Let Jesus Rule!

We celebrate the solemnity of Christ the King. It is the last Sunday of Ordinary Time and ushers us into the Advent Season. We recall the mystery of our faith that Christ will come again. This second coming will be a glorious one unlike the first when Jesus came like an ordinary human. And as judge he will ask an accounting of what we did with our lives. The king will judge us in the capacity of our love.

This brings us to the reality that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega of our life. He is the beginning and the end; our origin and also our destiny. Come to think of it, through him we live, we move and have our being. When my relative, Fr. Jose Mansueto died, i saw these words placed on the hood of his coffin. Perhaps it was his prayer and commitment: Jesus, I live for you. Jesus, I die for you. Jesus, I am yours in life and in death.

If Jesus is truly the King, then let him rule in our lives. When we pray "thy kingdom come," we are actually praying: Jesus come and rule us. Be our king!

Saturation Point

When I was informed that Gerry Guiseppe Gatungay was dead, I was shocked! I had to hear it again from the bearer and confirm its veracity. Yes, dead! As in gone.. lost.. no more.. lifeless.. passed away.. extinct.. departed.. launched into eternity. I had difficulty in digesting the news. It was so sudden and surprising. The last time I saw him was about six months ago. We had a little chat at the corridor during the first semester enrolment. I could still see the guy in my mind’s eye – medium built and his eyes would sparkle when he smiled. Did he have a dimple in his cheek? I forgot. But I have no way to know now. He’s dead and he’s only 19. That’s a young age to die! I would think it normal if he were 60 or 70. But to die at 19 --- that’s ridiculous!

More pathetic was the way he died. He was on his way home past midnight when a group of intoxicated young men looking for some adventure gang up on him. His only mistake was being in the wrong place and in a wrong time. He met them as they were going the opposite direction on Ganciang Street. For no apparent reason, they stabbed him to death just for the “trip” of it. Gerry died like a helpless animal pursued by cruel hunters screaming for his life. His desperate cry was not strong enough to pierce the hardened hearts of his attackers. Even his agonizing plea for survival did not inflict any small amount of pity in their callous consciences. Gerry was a victim of these young people’s strong propensity for violence. What a waste of life. What a senseless death!

Last August, a dispatcher was shot dead in Punta Princesa at the corner of Sabellano Street and F. Llamas Street. Many call him by the name Toto or Val but his real name was Nino Michael. Since he was not known or famous who cares if he lives or dies? But he was my friend. In his younger days, he used to frequent the Youth Center at Lourdes Parish and played basketball. He was a good player; a dependable ball handler and play maker. He also used to play as a varsity when he was in high school, I was told. But then he dropped out of college because of vices. Finally he landed on the streets. As a dispatcher many drivers disliked him because he was extorting too much from them. And on a fateful Sunday afternoon a young guy out of vengeance shot him on the head. His life ended tragically on the street where he wanted to be. Some young people, it would seem, have nothing worthwhile to live for. Can we blame them for it if that is what they see from their elders' examples?

We hear and read other sensational stories of young people’s death in the news. Who could forget the gruesome murder of the chop-chop victims Eva Mae Peligro and her cousin Gwendolyn Balasta in Talisay City? Their deaths has been, for some time, the talk of the town for being so hideous and frightening like those we only see in crime movies. The death of nursing graduate Rachelle Mae Palang would also leave a deep sense of regret and dismay. She was accused of being an NPA and was killed during an encounter with the military in Negros Oriental.

The stories of these kind will continue. Their death is a stark reminder that life is precarious. At the same time it makes us realize how human life has become so cheap! Life is no longer precious. It is given small importance and little value. The late John Paul II was right when he pointed out that we live in a world that promotes the “culture of death.” We need to make our family, our homes and our surrounding more life-giving. I guess we have to start with our own attitude that encourages compassion, kindness and goodness.

We are witnessing history in the making in America in their change of leadership by voting into office a new African-American president. Barack Obama has motivated his countrymen to believe in him and believe in their power to change themselves and change the world. I admire America in their sensitivity to issues pertaining the good of their country. For all our colonial mentality, this is something we have not acquired. Our threshold of pain is so high that we can simply suffer in silence and wait for saturation point. It is only when we can’t bear it anymore that we finally muster the courage to say enough is enough; ‘tama na, sobra na!” When will we ever learn that the time to change is now. Tomorrow another Gerry Gatungay will die for our lack of will to make change happen today.

Sweetness of Death

Our life is a mixture of laughters and tears, joys and sorrows, life and death. Though others may consider death as a bitter and pain reality, this should not be so. Death can be sweet if seen with faith coupled by foresight.

Foresight is a virtue -- for life is passing and we can die anytime. Young people think death is a remote thing especially if they feel strong and healthy oozing with uncontrollable hormones. But who could have thought that my student Gerry Gatungay, only 19 years old would have met his death in a violent way. He was on his way home at past midnight when he met along the street 5 young people looking for a riot. They attacked him without warning and stabbed him to death senselessly.

Such is death. It comes when it comes without warning. There is great wisdom in preparing for it as Don Bosco would constantly remind his boys.

We laid to rest Fr. Ed Espiritu last 30 October. His dying was characterized by preparation and foresight. He left nothing to chance. Death can be sweet if we see beyond the pain and see God's loving smile as he says: welcome home!

Be Saints

Every 1st of November all roads lead to the cemetery. People light candles and pray for the dead. Yet in the Church's liturgy its the solemnity of all saints! Today we celebrate the saints with the small 's.' The 'small time' saints, the unknown and uncanonized ones. Yet saints nonetheless because they have reached heaven. After all that is what matters. We are to reach heaven; while some get there in big steps, others in small ones.

Today we are reminded that heaven is our final destiny. But before we become saints we must first die and bid goodbye to this world. Its something most people fear. Death is the final act of detachment which needs a tremendous amount of faith. Don Bosco's last words as he lay dying on his bed were: 'tell my boys that I'm waiting for them in paradise.'

Pope John Paul II raised so many saints in his long pontificate. When asked why, he explained that 'holiness should be the ordinary ambition of a Christian.' A Christian cannot but be holy! Every Christian is simply called to be Christ-like in his or her thoughts, words and actions. God says: 'be holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy!'

The world is in need of new saints: committed, courageous and compelling. Can you be one of them?

Peace and Order in our Lives

Upon the invitation of Sr. Mailyn Bolivar, OP I facilitated the overnight-retreat of the four batches of 4th year students of Notre Dame-Sienna School of Marbel in the city of Koronadal, South Cotabato. I readily accepted the offer because it would be a great opportunity for vocation guidance and orientation during the sessions. Who knows that among those students attending, a potential candidate for the seminary could come. God is a God of surprises and the retreat is a grace-filled moment. Besides, it would be my first time giving retreat to students from Mindanao! Though I was enthusiastic and willing, there was also fear and anxiety within me especially due to the armed conflict that I have been hearing so recently in the news. There were questions of safety and security in my mind.

When I arrived at the airport of General Santos City, the Dominican sisters fetched me with a few of their teachers. I could not help but ask about the peace and order situation of the place during our lunch. Being still totally a stranger to them, I could sense they were looking at each other in order to give me full assurance as a group that everything was under control. Their place was peaceful but not without violence. At the outset, they told me two separate incidents that marred the peace and order of their place. Sr. Mailyn recounted that last week a student was expelled from the Public School he was attending because of a certain misconduct. In anger, the student stabbed the Principal to death one afternoon after class. The other story was told by Rolex, an English Teacher of Sienna. The violence happened the day before I arrived. One of the parents who owned a business just in front of their school was robbed and shot to death by unknown armed men. But the police have caught up with them and the money was recovered. Such stories could happen to any other city in the Philippines. Even worse.

On the way to Marbel, there were military Check Points in certain strategic locations. But upon my arrival to that city, I was amazed how industrialized and progressive it is. The atmosphere was serene. It takes more than a visit to experience the peace and quiet the city has to offer. That very evening, I also witnessed a cultural performance of the “Blaan,” one of the indigenous tribe residing in the highlands of South Cotabato. They sang and recited poems from their own native tongue; they danced and swayed accompanied by their gongs and musical instruments in their colorful costumes.

I spent almost two weeks in this part of Mindanao with varied experiences and encounters with the people of Marbel who were mostly Ilonggo-speaking. The school, during my visit, also organized a Youth Camp participated in by the high school students. The event started with a walk for peace with students carrying placards advocating peace. I realized that their students were Christians and Muslims living, studying and interacting with each other in peaceful co-existence. When they prayed, sang and danced during the youth camp, ones religious affiliation did not matter. They saw each other as friends enjoying each other’s company.

Before my visit to Marbel, I was anxious and fearful. Now I realize my fears were unfounded. What beautiful places and people I have been. The sight seeing and boating in Lake Sebu was an exhilarating adventure. The durian and tilapia treats were unforgettable. The faith-experience, the simplicity and exuberance of the students during the retreat was heart-warming. I arrived as a stranger but I left with pledges of friendship because they say I have enriched their lives and nourished their faith. But deep in my heart I know they have enriched me more than I have given them. I discovered God had been with them all the while, all the time. Though I continue to hear of conflict and crisis in Mindanao, I have a reason to smile. Somewhere in this big island are people committed to peace, bring change and keep God at the center of their lives. And in the midst of instability and confusion they still manage to uphold the peace and order in their lives.

Jesus, the New Wine

Jesus tells us that “new wine must be put into fresh skins.” In the Lord’s time wine was not kept in bottles like today but in skins. When the new wine was placed in a skin, it continued to ferment, producing carbon dioxide. And old skin do not have the elasticity of a new one and so it would burst and the wine is lost.

What is the meaning and the messages of this Gospel reading for us? Jesus is telling us: stay fresh, stay young in spirit. Be open to challenges and new ideas.

Old people are afraid, get tired easily, find it had to adjust to change. They prefer the status quo. They are afraid to risk, have no more drive. That’s why they say: “you can’t teach old dogs new tricks” you can’t correct and old tree anymore.

But young people like challenges. They are courageous to the point of being reckless. They want to prove themselves. Take risks, sacrifice even die for something they believe in.

The Gospel of Jesus is this new wine; new way of life which requires a new mind and a new attitude; new values, new courage and new enthusiasm. Jesus wants us to have this new fire in our hearts. I wonder if you have this fire within you?

In the Inquirer Supplementary last Sunday, entitled: “Against all odds.” It’s the story of Grace Padaca, this year’s Ramon Magsaysay awardee for Government Service. At age 3 she was afflicted with polio that made her mobility difficult. She had to overcome teasing in elementary and high school; instead of being discouraged it pushed her to study more. She graduated magna cum laude in college! The people of Isabela urged her to run. But she had no political machiner, no funds. The grassroot support made all this possible. At first she ran for a seat in Congress but lost. The second time she ran as Governor against a formidable political clan and won by an overwhelming majority. She was again re-elected. She had to battle a stagnant economy, illegal logging and corruption. In all these, Grace did not give up. She was brave and persevering. She accepted the challenges with courage. Indeed, she is an amazing grace!

This is the spirit of our Gospel today. Keep your flame alive and burning bright!

Lord Alfred Tennyson wrote an energizing poem “Ullyses.” At this point in his life, Ullyses is now an old man. Though old and his youth and strength well spent still he would say:

“We are not now that strength which in old day
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are.
One equal temper of heroic hearts;
Made weak by time and fate, but strong and will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

Be brave. Be hopeful. Shun pessimism and cynicism. I saw a powerful icon that can teach us: a lighted candle giving and sharing its light to another unlighted candle. Be that candle. Be that light. Be that flame. Burn for Christ!

Mama Mary's Birthday

Last thursday, sept 4 I was in Don Bosco Technology Center. At the lobby, i found a student's diary on the bench. One boy must have surely forgot or lost his diary, I mused. So I tried to check who this boy could be.. It belonged to a Grade 3 pupil.. one of the entry was written: bring a flowers on sept 8, monday. I smiled.

Before I knew it the boy arrived asking for his diary. As I handed it to him I asked:"what will you bring on monday?" "Flowers.." he answered shyly. "And why will you bring flowers?" I continued in a teasing tone.. "Because it's Mama Mary's birthday!" He blurted confidently with a smile as his eyes sparkled.

September 8 is Mama Mary's birthday! Let us make her happy by offering her flowers. More than roses or lilies that wither and fade, let us give her a more lasting garland -- a spiritual bouquet! I would suggest the following practical things: go to mass in her honor; one could say 3 hail mary's offering it for more vocations or for the conversion of hardened sinners; one could actually memorize the Memorare, St. Bernard's beautiful prayer; or one could do a good turn in secret for her; perhaps offer any inconvenience of the day to her like bearing the heat, putting up with an annoying classmate or paying attention to a boring class; perhaps one could say the rosary anytime this day.. Whatever it is, the aim is to please Mama Mary on her natal day!

Her birth is ordained towards her mission as Mother of God. In her birth we rejoice. One of her many titles is "cause of our joy." Indeed she is the cause of our joy by giving us Jesus, the joy of humanity.

Restlessness

I recently read a fascinating conversion story over the internet. Joe Eszterhas, Hollywood’s highest paid screenwriter, wrote the story of his spiritual conversion from a party-lifestyle to one devoted to Christ and his family in his book, Crossbearer: A Memoir of Faith published on September 2 by St. Martin’s Press. As an author he wrote the scripts like Basic Instincts, Jagged Edge and Showgirls and practically invented “erotic thrillers.” At 56 after a wild living with a deeply ingrained habit of smoking and drinking, his life got a turn around. During the summer of 2001, Joe was diagnosed with throat cancer. His doctors removed 80 percent of his larynx and told him to immediately quit drinking and smoking.

Such a recommendation gave him a “hellish” experience. Walking one day through a tree-lined neighborhood, he realized he had hit rock-bottom. He thought he was going crazy. He felt jittery and restless while his whole frame trembled and twisted. He recounts that “every single nerve ending was demanding a drink and a cigarette.” He sat down on the curb and began to cry like a child. Then he heard himself uttering “please God help me.” He had not prayed since he was a child. God had been irrelevant to him all his life. He was also surprise and shocked that he said it. He claimed he had never said it before.

That simple plea had a considerable effect. Immediately, he was overwhelmed with peace. His impatience and restlessness stopped. He no longer trembled. At that moment he saw a “shimmering, dazzling, nearly blinding brightness that made me cover my eyes with my hands.” Joe had seen the light of Christ and he would describe the experience as “absolutely overwhelming.” Like Saul on his way to Damascus, Joe would walk back home a new man. Since his Damascus-like experience in 2001, he and his wife attend mass regularly at a local Catholic Church. Furthermore, his doctors confirmed that he was “miraculously cured” from his throat cancer. His tissues have regenerated to the point that there is no trace of cancer anymore.

He wrote his book as a “thank you to God” for the wonderful blessings of cure and conversion. Through it he would like to tell the world what He “has done for me.” Today, Joe continues to receive large offers for movies with dark, sinister themes. He says he does not want to go there anymore. “Frankly my life changed from the moment God entered my heart.”

This remarkable conversion story reminded me of a similar episode that happened to St. Augustine whose feast was celebrated last August 28. Born to a pagan father and a deeply Catholic mother, he grew up in a largely pagan society where education was dominated by men who opposed the teachings of Christ. His vices led him astray and his profound intellect steered him to error. One day a deep inner turmoil agitated his soul. Such a turbulent spiritual conflict drove him to an insatiable restlessness. His soul yearned for peace and serenity. And in this state of restive fury while in his garden at Milan, he heard a disquieting voice of an unseen child instructing him: “take and read!” In his perplexity he grabbed the nearest text on had and read Paul’s epistle to the Romans 13:13-14 “Let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.”

A flash of realization settled in his soul. He returned home a changed man. He would relate this transforming experience in his famous autobiography “Confessions” which is both a classic in spirituality and literature. “Our hearts are restless” writes Augustine, “until they rest in Thee!”

St. Augustine truly captured in words the common sentiment of the human heart. The symptoms of conflict, tension, war and meaninglessness outside us are all rooted in the inner emptiness of the soul. We seek God in wrong places. Until He fills us up our hearts remain restless.