PAN DE LA SEMANA

Solemnity of Christ the King November 23, 2014   RULING, LEADING, SHEPHERDING We have rulers who govern and reign over us. We need them for we belong to a civilized society. Whether we like it or not, politics of the worst kind and Politics of the good kind color and impinge upon our everyday daily affairs, even if most of what we do have nothing to do with political, partisan affairs. To be honest with you, I have had enough of the type of dysfunctional politics of the worst kind in my own beloved country. For decades, we have had to choose between evil people and less evil people; between the media-created popular characters and those whose passport to power is very simply put, money – that begets more money and more fame and even more fortune – for generation upon generation. Today, the whole Church speaks about a ruler, a leader and a shepherd, too. He was not born into wealth and all that wealth could buy. He had no p...

--> Feast of the Triumph of the Cross (24 th Sunday Year A) September 14, 2014 THE LOGIC THAT IS BY NO MEANS LOGICAL! We always feel right when we complain. Whenever we feel aggrieved, we always have a sense of entitlement. And we tend to be very vocal – even, vociferous – about it. Take the case of the Israelites. One day they were excited to leave their hell-hole; another day they were angry at being caught in the little pigeonhole of their uncomfortable desert meandering. And boy, did they raise hell for Moses as they hollered: “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water?” But the very same man they blamed was the man they begged assistance from. They thought better of him when they were in dire straits … when their lives were threatened by something far worse than not having meat or spices to tickle their choosy palates – serpents! And then, when they started falling down like flies smitten...

23 rd Sunday Year A September 7, 2014 A CARING COMMUNITY: COMMAND AND CONSOLATION One of the goals of the ASEAN region, all ten countries that make it up, is to provide “a caring community.” Well, they still have a few months, before the AEC (Asean Economic Community) goes into full operation in the year 2015. By any standard, this is more than just a nice phrase to describe one of the three pillars of the ASEAN dream – PEOPLE ( in addition to PROSPERITY and PEACE)! But of course, given the three readings in today’s liturgy, it is easy to realize that it is not just a pipe dream of ASEAN, but a command from the Lord, repeated not twice, but thrice, in all three readings. Ezekiel gives the opening salvo. We are all meant to be “watchmen (or guardians) for the house of Israel.” As watchmen, we are expected to warn, admonish, counsel, or otherwise mentor others who might be straying off the beaten track. St. Paul, writing to t...

22 nd Sunday Year A August 31, 2014 GETTING IT RIGHT, BUT MISSING THE POINT! Jeremiah was a curious fellow … He was, well … like you and me! We all get some things right, but we also miss the whole point at times! I get it, for one, that life is difficult, as good, old Scott Peck told us years ago. We also know that life is complex, beyond merely being difficult. We get it, don’t we? But of course, getting things right is no guarantee we get the whole point … at least not that soon. Jeremiah got it. And he complained big time! “You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped; you were too strong for me and you triumphed.” I, too, rant and rave big time. For many reasons, reasonable or otherwise. I do right here, right now. Do I deserve to be suffering so much for trying to solve problems I did not create? Should I just accept blindly my lot to be now at the receiving end of so much dissatisfaction, even hatred, for trying to ...

21 st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A August 24, 2014 INSCRUTABLE AND UNSEARCHABLE WAYS OF GOD! Life is full of mysteries. They say that life in its totality is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved. Indeed … There comes a time in one’s life when one has to accept the wisdom behind seemingly senseless and meaningless things and events. One such reality that begs for acceptance, not resistance, is the mystery of whatever our status in life is. Some get more keys than others (read: more responsibilities). Some get the most coveted key (read: the choicest appointive position). Still others get no keys whatsoever (read: they are just part of the hoi polloi – the many and the unknown; the plebeian foot-soldiers who soldier on without much fanfare and recognition). And then some are left with the task of holding the door for other people, and not much else! Eliakim was one such individual whom the Lord saw as worthy enough to be given...

20 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A August 17, 2014 HAVE PITY ON ME, LORD, SON OF DAVID! Isaiah gives a piece of advice so clear and unmistakable; so straightforward and so irreproachable: “Observe what is right, do what is just.” Well, let us start with something not so right … Yes … not so right for purists then who knew their boundaries, and who knew better than to mess up with women like that one derisively referred to as “Canaanite,” who lived in the district of Tyre and Sidon. She deserved nothing from any self-respecting man and from a Jew, for that matter. She was totally out of bounds. And she did something totally expected, but totally uncalled for … In her extreme need, born of remarkable faith, she did the unthinkable (though expected!) … She approached the Lord and pleaded with Him in faith: “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!” But the Lord, it must be said, also did the unthinkable. He, it must be further s...

15 th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) July 13, 2014 FALLEN AND FRUCTIFYING! I was in the flood-devastated areas just a month after typhoon Sendong unleashed its unprecedented wrath over Northern Mindanao some years back. Rains fell. Waters cascaded down from the denuded mountains, causing massive and sudden flooding over parts of Cagayan de Oro City, and brought humongous trunks of felled trees down Iligan City, causing the untimely deaths of scores of people who were stricken dead as they slept in the dark and dead of night. Falling rain is usually a welcome gift from the heavens. It does not return empty handed, but makes the land bear fruit in plenty. This much, Isaiah tells us in the first reading. But rampaging floods carrying huge log projectiles are a different matter. They are destructive. They bring death, not just destruction … along with a whole lot of the usual hand-wringing from officialdom, looking for someone else to blame ...

 He is the one and only UNLI! 14 th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) July 6, 2014 UNLIMITED LEARNING FROM THE LORD! I work once more in a complex school setting. Back here after 28 years, I move around circles and groups that deal daily with what is known as teaching-learning situations. One goes to school to learn. One listens to lectures and subjects oneself to routine in order to learn, hopefully, for life. Going to school may end with graduation, but learning is meant to be lifelong. But there is learning that is lifelong and learning that is meant to last forever, without end, without limits … In the Philippines, we call it UNLI … short for unlimited. UNLI refers to unlimited calls provided by cellphone companies to hook loyal customers. It also refers to the craze of the day, that would probably cause more diabetic cases in future – UNLI rice! Popular restaurants now are competing themselves to death by offering unlimited ri...

SOLEMNITY OF STS. PETER & PAUL June 29, 2014 COMPETING WELL, FINISHING, & KEEPING THE FAITH We live in times where multi-tasking seems to be the run of the day. We attend meetings left and right, but even as we try our best to follow all the proceedings, our smartphones are busy beeping, chirping, chiming or burping, as the case may be, calling our attention to a thousand-and-one concerns that are all collectively called “notifications.” We turn on the coffee-maker first thing in the morning, even as we boot our laptops, or pick up our tablets to look for the MMDA app that tells us what we already know – that traffic is bad like any other day, and that so-called alternate routes are simply make-believe alternate routes, for everyone has exactly the same idea! We begin so many tasks. We start so many campaigns. We call for so many rallies and sign up to so many petitions. We begin so many faddish diets and we enroll ourselves in ever...

Corpus Christi (A) June 22, 2014 FOR REAL. FOR CERTAIN. FOR ALL TIME. FOREVER! Of late, there has been an increasing mistrust for fake food and everything fake from a certain country. Let us hide its identity under the name “China.” In my latest visit to Hong Kong, I was told that certain people in that country have mastered the art – and the business! – of producing fake everything: fake eggs, fake beef, fake milk, not to mention all the fake “signature” items that can be found everywhere where they sell cheap goods. In our country, we have fake public servants who actually serve no more than their own pockets, their family, their best interests, and definitely not the common weal. Let us also hide them under the collective title of “congressman or senator.” Of late, too, certain places I am very familiar with have also seen a number of fake priests, who do nothing more than sprinkle holy water to business establishments … for...

Trinity Sunday (A) June 15, 2014 GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL IS GOD! We have all kinds of names for people who are gruff, rough, uncouth and unrefined. It is hard to pin down just what it is that stands out in their obnoxious character, but we simply know that there is something sorely missing. Thus, one who does not know how to close doors, turn off faucets and lights after using, or one who behaves like he is the only person in the whole wide world, unmindful of others’ welfare, comfort and needs is simply ungracious, dense, selfish, self-centered and a whole lot more. We don’t like such people around. We avoid them. We steer clear of them, and some of them can even literally throw their weight around, and make everybody else’s lives revolve around their own. They can be very well connected, but never attuned; they can also be very much engaged, but never involved. They can very busy, but never really productive. They can even work at cro...