PAN DE LA SEMANA

3 rd Sunday Year B January 25, 2015 CARPENTER’S TRADE; FISHERMEN’S TASK It is a curious fact that Jesus, who was a carpenter, chose fishermen and called them to mission. The builder and founder of the Church, an edifice built on rock that Jesus was declared to be by no less than the chief fisherman named Peter, chose people who lived mostly by the waterfront, to be the foundation stones of his Church. I have no talent for carpentry. I have no experience fishing, both as a sport and as a trade. But I do know I need both. I love fish and I prefer fish to meat. I admire carpenters for they do things I cannot do. But they each have distinct tasks that cannot usually be done by one and the same person. The Lord was founder and builder. The Lord was sent to build God’s Church, but the charism of “founder” is not the same as the charism and mission of “catcher.” The Lord was shepherd par excellence. He was the visionary and the mess...

Baptism of the Lord (B) January 11, 2015 A SERVANT WHOM I UPHOLD I remember a well-sought after speaker who was invited once to give a talk on the big and lofty topic called the “personalist philosophy” of Pope St. John Paul II. I am no philosopher and biographer, but I do know what that basically refers to – the importance, dignity, and primacy of the human person above all other external or “accidental” considerations about the human person. It was a brilliant and eloquent talk. The listeners were all impressed and imbued with the great desire of upholding the dignity of everyone they knew – yes … including drivers, “kasambahays” (domestic helpers or caregivers), and gardeners or servants. That is, up until he called for his driver and called him out in the big auditorium: “Driver! Please bring my books over from the car!” So much for upholding the personalist philosophy of someone so admired, delivered by someone so much sought after as a ...

EPIPHANY SUNDAY January 4, 2015 WHAT KIND OF A STAR ARE YOU? Just over the holidays, when millions were reeling under the fury of typhoon Seniang in the south, a star-studded, politician-filled, and a royal-styled “royal wedding” was held in Manila. No, don’t get me wrong … I am not going to rail against any royal wedding, whether real or pretended. Neither am I going to rant against the bigwigs who graced the occasion. Weddings, after all, in Jewish culture, treated the couple as royalty for the day. But I do want to say a thing or two about stars … stars who attended … wannabe stars who could only follow the media hype all delivered in a blow-by-blow account, figuratively while Rome was burning (or Mindanao and the Visayas drowning in floods) … starry-eyed vicarious stars for the day who wouldn’t want to miss any minute of the gorgeous pageantry called show business at its best and at its worst in the Philippines, (even if the pile ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1T26yw1Ltg   Solemnity of Mary Mother of God January 1, 2015 MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT! MARY MATTERS. Although we begin the New Year in the Philippines with a bang, we also begin it with a dose of essential dogma, all at the service of what really matters most, on the last day of Christmas Octave. Make no mistake about it. This solemnity is not about ushering in a new civil year. Neither is it about making Christmas veer off tangent by introducing someone who sort of “steals the show” from Christ, the Lord, the one and only Savior, the one and only Redeemer, the one and only Son of God. As a counselor myself, I am familiar with the concept of “reframing.” Basically, it means (among others) that when one wants to highlight the image, one also needs to consider the frame. A very good image set in an ugly frame would render the image less than the worth it deserves in the eyes of the be...

Christmas Day December 25, 2014 LET ME COUNT THE WAYS: 1,2,3,4! Something one does four times in a row must really be important. A celebration done fourfold must be meaningful, more than important. Something one repeats, not thrice but quatrice (if the word exists!) must be so important, meaningful and significant to the hilt. I am reminded of Sonnet 43 that begins with the question: “How do I love Thee? Let me count the ways!” How does God love us? Let us not give an answer by counting. You count things you want to manage and control. You measure things you want to manipulate towards a certain finality. You lose count when you lose all interest and capacity to even fully understand in a human way what is really beyond words, beyond description, although definitely not beyond belief. Christmas is beyond words. This maybe the reason why we count four distinct celebrations, each with distinct readings, that all have e...

4 th Sunday of Advent – B December 21, 2014 DESIRE OF THE EVERLASTING HILLS I borrow the title of Thomas Cahill’s lovely prose and well-written “history” of Jesus of Nazareth. I like the title, first and foremost, for he speaks about Jesus having definitely made a difference in the long history of humankind. Even if recorded history, apart from the Bible, has precious little about him and details about his life and lineage, his coming or irrupting into human history definitely made a dent, for many, not just a few. We are among the many today whose lives were impacted by the one who was promised three thousand years ago by Nathan, the prophet: “I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm … Your house and your kingdom shall endure before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.” We are a people in waiting. We are a people, too, of the promise. We are filled with longing, wra...

3 rd Sunday of Advent-Year B GAUDETE SUNDAY December 14, 2014 FROM DENIAL TO DECLARATION The Gospel passage of today reminds me of the unfortunate, dysfunctional politics that is in force in my country since time immemorial. Every big fish in government accused of so many things have one common response – deny, deflect, desist, and defame others! This is a far cry from today’s humble approach shown by the focus of today’s gospel reading – St. John the Baptist. He could as well have been someone being interviewed by any of the warring giant networks’ team of overzealous reporters out to be make a scoop.   “Who are you?” … “What are you then?” … “Are you Elijah?” … “Are you the prophet?” “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?” “What do you have to say about yourself?” Hmmm! … the questions sound familiar. They all sound like people who ask not to find out the truth, but to insist on their own brand of prec...