love those who hurt us?

Do we love them the way we love our friends? Do we love them the way we love our family? Do we love them with a romantic love?

We love our friends because there is a sharing of common interests. The Greeks call this philia. We love our family because there is consanguinal connection, a connection by blood. The Greeks call this storge. You love your spouses or partners because there is romance. The Greeks call this eros. In all of these there is mutuality; there is an expectation of love being returned.

But how do you love an enemy? We can only love those who hurt us if we decide to love without expecting anything in return. Not even a thank you. Not even an acknowledgement of that love. The Greeks call this agape.

A love that is not based on feeling, on likes, on romance, on mutuality; but a love that is based on a decision to love no matter what. A love defined by Pope Benedict XVI in his encyclical Deus Caritas Est, a “communion of will.”

Love and Prayer

“Lord, teach us to pray?” This is the request of the disciple to Jesus. And so, Jesus taught them to call God, Father. The Lord’s prayer teaches us not only what to pray, but how to pray. Praying the Lord’s Prayer presupposes a disposition, an attitude. Our Father will only be meaningful if we consider ourselves children of God, and as such if we find in our hearts love for the Father. Without this love, Our Father will remain empty words, meaningless and dead. Prayer is not a word that we offer to God to communicate with him. No. Prayer is relationship. Nagdarasal tayo hindi dahil meron tayong kailangan sa Diyos, hindi dahil me reklamo tayo sa Diyos, hindi dahil obligasyon, o nakasanayan, o natatakot tayo sa anung puedeng mangyari pag hindi tayo nagdasal. Bagkus, nagdarasal tayo dahil mga anak tayo ng Diyos, at sa ating puso’y matatagpuan ang pagmamahal ng isang anak sa kanyang Ama.

Madalas ang sarap ng kuwentuhan hindi naman dahil sa pinag-uusapan [madalas nga paulit ulit naman ang kuwento], kundi sa kung sino ang kakuwentuhan. Ganyan din ang panalangin, higit sa hinihiling natin sa panalangin, ang halaga ng pagdarasal ay sa pinatutungkulan ng ating dasal. Sa pagdarasal kasama natin ang Diyos at kasama tayo ng Diyos, kaya tayo nagdarasal.

Let our prayers be rooted in a heart that longs to be with the Father. Let our prayers be expressions of our desire to embrace the Father. Let our prayers be signs of how much love we have for the Father. Without these, “Our Father” means nothing.

Saan Makikita ang Pag-ibig?

Saan daw nakikita ang tunay na pag-ibig? sa isip? sa puso? Hindi daw sa isip. Hindi daw sa puso. Kundi sa kamay. Ang tunay na pag-ibig ay nakikita sa ginagawa ng kamay: sa pagyakap sa asawa, sa pag-aalaga sa mga anak, sa pagbibigay sa nangangailanga, sa pagtulong sa mga dukha, sa pagkapit ng mahigpit sa Diyos.

Sa kahuli-hulihan ang sukatan ng tunay na pag-ibig, hindi ang pagpapaliwanag ng isip, o masidhing silakbo ng puso, bagkus ang bawat haplos, yakap at tulong na ginagawa ng ating mga kamay. Nasa ating mga kamay makikita ang tunay na pag-ibig.

Where does your faith live?

Here's a crass but accurate way of putting the real challenge of love from D. Berrigan.

"Where does your faith live? In the head? In the heart? Your faith is rarely where your head is at, just as it is rarely where your heart is at. Your faith is where your ass is at! Where are you living? What are you doing? These things - our actions, our charity, our morality - are what determine whether we belive or not."

True love is not measured by the amount of knowledge stored in our minds, or by the passion contained in our hearts. It is in the doing, relating, trying, helping, communicating and sharing. What use is the knowledge of faith if they are not shared? What use is passion if not translated into action? Genuine loving is in the doing.

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