PAN DE LA SEMANA

MOST BLESSED TRINITY June 3, 2012 Mental gymnastics will most likely be the run of the day, as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Blessed Trinity. Many preachers like me will try, once again in vain, to explain away neatly what is essentially a mystery to be accepted, and not a problem to be dissected. It might interest everyone to note that not even Scriptures attempted to explain it away, and remove all veils that cover the essentially unfathomable truth about God. One thing clear in Scriptures is this. God, simply chose to reveal Himself gradually in history, in vivo,  I might add, in the events that transpired right from the day Abraham was called to leave Ur and go to the promised land. One more thing is clear from Scripture. There is no other God besides Him. He alone is God.   He alone is Creator.  He alone is Savior. He alone is Redeemer, and He alone is life-giver and sustainer of the very same life that He gave. Moses would have his people...

Pentecost Sunday May 27, 2012 My father was a diabetic in his sunset years. Being highly disciplined personally, he was admirable in terms of his self-control when it comes to food intake. Nevertheless, there were moments when, owing to unavoidable circumstances, his blood sugar would go down and he would be a little disoriented, confused, irritable, and physically weak. On such occasions, he would need an instant “shot in the arm” sort of, and that means a quick sugar fix that would almost instantly raise his blood sugar level. That would put him back to his old, usual self in a short while. The events that happened more than fifty days before today’s solemn event were both enervating, and energizing at the same time. The triumphant entry to Jerusalem opened it with a lot of positive energy, with people lustily welcoming the perceived leader who would deliver an enslaved people from subjugation under the Romans. That was definitely energizing. A few days after, however...

Solemnity of the Ascension (B) May 20, 2012 The first entry of the Lord to the city of Jerusalem during Palm Sunday was no less than triumphant, no doubt. They did all they could, and used whatever was handy, and within arms’ length to give him a welcome fit for a king … cloaks, branches, palm fronds, whatever! The people were enlightened, sort of! Or were they? History teaches us a whole lot of lessons. One of them is the need for us to be prudent and suspend judgment at least until the dust has settled and the bigger picture has come out in bold relief. Hitler started out as salvation in progress, a charismatic leader who was expected to lead Germany out of obscurity and relative powerlessness, by any standard … economic, political, etc. But so was Mussolini! Hordes of young Italians rallied behind him! I am sure Alexander the Great had his moment of jubilation for a time, as he marched home bringing the spoils of war, to shouts of victory and adulation of ...

6 th Sunday of Easter (B) 13 May 2012 Someone has written years ago that love is primarily shown in presence, not presents. In our culture nowadays, which encourages labor migration, unable as the country is, to give employment to hordes of college graduates, love is done and executed long-distance. More than a decade ago, long distance telephone was the favorite means and method to convey love. In our times, it is “Facetime,” or, more probably “Skype” for a good number of our countrymen. Many of us cannot afford to stay home and be jobless. Many of us who prefer to, do claim to stay put, and reap all the benefits of being present to one’s family and loved ones, but unless he or she was born with a silver spoon in the mouth, staying home and staying put does not necessarily put food on the table. I speak of presence today, for that is what the Lord emphasizes in today’s gospel passage from John the Evangelist. He talks of love, of course, and that is something...

Fifth Sunday of Easter (B) May 6, 2012 The world of business in this globalized world knows this for a fact – that one cannot go it alone, and that one stands to gain more if one is connected, if one belongs to a chain, and if one draws its inspiration from a successful conglomerate that spans many cities and nations all over the world. In my lifetime, with the proliferation of huge malls and shopping centers, that gave a totally new twist to the idea of one-stop shopping cum entertainment, I have witnessed the demise of so many little businesses, Mom-and-Pop stores, small eateries and boutiques that used to exist independently of one another, that somehow survived and even thrived with a minimum of staff and manpower. I remember the hole-in-the-wall small restaurants in Quiapo, Manila and elsewhere, which were stand-alone enterprises that each offered their own specialties, without the support of any big-sounding names of chains that can afford expensive ads o...