Praying Unceasingly

29 July 2007. 17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 11, 1-13 Praying Unceasingly

The Gospel today tells about Jesus teaching his disciples to pray. And by baptism, He is teaching us how to pray. He teaches us His way of praying: the Our Father. He teaches us the attitude in prayer: perseverance and persistence. He teaches us never to stop praying, to stop asking, to hope that we would receive an answer from our persistent knocking. He asks us to keep looking, to continue searching and questioning so that someday we will find the answers to our questions. It is through our questioning that we progress. They say that civilization is the result of the question mark. He teaches us that we can also bargain with God as Abraham did for Sodom. Jesus teaches us that we can call on God anytime for help and He will provide for our needs. And He teaches us as St. Paul exhorts the early Christians, “to unceasingly pray.”

To pray unceasingly. Does this mean that we should not go out of this church? Is unceasing prayer dedicating our whole time kneeling, holding our missals and novenas, repeating the beads of the rosary forever? There are times we have to devote time for other things --- outside of ‘praying time’. We need to work and to study. We need to attend to our domestic and personal needs.

St. Isaac of Nineveh, also known as Isaac the Syrian, said, “When the Spirit has come to reside in someone, that person cannot stop prayer; for the Spirit prays without ceasing in him. No matter if he is asleep or awake, prayer is going on in his heart all the time. He may be eating or drinking, he may be resting or working --- the incense of prayer will ascend spontaneously from his heart. The slightest stirring of his heart is like a voice which sings in silence and in secret to the Invisible.”

Thus, it is the Spirit that we are able to pray. Paul says in his letters to the Galatians (4,6), “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ Thus, the Spirit enables us to pray the prayer of Jesus to His father, “Abba, Father! Our Father!” Paul also reminds the Romans (8, 26), “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning that cannot be uttered.”

How do we pray? First, we have to desire what we want to pray for. We must want what we pray, and want it with consuming passion. St. Ignatius insists, “Desire the desire.” There is a longing in our hearts that comes out of our life and influences our decisions. It is a longing for constancy in our relationships, a craving for love and affection, a desire for peace, joy and healing. We must want them so as to enflame our hearts.

How could our hearts desire things with passion? The answer may be surprising: repeat and repeat and repeat. Persistence. Perseverance in prayer. Our Christian Eastern tradition teaches us a prayer like breathing, like a mantra, like a psalm with a refrain. When we repeat, “The Lord is my shepherd”, we remember the whole Psalm. Our constant repetition let our hearts and minds focus to our one and deepest desire, and our entire self becomes the desire itself --- the word becomes flesh.

Be honest. When we fall in love, we repeat and repeat what we long for the other to hear: I love you. And the more we constantly rehearse the words, “I love you” in text messages, vocal renditions, non-verbal gestures, we grow to mean it so much. Until, in the repetitions, our hearts begins to become the desire, that the person in love bursts into flame, like a person with an acute fever. William James said, "Religion exists not as a dull habit, but as an acute fever." And when the words --- or the name of the person ---- become the constant longing of the heart, our entire being becomes the very desire. The whole of us want the person we love.

The same thing with prayer. When we ask, mean it. Repeat it. Mangkulit ka lang sa Diyos. Constantly knock. Constantly seek. Look closely if your desire is pure and true. But even if its imperfect, the Gospel tells us that the Holy Spirit would desire it for us. Eventually, when our desires are completed by the Holy Spirit, it comes, like a burning incense, to the presence of God.

Weed and Wheat

28 July 2007. Saturday of the 16^th Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 13, 24-30 The Weeds and the Wheat

There is a weed in the Palestinian field called the tare or the bearded darnel (lolium temulentum) which is an annual plant that occurs as a hated weed in grain fields and moist farm fields. The stalk is stiff, round, and hollow to grows to around 1-3 feet tall. It has linear flat leaves that are rolled up when young. Long, stiff bristles point upward from the flowers that have spikelets. The seed is small, yellow-brown to orange-brown. If you look at this description, it sounded like the description of wheat. It is because when the bearded darnel grows with the wheat, it is undistinguishable. Only when both mature that both the darnel and the wheat can be distinguished. By then, the roots of the darnel will be so entwined with the roots of the wheat that to pluck out one means to pluck out the other. Thus, it is made to grow together. It is also good to know that another name for the bearded darnel is “cheat weed.”

At harvest time, the wheat and the weed have to be separated. When large quantities of darnel seeds are ingested, they are poisonous; though doctors sometimes used them to treat dizziness, insomnia, blood congestion, skin problems (herpes, scurf and sores) and stomach problems. So, these seeds have to be separated by hand. In Palestine, the task of separation has been given to women who placed them on flat surfaces or baskets like the Philippine bilao used to separate small stones from rice grains.

There are things we learn from the Gospel. First, we know that good and bad elements influence or act upon our lives. We experience that there is something or someone who waits to destroy the goodness that we are. Each time we would like to be good, something comes along that devastates it like a growing anger, deep resentment, or an uncontrolled jealousy. Sometimes, it is in our manner of doing things or saying things. Because of these ‘bad’ elements in our lives, our resolution to be good is easily nipped at the bud.

Second, as the bearded darnel is allowed to grow with the wheat, so too with life. There are things that just grow and stay as we grow older. There are parts of ourselves that live double lives: we may be an amiable person to one and vicious to another --- or both: we may look amiable to a person, but our hearts stab the person to death.

Here we see the importance of the Consciousness Examen and Discernment of Spirits of St. Ignatius of Loyola. To separate the darnel seeds and the wheat is a laborious task. Difficult but possible. It means that we may be able to distinguish them after long times of prayer and self-awareness.

*weed in the Bellarmine field of the Ateneo de Manila University.

Talk without Speaking

26 July 2007. Thursday of the 16^th Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 13, 10-17 Talk without Speaking

There are things we do in our ordinary lives; some ordinary things; mundane and banal. Like walking to the jeepney stop or to the shopping center. Washing our clothes, cleaning our rooms or reading our textbooks. Some things you would not pay a lot of attention as throwing garbage or carrying our back packs. But the Gospel tells us that we need a special kind of eye, a special way of hearing, a special way of speaking to see God working in these ordinary things. It takes another special language to speak about these depth experiences, like the language of imagery, metaphors or parables. In the contemporary world, we evoke imagery and metaphor to communicate the most profound and most richly developed sense of experiencing the fullness of life. These images point past their very object to the very ultimate truth which must be told: that life does not have one absolute and fixed meaning. A photograph of the wedding of my parents may have different meanings for me or for my friends or for someone who does not know me. We are able to experience something beyond what we see. Haruki Murakami’s book, Kafka on the Shore, affirms that life is a big metaphor.

One of the most important things in life is an experience. Certain experiences cannot be completely explained or described. And how to communicate these profound experiences become very challenging. That is why Jesus used metaphors and parables to explain the Kingdom.

In the 1960s, Simon and Garfunkel was propelled to popularity by a song called, “The Sound of Silence.” Paul Simon wrote the song in the aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. He wrote the song to capture the emotional trauma felt by many Americans left by the sudden death of a vigorous and visionary leader. The song reached #1 in the charts on New Year’s Day in 1966. The some of the lyrics of the song holds the same meaning as that of the Gospel:

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence.

In other words, the Christian is called to have depth. Hindi mababaw, kundi malalim. Someone who can see reality in the eyes of God. Someone who could read between the lines; see meaning beyond the ordinary things we do. Someone with a special ability: to see beyond what one sees; to hear beyond what one hears; to speak about the mystery of life. Or perhaps, the deepest is when one can communicate without speaking (as lovers do with their eyes or with their intuition or with their hearts), one can hear another without their using their ears (as lovers again do). When one is at home with silence, you get to hear the voice of God. Loud and clear.

*the labyrinth at Mirador Jesuit Reatreat House in Baguio City. The Labyrinth leads you towards its center. The labyrinth is used for prayer.

Never Defeated

25 July 2007 Feast of St. James, the Apostle
2 Corinthians 4, 7-15 Never Defeated

Have you ever experienced being pushed against the wall and there is nothing you can do? Or encounter a dilemma or a predicament where there is no solution in sight? Or faced with a physical disability that hinder your movement? Life has given us a lot of infirmities: physical, emotional, spiritual. Some of us are stuck with an issue for life. Some have experienced being abandoned by their parents, abused by a family member or dropped like a hot potato by a lover. Some of us carry a secret or a family feud that overburdens us. There are those who are terminally ill; but refused to be defeated by their illness. Today, the father of one of our students who died 40 days ago texted me and asked for our prayers. The son was a graduating student and died in his sleep. Two years earlier, their daughter also died. These are just some examples of people who are pushed against the wall, hard pressed, at wit’s end (windang na!), persecuted by gossip and ridicule, or experienced a series of failures.

The first reading from the letter of Paul to the Corinthians tells us of the spirit of the Christian in the midst of darkness. How can we see the glory of God in the midst of misery? First, when hemmed in or tight on a corner, the Christian finds a way out or an alternative solution. The foreigners who come to visit Payatas during my time there agree with one thing. You get to see the smile of people while sorting out garbage. You get to hear the laughter of children and see them playing on rubbish heaps.

Second, when persecuted by gossip and ridiculed by colleagues, or ostracized and bullied, the Christian never believes that he or she is alone. This is the experience of martyrs. Joan of Arc said when all of her friends abandoned her, “It is better to be alone with God. His friendship will not fail me, nor his counsel, nor his love. In his strength, I will dare and dare and dare until I die.” Christians believes what Isaiah said, “I will never forget you. Even if a mother forsakes her child, I will not forget you. I have carved you in the palms of my hand.”

Third, when at wit’s end, Christians still believes there is a solution somewhere. A Christian may be helpless, but never hopeless. The Christian believes that there is still something that can be done. We may not see where we’re going or where life is leading us --- as students in the middle of there college years; but we believe that we are going somewhere.

Finally, we may experience a series of disappointments, defeats, and failures, however, we believe that these failures are not the last word. When knocked down, we rise up again --- never knocked out. That is what we are: when we fall as Christ fell on the ground while carrying the cross; we rise again. And when we fall again, we muster all our strength and then rise again. Again and again. It is the cycle of death and life; of dying and rising again.

Undeniably one of the most enriching experiences I have this year is to be with the UP Maroons. Despite repeated losses, UP students continued cheering, “UP fight!” And after each defeat, the Maroons would pray and hope at their dug out. Around 1820 thereabouts, Ludwig van Beethoven composed his greatest works when he was almost totally deaf: 5 piano sonatas, the Missa Solemnis, the 9^th Symphony with its chorale finale and the last 5 string quartets. The present age gives us Lance Armstrong, an American road racing cyclist, sports awarded, who survived cancer. In other words, the reading tells us that our spirits are never confined by our disabilities. We discover our illimitability: our mortality already holds the eternal.

* UP musicians, members of Musica Chiesa (Church Music), out of their spirits before Harry Potter. Musica Chiesa plays at 11:00 AM Sunday Student Masses. Taken at Eastwood City.

Stretching Our Hands

24 July 2007 Tuesday of the 16^th Week in Ordinary Time
Exodus 14, 21 – 15,1 and Matthew 12, 46-50 Stretching one’s hands

All the readings today mentioned the phrase, “stretch out his hand” and it produced a certain result. When Moses stretched out his hand, the Red Sea parted and Israel was able to walk on dry land. The result thus was new life for the Israelites. When Jesus stretched out his hand to illustrate that whoever ‘does the will of the Father’ becomes [father], ‘mother, brother or sister to me,’ the result was membership in the family of God. There is another that comes to my mind: Peter. Jesus said, “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” (John 21, 18). Common interpretation looks at this as a foretaste of Peter’s crucifixion. But let me see: when Peter stretched out his hand, he lived his promised of faithful discipleship.

The word ‘stretch’ means to make bigger, to elongate, to widen, to extend, to enlarge, to broaden so that whatever is stretched reaches its maximum capacity, as a rubber band attains its limits. In terms of our body, we need to be stretched. Muscles and connective tissues shorten over time; they weaken and become stiff; and then they lose their flexibility. When we stretch, we are conditioning our body to hurdle much difficult tasks; that is why athletes stretch before practice and before the game itself. When we are stretched, we experience a pulling sensation; often it is painful and uncomfortable; and stretching is done repeatedly pushing one’s limit further but gradually.

In the same way, we do experience being stretched. Studies are stretching exercises. We push our limits further but gradually. Studies entail discipline and pain. But it widens our horizons. It extends our knowledge. It broadens our minds. It makes us think bigger and brighter. It pushes our minds to its maximum capacity. When Moses stretched out his hand, he was looking at the wide Red Sea that seems impossible to traverse. There are many Red Seas in our lives that looked difficult to cross or navigate. It may be the bar or board exams; or a difficult subject as math or physics; or a family or financial crisis. When we stretch our minds, and widen our horizons, we often discover a solution. The ‘Red Sea’ after all is navigable!

In our affiliations, organizations, companies, departments, or interest groups, we get to meet somebody different from us. Their personalities are strong and intimidating. Their ways are quite unique and unusual. Their opinions oppose ours. Their manner of dressing tests our conventions. And they challenge us to widen our networks so that people who are distinct, eccentric, peculiar, and weird can enter our world. Our personal circle is thus stretched to include them. When Jesus stretched his hand to include non-relatives into his family, he welcomed all including the strange. Thus, everybody finds a place in the heart of Christ.

Finally, all our commitments require the greatest stretch. It involves the whole of our being. It demands our very lives. In one of our healing concerts, we encountered a couple named Bryan and Julie, whose 3-month old baby, Timothy, was very sick. Timothy’s brain did not fully develop. When Bryan was telling his story, I felt stretched and ripped apart. Of course, nothing beats what Bryan and Julie are undergoing; or even Timothy. In our lives, we are asked to stretch out our hands even when we do not like it.

For what? For love. For friendship. For family. For God. In Khaled Hosseini’s book, The Kite Runner (2003), the main character, Amir, tells his story in the midst of war in Afghanistan. He had a bestfriend, Hassan, the son of his father’s servant. In that book, Hassan suffers and is betrayed by him. But Hassan remained faithful to Amir. He said to Amir: ‘a thousand times over.” Love stretches us further. Even until death. Somewhere I read that our hearts can accommodate the universe.

Predicaments

23 July 2007 Monday of the 16^th Week in Ordinary Time
Exodus 14, 5-18 The Exodus

When I was young, many Christian communities would show the 1956 Cecil DeMille’s film, The Ten Commandments, as a fund-raising event or an appropriate film for the Holy Week. In my hometown in Camalig, Albay, I used to sit on the grass or the plaza’s floor watching mobile movies projected on a white wall or a screen. I remember the part when the Egyptians were pursuing the Israelites who panicked and didn’t know what to do. Moses, would calm the people, and exhort them not to fear. He would then go to an elevated place overlooking the sea and then stretch out his arms for the parting of the Red Sea. That was for me the climax of the movie; the scenes that succeeded did not have the same impact as the pursuit of the Hebrew slaves and the parting of the sea. The film became the template for the imagination when adults and children alike read and discuss the Exodus. The parting of the Red Sea won an Oscar for special effects. The cast of thousands was a first. The motion picture was grand.

But we never realized how difficult it was for the Israelites. We used to blame them for being so terrible, that they lack trust, that they questioned God, that they blamed Moses for bringing them out of Egypt only to die (“Were there no burial places in Egypt that you had to bring us out here to die in the desert? Far better for us to be slaves of the Egyptians than to die in the desert.”).

When we are in a predicament, we become like the Israelites who begin to question our faith and look for something or someone to blame like someone in leadership. When God leads us to a tight place, cornered and outnumbered, no person to turn to, overwhelmed, and intimidated, we find ourselves in panic and fear. This example is pertinent to our reviewees for the medical or bar exams: the enormous demand to read all the books before August or September is intimidating! Our tendency is to run, to fight or to tell everybody how difficult our situation is. The Red Sea in our lives is wide and uncrossable. And there is no solution in sight.

Moses understood the predicament of his fellow Hebrews. Except he tells them, “Fear not! Stand your ground. The Lord will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”

The counsel of Moses came as a surprise. How can you not fear? Or stand your ground? Or worse, keep still? But further reflection tells us today that this counsel to people in a predicament is wise. Usually, we cannot see solutions when our minds are confused and rattled. We cannot think outside of the box; we tend to take tried methods only to find that they are antiquated. When we calm ourselves down and keep still, our mind is freed from distractions. Our minds become elucidated and focused. We get to see the land bridge.

Furthermore, to stand our ground in the midst of a predicament is a wise counsel. St. Ignatius of Loyola tells us not to decide when on extreme situations or emotions: too happy, too sad, too lonely, too confused. But decide when on an equilibrium. When our minds are not inclined to either poles, our decisions tend to be balanced and correct. Because our minds are clear and calm. And all Red Seas are passable.

The Necessary Thing

22 July 2007 16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Genesis 18, 1-10a and Luke 10, 38-42: Martha & Mary

It is good to know that Jesus have real and personal friends. We hear from Luke that Mary, Martha and Lazarus were brothers and sisters who had a house in Bethany. Bethany was located on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives on the road linking Jerusalem to Jericho, around 30 mins walk. Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived together in a house owned by Martha (Luke said that Martha welcomed the Lord in her house). Their house was very near the Garden of Gethsemane, whom the Lord frequented for prayer while he and his disciples were in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Thus, the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus was a convenient place to stay when the troupe of Jesus visited Jerusalem for any Jewish festival or on some other event.

The two women dealt with their special guest, Jesus, in two ways: Martha did all the preparing and the cooking; while Mary listened to him. Martha then asked Jesus to ask Mary to help her. Here, the point of the Gospel is highlighted: the good portion is hearing the Word of God. The Greek word for hearing is kouein which is better translated as ‘listening favorably’. Thus it is not just any kind of hearing, but a favorable listening: interested, involved, and engrossed.

Many believers sadly make the conclusion that there is a conflict between our secular needs and our spiritual growth. Many think that we have to choose between listening to the Lord like Mary or serving the Lord like Martha. We only need a little imagination. If there were only two people in the house, and a guest arrives, one has to take either role: one has to prepare some food for the guest, and the other should do the entertaining. Both roles are part of welcoming a stranger or a friend. It is hospitality at its best.

Even Abraham in the first reading took the role of Martha. On the arrival of three guests, Abraham told them to rest while he prepared food for them and a basin of water for washing their feet. He instructed Sarah to make bread; a servant to prepare a steer* from the herd; and he himself fetched some curds and milk for the strangers.

Good things can fill our lives to the point that we neglect our souls. God gave us many good things like our families, friends, talents, jobs. He has given us opportunities for service and leadership. He has paved the way for us to belong to a certain group. But these good things must not be used as an excuse to abandon some time with Him. In a hectic day, a few moments of listening favorably to Him; a few minutes conversing with him as you walk from the Economics Building to Palma Hall, or even as you wait for the Philcoa jeep to take you to your destination.

The question then is about priorities. The word used is the ‘better portion’: therefore, our daily routine is a part of our faith life, but our relationship with God should be the wellspring of all our actions. Our relationship with God gives meaning, purpose and inspiration to our daily work. It is what wakes us up in the morning; influences our decisions; gives us a sense of direction; or contains the stuff of our loving. Jesus said that our love for our neighbor comes from our love for God.

This gives us a balanced approach to serving God.

*a steer is a castrated bull.

The Bruised Reed and the Smoldering Wick

21 July 2007 Saturday of the 15^th Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 12, 14-21 The Smoldering Wick and the Bruised Reed

The Gospel lays down for us some characteristics of Jesus quoted from the prophet Isaiah. God calls Jesus, “my beloved in whom my soul finds delight!

First, God said that He will bring to the nations justice. For the Greeks, justice means giving to God and fellow people what is due to them. Remember Jesus laid out for us the proper place of God and people. He said, “Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength” (first commandment); and, “love your neighbors as you love yourself” (2^nd commandment). The second commandment flows from the first. Our loving our neighbors flows from our love of God. In other words we cannot say, “I love my friends, thus I love God.” Not necessarily. Loving God entails having time for Him too. Those who love God first and foremost will have a different lifestyle. They would see the importance of retreats and recollections. They would talk sincerely about their personal devotions. They would spend time listening to God, than just spontaneously talking and talking and talking without giving God the space to speak to us too (and giving ourselves the option to listen). On the other hand, there are philanthropists, scientists and issue-oriented people who are genuinely concerned about global warming, gender equality, poverty and other issues that affect us. But their way of living will be different.

Second, the Gospel says, “He will not strive, nor cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.” This second characteristic is pertinent for us today whose conflict management style is solving disagreements by shouting each other down. Ang mahina ang boses talo. The loudest voice (yes, booming, screaming, screeching voice) wins. You see, the phrase for “cry aloud” is the Greek word used for the barking of a dog, the croaking of a frog, the bawling of the drunk, and the uproar of discontented mob. Jesus is the exact opposite. In an argument, he first listens to what the other person is saying, empathizing and understanding his point. He does not shout, bark, croak, screech, scream, bawls, and uproars.

Third, the Gospel says, “He does not break the bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick.” This is important for many of us who may be too critical, negative or insensitive. Sometimes our comments add gasoline to the fire. There are times when we are crushed, hurting and bruised; and some people just have the talent to amplify our hurt, make mountains out of molehills, and aggravate our pain. There are times when our spirit is just smoldering especially when we experience a series of failures. When we fail in our exams, for example, we know why. And in the midst of this disappointment and our spirit is down, our parents would blame us with a litany of our faults. All we need is a shoulder to cry on or an encouraging word from them. There are more occasions that we don’t need a lecture, because we already know. What we need is sympathy, encouragement and perhaps a warm embrace.

Jesus came for the bruised reed and the smoldering wick. He heals the bruised reed, and makes sure it does not break. And most importantly, he encourages a smoldering wick. That those who experiences Him suddenly becomes passionate and on fire.

Passing Over

20 July 2007. Friday of the 15^th Week in Ordinary Time
Exodus 11, 10 – 12, 14 The Passover

The beginning of chapter 12 of Exodus tells us the origin the feast of the Passover. It came after the announcement of the final plague, the plague of the firstborn. Originally, this feast was a nomadic spring festival which Israel reinterpreted as a memorial of God’s saving act to Israel’s slavery. During that time, the Israelites believed that blood was the contribution of a deity to the sacrifice. Thus, smearing blood on the doorposts and the beams, holy places of the house, would protect the household from the destroyer or the angel of death. The feast must be eaten hastily for the immediate march out of Egypt. Thus, the Passover Feast means that the Lord has ‘passed over’ the houses of Israel during the plague. In the first reading, it was the Lord who ordained this feast; who commands Moses and Aaron, and who is worshiped by the people. The Israelites followed the Lord instructions; Moses and Aaron followed suit.

On the other hand, the plagues have been wrought because the Pharaoh did not obey God’s instructions given to him by Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh would not bow down to God; moreover, grant permission for the Israelites to leave.

Thus, to those who obeyed, freedom was granted; to those who didn’t, experienced God’s judgment. The Israelites made history; Pharaoh and the Egyptians became history.

The same thing is true to us. We know God’s will. It is clear. For students, God’s will is to study; for parents, God’s will is to become good parents. Moreover, we hear the Word of God at anytime: at mass and Christian gatherings, Catholic radio and television stations; Christian books and movies.

However, our struggle is not so much finding God’s will; but obeying God’s will. We obey only if it conveniences us. If we honestly look back at our lives, we spend more time resisting God’s will, than obeying them. When we sin, we find ourselves yielding to it, than resisting it.

Think about this: if people would just obey the traffic light, our life would have been better --- there would be no accidents. On the other hand, try to break rules in school: either you are expelled or you are suspended. In other words, when we obey, the angel of death passes over us. Thus, no deaths; no accidents; no misbehavior.

Asking Permissions

19 July 2007 Thursday of the 15^th Week in Ordinary Time
Exodus 3, 11-22 Asking Permissions

God says to Moses what his plans are in the first reading. The question is how Moses will ask permission from Jethro, his father-in-law. Moses approaches Jethro. Perhaps, he didn’t tell him about the burning bush --- lest he be branded a lunatic (Try doing that to one of your friends). But at least Moses was able to let Jethro know that something in his heart is stirring. For forty years, he had been silent about his life and background in Egypt. And he had been ‘running away’ since. Now, his past is catching up on him. He might have said to his father-in-law, “It’s time for me to return to Egypt. Some unfinished business needs attention. Or else, I will be like Casper, the friendly ghost.”

I had to talk to my parents the first time I heard God’s invitation to take a new direction . My brothers and sisters were very young then. I had to tell them about taking the road to priesthood and the first step was an adventurous life in Mindanao. My parents expected me to take biology (which I did) but for medicine. My spiritual director went through the discernment with me, confirming my call through prayer. Now, I can imaging myself like Moses when I approached my dad about leaving home for some adventure.

I guess they had to know. I knew that God had been nagging me, but my parents didn’t. I knew that God wanted me to take a different turn, but they didn’t. And true, the major turn was upsetting, frightening, and disorienting --- especially to my parents. At least, I was not lacking in informing them how God had changed plans, without consulting them.

Thus, when God brings you to a new direction today, be sensitive to how you tell your parents and those whom you love, and those who love you. Don’t expect them to understand right away. They may get very reactive at first, but at least, as your parents, give them space. Give them time to weigh things over. Often, their outbursts mean well.

But as all adventures, God gives us one assurance, “I will be with you till the end of time.” We may get hurt in the process; or find that the road was not meant for us. Nevertheless, the reason why I took great risks is simple: I do not want to die asking the “what ifs” in life. It might be too late to change course.

Forty Years to the Burning Bush

18 July 2007 Wednesday of the 15^th Week in Ordinary Time
Exodus 3, 1-6, 9-12 The Burning Bush

Forty-years ago, Moses fled from Egypt like a fugitive running for his life. He was leaving a comfortable life with the protection of no less than the Pharaoh. He was leaving behind an education of hieroglyphics and Egyptian culture. He was saying goodbye to a palace and a place of recognition. He was like a Prince William or a Prince Harry. Forty-years ago, he was ending a good life for life of obscurity in a deserted place called Midian. He would eventually marry Ziphora, a daughter of Jethro a shepherd. For forty-years God was silent.

Then the first reading opens to this one day among all other days. An ordinary day at an ordinary time when God would suddenly break into his forty years of silence. In an ordinary time, God comes suddenly and without warning. No special signs. No alerts or warning sounds for God’s coming. Perhaps, the night before, Moses would look at his flock and wondered about his life forty-years ago. He might have been saying to himself, “If I didn’t slay the Egyptian, I would have been a high ranking official in Egypt. People --- not sheep --- would follow my voice.”

The forty years of silence for Moses would have molded him to become ready for the enormous task that the Lord has ordained him to do. Maybe the forty years gave him ample time to reflect on his actions, and perhaps, repent from it. Maybe the forty years made Moses heart more inclined towards being a servant. Imagine yourself a prince. It would be more likely that you will be arrogant and proud, accustomed to ordering people around. You will feel entitled. This is far from the stance of a servant, whose heart is only to do his master’s command. Midian would have taught Moses what shepherding means: from caring for a flock of sheep to a flock of people. Or maybe the forty years of hardship made Moses strong and firm; things he would need in order to lead a whole nation out of Egypt.

What is the point in this reflection of Moses? It means that leadership is not a right, but a responsibility. A leader should undergo a desert experience: the time to reflect on his personal strengths and limitations, life and organizational direction, etc. It means that a leader ought to undergo long years of preparation before he takes the stand or the corner office. Think of the many years you spent studying, preparing for what you want to be. We spend more than half of our lives preparing, in fact, the whole of our lives are a preparation for that big event as eternal life.

For those who are in the middle of studies or training, and are asking the question, “How long? Why very long?” Then this is for you. The answer is clear: such is life! We become great doctors because we prepared ourselves well. We become great lawyers because we burned the midnight oil. We become great leaders because we spent years training to be one. But it is not just about skills. In the process we train our heart.

So, we will be prepared for our burning bush experience; the experience when God suddenly breaks into our ordinary lives and makes clear what He wants us to be. It may be the time when we pass the board or bar exams. It may be the time when someone asks, “Will you marry me?” It may be the time when we are finally asked to make a decision to pronounce perpetual vows. It can be anything at anytime, when all of our lives are placed into perspective. At that time, it is expedient that our hearts be on fire, as a burning bush. When we are so aflame, like falling crazily in love, we can do anything.

To do anything is possible. The burning bush had God in it. Put all of your ‘forty years’ experience, a heart aflame with God: you can lead a whole nation to salvation.

The Surge of Emotions We Regret

17 July 2007 Tuesday of the 15^th Week in Ordinary Time
Genesis 2, 1-15a. The Surge we Easily Regret

Have you ever done something in your younger years that you still regret? Perhaps you broke the precious vase your mother cherished because it was an heirloom. Or, you stole money from the wallet of your father. For fear that you will get caught; you do all sorts of things to cover up it up. But not just that, there are things we do and may be right, but it was done at the wrong time.

Take for example a soccer player who worked himself up for the game, and in the night prior to the sport, had broken his arm from a fight with another kid over his girlfriend. He forfeits his chance of playing, and at the same time, jeopardizes the years of hard work. Take another example of a good student, who with the lapse of judgment, got herself pregnant and kicked out of school. These are a few things that we do without discernment.

Put yourself in Moses’ shoes. He saw an Egyptian maltreating a Hebrew. He got angry, and as Scripture had it, he “looked around, and seeing no one, slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.” The sentence looked very simple and pretty, but if you imagine the whole scene, you get to see a murder scene at the beginning of a CSI Las Vegas episode. He hid the body on sand, hoping no one would know, but the next day, it was all over the papers. The Hebrews knew it. The Egyptians knew it. Perhaps, in his panic, he was not able to hide the dead man a few inches underground. Here is about murder and Moses’ attempts at cover-ups.

There are many ways to conceal our shameful acts. In high school, we are pretty sure that we have witnesses when someone cheats. To cover up, they would pretend they do not know, with an innocent look as that of Puss in Boots in the Shrek series. To hide their misdeeds, they would conceal the truth with a lie or a half-truth. Some would even devise a plan to erase the mischief. It is a matter of time that the truth catches up. And the sand would soon show its hidden corpse. It will not take long that we begin to feel the tug of our conscience, the pain of our guilt, and the disturbance of our hearts. For the Prince of Egypt, it means leaving the whole palace to a deserted place called Midian.

In our faith, it is not just Moses who murdered someone. We have St. Paul who persecuted the Christians and enjoyed the stoning of St. Stephen. We also have St. Macarius the Younger who murdered his father. In our archives we know the story of Augustine and Ignatius and many other saints who have sired children in their younger days and regretted their deed.

Will a dark or a sinful past hinder one to become a great leader? The answer is a great, NO!” The Lord can make a great leader out of a sinful person. The requirement is simple: Hiding a wrong does not erase it. It needs one to be vulnerable and accepting even if it is risky.

Receing the Lord

16 July 2007 Monday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time Matthew 10, 34-11, 1: Simple Deeds

We shall reflect on verses 40-42 in the Gospel today: Jesus said, “He who receives you, receives Me; and he who receives Me, receives the One who sent Me.”

In the history of salvation, there is a certain process. God first loves us. He provides for our needs. He protects us from harm. He listens to our needs and our prayers. In the first reading, we begin to see the cry of the Israelites as the new Pharaoh persecutes them. Responding to their need, God sends Moses, the baby whom the Pharaoh’s daughter rescues from the Nile. Likewise, God sends His only Son, Jesus, to save us. Jesus brought God’s message of love to us. And in turn, Jesus formed his disciples to spread the Good News to believers --- to us. And finally, the believer receives the message from these disciples, as the believer would receive Jesus himself.

Verses 40-42 give the principle of hospitality. In the past, they believe that receiving the messenger or emissary of the person is the same as welcoming the person who sent them. We often call them, representatives because they make present the one who sent them. It is the same way when we receive a visitor. The visitor may be a stranger to us; it may be the first time we met them. But, we would receive them wholeheartedly because the visitor is a friend of our friend. We would still treat them as we would our friend. We define hospitality when we say, “Feel at home”.

Jesus said that receiving Jesus, becoming a disciple, can be done in the simplest of things like a drink of cold water. The stress on simple things is prominent in the passage of the day. Therefore, service, as menial as home chores, are great in God’s eyes. We should not look down on these simple tasks. Washing clothes will not demean your professorship. Going to the wet market will not undermine your status as a doctor or a mayor of the town. It also tells us that a Christian condescend any one whose job is to do the ‘dirty work’ --- our janitors, maintenance staff, or our house helps.

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez was a Jesuit brother whose assignment was a doorkeeper (receptionist or porter in modern language) at the college of Montesión in Palma, on an island of Majorca, Spain. As doorkeeper, his duty was to receive the visitors who came to the college, search out the fathers or students who were wanted in the parlors, deliver letters, run errands, console the sick at heart who, having no one to turn to, came to him, and giving alms to the needy. In his memoirs, he tells us that each the time bell rang he looked at the door and envisioned that it was God who was standing outside seeking admittance. On his way to the door, he would say, “I’m coming Lord!” Every visitor was greeted the same happy smile from Alphonsus. In his interest in the students, who regularly came to him for advice, he talks about his devotion to Our Lady. One student who came to visit him was the young Peter Claver who would soon be a Jesuit saint in his mission to slaves.

The simple duties at home can make us saints.

Non-Discriminatory Compassion

14 July 2007 15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 10, 25-37 The Good Samaritan

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is found only in Luke. The parable is important because it expands the meaning of ‘neighbor’ and illustrates that compassion is for all people. The story begins with a victim of robbery attack who was left on the road to die. Three passers-by saw him: a priest, who avoided him in view of purity laws; a Levite, a priestly class, who avoided him; and a Samaritan, considered an enemy of the Jews, who helped him. Today, the popularity of the parable can be found in how people understand the present-day Samaritan. A Samaritan today means a generous individual who provides aid to a needy person without hesitation. Thus, a Samaritan is someone who gives a positive response to the call of the Gospel. Their response is non-discriminatory. Their generosity is beyond race or segmentation or classification that we use in our lives.

The image of the Samaritan can be used therefore in several contexts. The reverse order is also true: an atheist helping a Catholic, a Catholic eating comfortably with a born-again evangelical, a homophobic assisting a homosexual, members of Alpha Phi Omega (APO) assisting a Tau Gamma, an UPSILON helping a member of the Sigma Rho in law school, an Ateneo basketball player befriending a UP Maroons cager (which actually happens), but greater still, an Atenean having fun with a La Sallite (joke!).

The parable’s message is explosive for many of us whose greatest talent is to categorize, classify, and catalogue people. The parable teaches us that an individual of a social group they disapprove or consider a rival can exhibit a superior moral behavior to their opponent in need. It also means that not sharing the same faith, interest or affiliate is no excuse to behave poorly. It also means that we can rise above our prejudices and let our human heart see the heart of another in need.

The parable also has some spiritual implications. The people expected to help, like the priest and the Levites, did not lift a finger to help the dying man while the Samaritan, whom we didn’t expect to help, did offer his services and restored the person to life. During the ministry of Jesus, Jesus helped those who are considered outcasts and sinners. For the priest and the Levite, to touch a dead person means to go through the purity rituals in order to be clean again may be inconvenient. Holy people do not associate with those who are ‘sick’ or else they too become impure.

But like all parables of Jesus, the image of the Samaritan sticks because it asks rather bluntly: Would we help only when it is convenient? Should we go out of our way to show compassion, even if it means to suffer the brunt of gossip and persecution?

Let me give you a case: A prostitution den is not a place for priests. Any priest who would go there would scandalize many. So who then could be sent there?

Two saints were reformed prostitutes: Margaret of Cortona and Mary of Egypt. Two saints worked for the reformation of prostitutes: St. John Eudes and a Jesuit, St. John Francis Regis.

Facing Our Fears

14 July 2007 Saturday of the 14^th Week in Ordinary Time
Genesis 49, 29-32 & 50, 15-26a. Matthew 10, 24-33 Facing our Fears

The first reading and the Gospel lies a basic feeling of fear. When Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers feared that Joseph would avenge their ill-treatment of them. They thought that Joseph had been holding a grudge against them, and waiting for their father’s death to get back at them. Similarly, the Gospel assured those who would follow Jesus that they should not be afraid of those who would reject or persecute them, for God would not forget anyone.

When we were afraid, we actually feared separation or disconnection. The brothers of Jesus feared that they would be disconnected from Joseph’s favor. That Joseph would withdraw his affection for them. In the Gospel, the would-be follower of Jesus might feel abandoned by God in the midst of persecution. How many of us felt that God forgot us when we were victims of gossip? How many of felt that God had abandoned us when our prayers were unanswered? How many of us felt that despite our being faithful mass goers, we still experienced dejection and failure?

Now, when feel these feelings, we discover a basic lack of trust. We become afraid when we do not trust the world or the people in it. We become frightened, terrified, panicky, alarmed, anxious, and worried. Some even become suspicious and intimidated by others. When we are intimidated, we think that the person might snob us, look on us condescendingly or take out their attention. Sometimes we would run away from intimate relationships because we believe people cannot be trusted. Often, we would be afraid that if we allow people to get close to us, they might hurt us deeply by leaving us. Perhaps we have been traumatized when we were young --- we were abandoned by a member of a family or someone we loved left us.

The readings help us face our sense of distrust. The brothers talked about their fears to Joseph. When we are able to articulate and identify our fears, the fear loses its power and control over us. The disciples believed in the assurance that God never forgets us, that He sees everything we do, and thus, will not abandon us. Why? Because we are worth more than many sparrows. The more we assure ourselves that God’s love is never withdrawn, we can look at fear in the eye, and the power of fear over us fades. We learn to trust.

We can turn our fears into opportunities to build our trust in God and in others. The brothers have to trust in Joseph’s assuring promise that he would take care of them. “I would provide for you and your family,” he said. The disciple should trust the words of Jesus, “Every strand of hair is accounted for.” By embracing and transforming our fears into trust, we become stronger. We begin to see the world in a different light.

People Change

12 July 2007 Thursday of the 14^th Week in Ordinary Time Genesis 44: 18-21, 23b-29, 45:1-5 People change

People change. The first reading tells us of Judah, the brother of Joseph. Upon returning with his brothers to the palace, afraid of what might befall them when Joseph’s steward found his silver goblet in Benjamin’s sack (which we know Joseph planted), Judah approached Joseph with a speech. He then said, “If then the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, whose very life is bound up with his, he will die as soon as he sees that the boy is missing; and your servants will thus sent the white head of our father down to the nether world in grief. Besides, I, your servant, got the boy from his father by going surety for him saying, ‘If I fail to bring him back to you, father, you can hold it against me forever.’ Let me, your servant, therefore, remain in place of the boy as the slave of my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. How could I go back to my father if the boy were not with me? I could not bear to see the anguish that would overcome my father” (Genesis 44, 31-34).

Twenty years earlier, it was Judah who proposed without remorse, “Here comes that master dreamer! Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. We shall then see what comes of his dreams.” (Genesis 37, 19-20). Then Judah said, “What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood? Rather, let us sell him to these traders instead of doing away with him ourselves” (Genesis 37, 26-27).

In the reading, Judah is now pleading for his youngest brother’s life.

Secondly, he was pleading on behalf of his aging father. Earlier, he did not care how his father would think and feel at the loss of his son, Joseph. Sure, they were Rachel’s sons, thus, Jacob’s favorites. But, by selling Joseph to traders, he would indirectly and cruelly hurt his aging father.

Now, Judah is sacrificing his life for Benjamin and his father. In effect, he says, “Send Benjamin to my father. I cannot bear to see the grief of my father for losing his favorite son. Take me instead of him.”

People change, including Joseph. He was arrogant: “There will come a time, when all of you will bow before me!” Even if it was a dream interpretation, a prudent person would not say this to anyone. And in a time when his dream is being fulfilled, with all of his brothers bowing to him, Joseph could retaliate or avenge himself. When we are in an opportunity to get even, we usually take the chance.

But Joseph didn’t. The arrogant teenager has changed. He said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt. But now do not be distressed, and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here. I was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you.”

People change. Have you?

Joseph

11 July 2007 Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbott
Gen 41, 55-7; 42, 5-7, 17-24: Joseph

The first reading is one of the most touching and dramatic stories in the Bible: the story of Joseph. Joseph was the first born of Jacob and Rachel. He easily became the favorite of Jacob and the cause of his brothers’s envy. He was sold to Egypt by his brothers. In Egypt, he found himself at the service of Potiphar, Pharoah’s eunuch and captain of the royal bodyguards. A great manager of his household, he was favored by his master and became the object of passion by the lady of the house. He was then falsely accused of adultery, and sent to prison. Because he was skilled in interpreting dreams, he was able to read the dreams that disturbed the Pharoah. With the Pharoah’s authority, he became the keeper of the royal seal, second only to the throne. He married Aseneth, the daughter of an Egyptian priest, and had two sons, Ephraim and Manasses. He then managed the whole project of storing grain to prepare for the seven years of famine as he predicted.

His family came to him during the seven years of famine. As governor, his brothers knelt before him, their faces on the ground, asking for grain. This is the fulfillment of Joseph’s dream, the very same dream that moved his brothers to sell him to Egypt. His brothers did not recognize Joseph in his stately stature; but Joseph recognized them as he saw them. Concealing his identity, he gave them the grain they needed, confined one of them in Egypt, and requested Benjamin to be brought to him as testimony of their honesty. Upon Benjamin’s appearance in Egypt, Joseph invited them to feast at his own home and seated them according to their age, and provided his youngest brother with greater food as a sign of distinction. Eventually, Joseph then tested his brothers by putting his divining cup in Benjamin’s sack. Upon discovery, the brothers returned in anguish to Joseph’s house. Judah pleaded for mercy, and offered himself in place of Benjamin whom their father loved. It was here that Joseph disclosed himself and invited Jacob and his whole family to settle in Egypt.

Some short insights. First, the sons of Joseph have certain meaning in Hebrew. Manasseh means 'to forgive/forget' and Ephraim means 'twice fruitful'. Joseph must have placed memories in his sons' names. With Manasseh, he would forgive and forget the sins of his brothers, the abandonment and loneliness in Egypt, the 'Mrs. Potiphars' in his life, the years in the dungeon and many other sufferings he endured. With Ephraim, he would remember that after all these sufferings, God has granted him many blessings twice over.

Perhaps, with us, we may consider why we have been less fruitful. Maybe we have been bogged down by our hurts in the past, that these hurts have hindered us from being more fruitful.

Second, the brothers in the first reading were bothered by their guilt and their conscience. And the first step towards resolution is to admit the responsibility of the things they had done. The brothers did not blame Jacob and his favoritism. They did not point a finger at young and arrogant Joseph that led them to sell him. They did not justify their sins, attributing it to their psychological immaturity. The brothers just admitted their sins.

Joseph remains to this day one of the most beautiful characters in the Bible. Joseph and Jesus were both favored sons. They were recognized and exalted only after undergoing a series of humiliations and sufferings; but their sufferings brought salvation to those who caused them pain. But most importantly, Joseph and Jesus taught us the solution to strained relationships: forgiveness.

When Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers resurrected their fears that Joseph would avenge their ill-treatment of him. But Joseph calmed their dread and assured them of his love.

Struggling with God

10 July 2007 Tuesday of the 14^th Week in Ordinary Time Genesis 32, 23-33 Jacob and the Angel

The story of Jacob wrestling with the angel in the first reading today has been depicted in art. Rembrandt van Rijn (1569), Gustave Dore (1855), Eugene Delacroix (1861) and Paul Gauguin (1888) are among the many painters inspired by the scene. The paintings and the scene from Genesis 32, 23-33 needs some explanation.

Jacob and Esau were twins; sons of Isaac and Rebekah. Esau was born first, and Jacob came afterwards holding Esau’s heel. As the firstborn, Esau holds the birthright. What is the birthright? The birthright granted superior rank and the priestly office in the family, plus a double portion in the inheritance given by the father. Moreover, in this story, it also means the blessing of Abraham, which promised that his descendants will be a source of blessing for all nations.

When Isaac was old and blind, he wanted to give his blessing to Esau. Isaac then sent Esau to hunt to prepare a meal before his blessing. When Rebekah heard this, she sent Jacob instead to Isaac’s tent, preparing a meal of goatmeat and covering his body with goat hair since Esau was hairy. Thus, when Esau returned for his blessing, he discovered that Jacob deceived Isaac and took his birthright. Esau vowed to kill Jacob.

Jacob escaped from Esau’s wrath by fleeing to the house of Laban, Rebekah’s brother. Laban had two daughters, Leah and Rachel, whom Jacob would take as his wives. Jacob fell in love with the youngest, Rachel. But Laban would deceive Jacob on his wedding day by disguising Leah as the bride instead of Rachel. Jacob would work for 7 more years to be able to take Rachel as his wife. To Leah, Jacob would father Reuben, Simon, Levi & Judah; Rachel was barren, so she gave her handmaid Bilhah who bore Dan and Napthtali. On the other hand, Leah found her childbearing ceasing, so she gave also her handmaid, Zilpah, who bore, Gad and Asher. Leah became fertile again, and bore Issachar, Zebulun and Dinah. Finally, God remembered Rachel who gave birth to Jacob’s favorite sons, Joseph and Benjamin.

With Jacob becoming richer than Laban’s sons, Jacob decided to return to Canaan. He sent emissaries to Esau with a present to his brother. Eventually Esau came to meet him with 400 men. In Jacob’s apprehension, he prepared for the worse. Here we come to the first reading today. Jacob was preparing for the worse, so he spent some time with God in prayer. Jacob thought that at this point, there is no one to turn to, but God. A man (Gen 32, 24) or an angel (Hosea 12,4) appeared and wrestled with Jacob till daybreak. Since Jacob was strong and the man/angel could not overpower him, he touched Jacob on the sinew of his thigh or the sciatic nerve which made Jacob limp. Jacob demanded a blessing from him; and the mysterious man/angel would change Jacob’s name into Israel, meaning, “one who has struggled with God.”

Esau would eventually forgive Jacob in an emotional reunion. And when Isaac died, both Esau and Jacob would bury their father.

Many of us struggle with God; and especially struggle with the truth in our lives. We have been professional liars that often, we begin to live the lie itself. There are truths in our families that we would rather hide or deny. There are truths in our past that are shameful and hurting that we would rather relegate them to history. There are truths about who we are and what we are that we would rather disguise, afraid that if our friends discover our secrets they would leave us or despise us. The struggle to finally come face to face with the truth ---- the Truth is God --- takes a long time; and these times are like Jacob’s struggle in darkness.

Eventually when we surrender to the truth, we are liberated from our fears. Our lives change, as Jacob’s name changed to Israel. And eventually, when we are able to accept and reconcile with our lies and bring our darkest secrets to the light, we are able to live in peace, as Esau and Jacob come together and bury the hatchet. But more importantly, when we struggle, we discover the importance of the ties that bind us. We discover who counts in our lives.

Study Towards Excellent Service

8 July 2007 14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 10, 1-9 Being Effective Ministers of the Word of God

Jesus sends a lot of people. He sends the Twelve Apostles. Now, He sends seventy-two others in pairs, as emissaries ahead of him, “in every town and places He intends to visit.” Perhaps to check whether the places will be open to His teachings. If all of us Christians are missioned, what is the best preparation to become effective? How do we come to a total transformation of ourselves?

We want to change. We want to replace old destructive habits of thought with new life-giving habits. We hate to find ourselves easily judgmental, angry and vengeful. We do not like something in ourselves, and we want to get rid of it. We are imprisoned by our fears and anxieties. Many of us may fulfill our church duties, sing our hearts out, pray and live obediently, but we are still unchanged. The Lord said, “the truth will set us free!” Thus, our ecstatic experiences and ‘getting high on Jesus’ will not set us free from these destructive habits of thought, these fears and anxieties. What would set us free is the knowledge of the truth.

Nowhere could we see this knowledge of the truth than in studying. Many of us are hampered and confused because we are ignorant of the truth. How many parishioners in UP decided to attend other masses when they saw dancers? They didn’t know that there is, in Church worship, what we call liturgical dances, and dances have been constitutive of the manner of worship, with no other than King David worshipping God in dance! Ignorance indeed! St. Paul said in his letter to the Romans (12, 2) that we are transformed through the renewal of the mind. The mind is renewed by applying it to those things that will transform it. He said, “Finally, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, THINK about these things” (Phil 4,8). Studying is the method that would make us think about these things. Thus, studying is an experience in which we enable our minds, with the careful attention to reality, to move at a certain direction. For example, if you are a law student, there is a “language” you have to learn and speak. They include the jargons, “Wherefore, the aforementioned, etc.” If you take a nursing exam, the ‘jargon and language is different.’ Your mind is trained to think like a lawyer, a nurse, a doctor or an engineer. Our minds can also be trained to think like a Christian. In the Old Testament, they were instructed to write the Law in their gates and doorposts, or in their wrists as frontlets between your eyes (Deut 11, 18). Thus, if we train our thoughts about God and human relationships, we train our minds towards the truth, towards Jesus. The New Testament will replace the instructions by saying that we should write the laws in our hearts so that our hearts would lead us to Jesus.

How do we study effectively. Just remember two things. First, repetition. St. Ignatius even includes this in prayer. Repetition regularly channels the mind in a specific direction. Our habits are formed by repetition; thus bad habits, when repeatedly done, changes behavior--- we become bad. There is a psychological method by Dr. Maxwell Maltz called, psychocybernetics. Dr. Maltz realized that our self-image defines and limits our potential, so our belief in ourselves may prevent us from achieving our goals. All we have to do is to affirm ourselves repeatedly. So, if you continually say, “You are stupid” perhaps you can say, “I am ok!” Our inner mind is trained to modify our behavior to conform to the affirmation. On the other hand, if you see too much violent films, our minds is set towards a destructive thought pattern; if you see to much sex in films, it creates a culture. St. Ignatius teaches us, Jesuits, a prayer before studying, at the start of the class, or before prayer: “Direct we beseech Thee O Lord, all our actions, and carry them on by your gracious assistance, so that every prayer and work of ours, may begin from you, and through You, be happily ended. Amen.”

Second, is reflection. Reflection defines the significance of our studying. Why we are studying this? Why is this relevant to my life? By reflecting, we get to see reality in God’s eyes. By reflecting, we get to enjoy studying. Reflection is the best way to love. Fyodor Dostoyevsky in The Brothers Karamazov counsels, “Love all God’s creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it. Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the Divine mystery of things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day.”

By studying well, we become great leaders in our fields. St. Ignatius charges all of us Jesuits, not to stop studying. Study till you die. You see, by studying, we become the doctor who could do a successful surgery as well as explaining cancer to a 10-year old. We become the engineer who could build great bridges, as well as, bridge destructive relationships. In the spiritual life, we become effective ministers of God, by responding to His call in whatever manner and whatever way.

The Outcast

6 July 2007 Friday of the 13^th Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 9, 9-13 The Call of Matthew

The Gospel today tells us that a tax collector named, Matthew, was sitting at a tax collection post when Jesus saw and invited him to become his disciple. He did and eventually become one of the Twelve. Tax collectors in those days were not regarded highly: they were social outcasts. First, devout Jews avoided them because they were usually dishonest. Their job had no salary, so they were supposed to make profits by cheating the people whom they collected taxes. Jews who were nationalistic hated them because they were agents of the Roman government, so they have committed two grave sins: they were Jews, and thus betrayed their people by being with the enemy. Thus, tax collectors were social outcasts, and were considered sinners. But the Gospels tell us that Jesus’ love and concern also extended to the outcasts and the sinners. The first point tells us that sinners have a place in the heart of God.

Throughout the Gospels, the mix of Jesus disciples was unusual. You see, Rabbis chose their disciples from different places, with different backgrounds. Take for example Simon, the Zealot, also a member of the Twelve. Our historian, Josephus, tells us that Zealots were fanatical nationalists, much like our NPAs. The Zealots would like to drive out the Romans by guerrilla tactics, ambushes, assassinations, and terrorist methods. If indeed, that Simon was a Zealots, then his views and his beliefs would crush Matthew. They were on opposite ends of the political spectrum. We only have to stretch our imaginations to see that these two people would have animated and fiery discussions. Maaaring hindi sila nagkasundo. And thus the 2^nd point tells us that disagreements and petty quarrels can be expected when people come together. However, with a little stretch of the imagination, we could picture both Matthew and Simon eating together, perhaps side by side. What brought them together was not their differences, but their love for Jesus.

Matthew’s name means, “A Gift from God.” Mark and Luke called him, Levi, perhaps his original name. And Jesus must have changed his name, as He did with Peter. Matthew, however, lived up to his name. They said that he was martyred. Even today, scholars contest the authenticity of the writer in the Gospel of Matthew. In the past, some writings were attributed to another's inspiration. Whether Matthew was the inspiration behind the writing of the Gospel, or he himself wrote it, is not as important as the realization that Matthew's life manifested Jesus' love for sinners. For Catholics, all people, sinner or saint, are saved.

I guess this is what would bring us all together: First, we are asked to become inclusive: the faith is for all sinners. We bring every human being alive in Christ as Matthew the Tax Collector was accepted by God. We come together in worship, whenever and wherever we can, even if there are other people who hate our guts, who might be very divisive and rude. The Gospels tell us straight: There will be misunderstanding among us. But the greatest challenge is when one can put two people, who are exact opposites, side by side, and working pretty well. Matthew made us think that in the everyday life we lead; we get to be more forgiving of each other's differences or we get to tolerate other people whose style of working is different from ours. We get to do this for the sake of Jesus. This love of Christ has brought Matthew and Simon together... as well as countless others who have been reconciled because of faith.

Total Well-being

5 July 2007. Thursday of the 13^th Week in Ordinary Time Matthew 9, 1-8: Healing of the Paralytic

We always say in the religious studies of Jesus that he was radical. In fact, he became popular because he was daring and witty. He would challenge the teachings of the rabbis and the centuries-old belief system of the Jews.

The Gospel today illustrates his wit. In Palestine there was a belief that all sickness was due to sins. Rabbi Alexander said, “The sick arises not from his sickness, until his sins are forgiven.” Rabbi Chija ben Abba also said, “No sick person is cured from sickness, until all his sins are forgiven him.” Therefore, physical healing is the manifestation that one’s sins have been forgiven.

So when Jesus said that the man’s sins were forgiven, the scribes doubted the authority of Jesus to forgive sins. They accused him of blaspheming. To convince them, Jesus popped this question to the scribes: “Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or “Rise and walk’?” That means, if Jesus would be able to physically cure the paralyzed man, then Jesus had proven that He could forgive sins, confirming his claims. And he did!

In the advent of technology and the advancement of medicine, we all know that this Jewish belief is not 100% true. Sicknesses are caused by bacteria, a virus, an organ malfunction or a combination. However there is also some truth that our health also reveals the conditions of our minds. Jesus healed both the spiritual condition of the paralyzed man, as well as his physical malady. When we are troubled, confused, or guilt-ridden, it shows in our bodies. When we are stressed, our bodies adapt to it: when it is about our responsibilities, our shoulders ache; when it is about unwanted feelings, our middle back tightens; when it is about our sexual and relational anxieties, it gets to our lower back. Many of our sicknesses are psychosomatic.

Thus, our bodies may tell us what needs healing in our lives. The body part that aches may point to a certain internal wound that we have to face. Our faith tells us that our total self constitutes our well-being.

Let's Get our Hands Dirty

4 July 2007 Wednesday of the 13^th Week in Ordinary Time
Genesis 21, 5, 8-20a; Psalm 34; Matthew 8, 28-34

In liturgy, the Responsorial Psalm also provides the point of the readings. Today, this function is pretty obvious: The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

In the first reading, God hears the cry of Ishmael and Hagar, whom Abraham sent away at the suggestion of Sarah. When the skin of water given by Abraham dried up, Hagar thought that that would end Ishmael’s life. But that was not so in the plan of God. God too promised to build a great nation from Ishmael. So gave Hagar and Ishmael a well of water to drink. The end of the reading said, “God was with the boy as he grew up.” (New American Bible)

The Gospel gives as a startling revelation. The demons in the savage Gadarene demoniacs pleaded to Jesus, “If you send us out, send us to the swine.” And Jesus said, “Go then!” Jesus heard and granted their pleas.

One of my students in asked this question: “What does God do to solve our country’s problem or help those who are in need?” On one hand, we are used to these questions, and many Church documents have been dedicated to social justice and involvement. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) declared 2006 as the Year of Social Concerns (CBCP Pastoral Exhortation, May 11, 2006). Many talks and discussions have been organized. And in personal prayer, we realize that if Jesus listened to the plea of the demons in the Gospel, how much more will he hear our supplications. But something is amiss, with questions such as that of my student.

To ask what God has done seems to be taken from a standpoint of non-involvement. Christian faith in this question is approached as a problem to be solved, as something that is outside of us, like a math puzzle to be deciphered. Christian faith, however, is something we are immersed into. We live by it and breathe it. And thus, when we ask about what God has done for the poor, we are also asking, in view of the Christian faith, what we are doing about it. Not just on paper. The solution therefore is not in one sweep of a miracle, a divine intervention that defies explanation: the solution is in our very hands. What have we done?

And thus, the Responsorial Psalm is a challenge to us. “God hears the cry of the poor” can also be translated as “We, the body of Christ, hear the cry of the poor.” And indeed we heard them. We even put what we’ve heard on paper, and told everybody about it at the pulpit. An inspirational article about someone asking God the same question as above had God answering, “I created you.”

Now, enough said. The most of important part is yet to come: Let’s get our hands dirty.