The Cross in the Life of a Christian

Image from the movie, "The Passion of the Christ"

Today, September 14, we celebrate the Exultation of the Holy Cross. 

Carrying the cross is one of the challenges of the Lord Jesus Christ to all those who wish to be His followers [see Luke 9:23, Matthew 16:24]. According to St Paul, the Lord Jesus crucified is a stumbling block to the Jews and a foolishness to the Gentiles [see 1 Corinthians 1:23]. In today's readings, the Lord Jesus compares Himself to the bronze serpent which the Moses lifted up in order to save those who have been bitten by the snakes in the desert. 

There are many, even some Christians, who do not subscribe to the use of the cross - much more the crucifix [the cross with the image of the Lord Jesus crucified] for they view it as a form of idolatry or image-worship. But they fail to understand that even in Christian liturgy as in the Jewish worship, images and symbols play an important part. Even God Himself ordered the making of images though He Himself prohibited the Israelites from idol worship [see Exodus 25: 18-20, Numbers 21: 8-9, Ezekiel 41: 17-18 among others].

The point here is that God uses objects and images in order to convey His message of salvation and to work out such message through the same images and objects. What God prohibited is for us to substitute things, ideas, even persons, and others as our object of worship or supreme trust in a way that we deny, reject, lessen, the honor due to Him alone. Our trust in the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is not in any way a degradation of our faith in God but a manner of affirming our trust in His marvelous ways which the most intelligent mind cannot fully understand and the best intention to give Him worship cannot truly equal. 

The Jews were blessed to be the Chosen People but amid the many great things that God did for them, they failed to see the fullness of His love and mercy. They could not accept that God would go down to be with His people and lead them personally out of their bondage to sin through the Lord Jesus Christ who came as one among them and dying the most dishonorable death - upon the Cross! Greeks, Gentiles, could not understand how a God could give up Himself to die for the sake of the people. Logic does not seem to offer a reasonable explanation why one - especially a God - should do that particularly for a people who seem to be unworthy of any redemption. 

But such is the mystery of the Cross and the love of God which goes beyond any mortal understanding. That is the immensity of divine love that God would even die for His creation in order for it to be cleansed from sin in order to show mankind the right and proper way toward holiness. He is not a magician who would turn things into something else with a swish of a wand. He is a God who shows the right and proper way of how things should be done. It is up to us to follow that way and reap the fruit of salvation or choose to do otherwise and be led toward eternal damnation.

There are people who could not understand why a loving God could allow some people to be damned forever. But God does not want anyone to be damned. It is our choices that lead us to where we shall be at the time of reckoning. Simple human laws show us that punishment is necessary in order to keep society in order. Without the pain of penalties and imprisonment, criminals would have nothing to fear or stop them from doing harm to the obedient citizens of society. Though others obey only the law out of fear, it is up to him  or her to reflect about these laws as protection and not prohibitions. If only everyone fully exercises the only important law which is the law of charity, then we should not have to make any other law on earth.

Hence the Cross tells us this thing: life is not easy - particularly Christian life. St Teresa of Avila once asked why amid her faithfulness to God He would still bring her many trials and God responded by saying that it is how He treats His friends. The Lord Himself said that if we want to be perfect we must give up many things. The perfection that we, humans, go after is the very perfection that we must disregard if we really want to be with God: for we are called to deny ourselves, carry our crosses and to follow His way.

Let us remember that when the Lord Jesus Christ asked the Father if it was possible that He should not suffer anymore, He did not demand for a favorable response. Instead He affirmed that only the Father's will should be done, not His, not anyone else's. The Cross cannot be gone from the life of the Christian. For it is the measure of our true obedience to the will of the Father just like how the Lord Jesus Christ accepted and accomplished it.

And it is by the Cross that we could show the Lord that we accept His offer of holy friendship because it is only by giving up our very lives - the supreme manifestation of love and charity - for a friend - especially for God - that we could truly be His friends [see John 15: 12-17]. 

The Christian supports and fights for Life

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full.”

- John 10:10

If we are friends and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is but logical that we should promote life and not just life but life in its fullness. Those who try to prevent or end life are “thieves”.

Hence it is very inconsistent for Christians to support programs, projects and activities that are anti-life, for example, the RH Bill. Though the Bill does not categorically state that it is anti-life, that it is pro-abortion, etc., the way it is crafted and intended somehow manifest an anti-life stand. One doesn’t have to state his or her actual stand on the fight for life. His or her actions and association with others already tells us about the real score. And who are the people and institutions that are behind and supportive of the RH Bill?

Amid the many discussions, allegations and presentations for and against the Bill, we could observe opposing opinions and viewpoints between experts. Therefore we could see that one could be telling the truth and other could be misleading. But common sense tells us that in case of doubt, we should choose the safer option. And in a very important issue such as life – especially human life – without which we cannot enjoy anything else on earth, common sense, logic and reason commands what we ought to support: the argument that anything that could destroy life should never even be considered as an option.

Human life is so special that we can read in Genesis that God Himself provided us with His own Spirit as the source of our life [Genesis 2:7] and when the appointed time came, He sent His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life [John 3:16].

What is man’s right then to usurp God’s ownership of human life? For those who deny God it’s of course there’s a different argument but for us Christians it’s really very inconsistent to support the RH Bill for it surely is against God. This is the very reason why the Church is against it. It is not because the Church is against the Bill that we should also be against it. It is because the RH Bill is fundamentally against God and against life that the Church is against it and so we should also be against it. The lives of the innocent generations to come are at stake – and more but which we shall discuss in a later article.

For now let us reflect on this. That the Lord came to give us life and that we may have life to the fullest. All others who are against life – however they deny it – are ‘thieves” who came to trouble the sheep, the faithful who are following the Lord through His Church. Don’t be fooled. It is easy to identify those who carry out the Lord’s command and those who are wolves in sheep’s clothing.

If you are a friend and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, you should be pro-life and anti-RH Bill.

The Third Sunday of Lent [2012]

'And he told those who sold the pigeons, 

"Take these things away; 

you shall not make my Father's house a house of trade."' 

- John 2:16

The Temple in Jerusalem was the Father's house hence it deserved all the respect, honor and dignity that must be accorded to God's dwelling. Though God owns everything and the earth is His footstool, the Temple was consecrated far above everything else to be His dwelling on earth. 

But the Lord Jesus Christ's move to give as a sign the destruction of and raising up of the New Temple which is His body has given us a new and better understanding about what God's dwelling place on earth is all about. St Paul tells us that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. Hence God Himself dwells in us which actually started the very moment God created man, when He breathed into man the breath of life, the ruah, or God's spirit. This is what we call grace, God's breath of life, His very own Spirit living in us, which allowed us to experience the divine presence in us. Hence St Paul also states that it is not anymore us who lives in our bodies but Christ Himself, God Himself!

Hence if the Temple in Jerusalem deserved so much respect, honor and dignity, our own bodies deserve also such respect, honor and dignity. That is why we should not do whatever will cause disrespect, dishonor, and desecration against our body. We should never fornicate, prostitute, abuse, disregard, mutilate, our bodies. For we are not our bodies' owners anymore, God has claimed our bodies for Himself and we are mere stewards, not the Master, for even from the beginning we own nothing because God only fashioned us out of dust to which we ought to return. And yet God has so loved us He made our bodies sacred dwelling places so that in the end of times He shall resurrect these bodies and be glorified to be worthy of dwelling in His heavenly kingdom forever.

May we never forget this truth that our bodies are God's and that God dwells in us through His Spirit when we are in the state of grace. Therefore we must never allow sin to corrupt our bodies and never allow anything to desecrate ourselves for we are God's and God is in us.

A blessed third Sunday of Lent to you, amici! 

The Second Sunday of Lent [2012]

"Then Peter spoke to Jesus, 

'Rabbi,' he said, 'it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three shelters, 

one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.'"

- Mark 9:5

Most of us feel the same way that Peter, James and John felt when we encounter God's presence during recollections and retreats, Christian life seminars and conferences, and other activities wherein we enjoy the love and community that pours out of the Father's providence. And we wish to stay feeling and experiencing such joys and we even hope that we would never have to leave that experience.

But then God has other plans for us. Life on earth is not yet the fullness of heaven. The joys that He lets us experience on earth are mere foretastes of that eternal banquet in His kingdom. We are given the chance to have a preview of heaven at times just to inspire and motivate us to face the challenges of the world - to have the strength to stand up for Him amid the many temptations of the physical reality because we were allowed to experience the glory of His spiritual realm.

The experience of heavenly joy must keep us up on the clouds but still stepping upon solid ground. We cannot minister like angels who are not seen even though always present to guide us and protect us from the evil spirits. We must do our work on earth so that the world may know that God has sent us to make all things new in the name and in behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ.

May we always acknowledge the Lord's presence in our lives so that whatever trials we may encounter we can steadily face them and never fall.

Have a blessed Second Sunday of Lent, friends.

The First Sunday of Lent [2012]

'and saying, 

"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; 

repent, and believe in the gospel."' 

– Mark 1:15

As Christians we are called to announce – in words, thoughts and deeds – the fulfillment of time, the coming of the Kingdom of God, repentance and faith in the good news.

The fulfillment of time means that God has already fulfilled His promise: He has already sent His only begotten Son, the one whom the world has been expecting for the past four millenniums and we do not have to wait for someone else. In Him everything comes to a close and signals a new and renewed beginning. This is also connected with the coming of God’s Kingdom for with the Lord Jesus God brings into the world the realization of His reign which the people denied Him from exercising: by the Chosen People when they elected to have their own king, and by the heathen by following various idols.

Repentance is a necessary prerequisite in order to belong to the new people of God for it would mean turning away from that which is abhorrent to God -  and submitting one’s self under God’s rule. Without repentance no one would be able to accept – and join – His Kingdom. Faith in the Good News – the very person of the Lord Jesus Christ and His message of salvation – is also necessary for it is the very core of becoming a member of the new People of God, the Church, and of being His representatives to all the earth to proclaim the very same message of salvation.

In all these it is necessary that we as Christians respond to the call in word, thought and deed. Repentance is true when it leads to a renewed life. Faith is real when it initiates a multitude of good works. Being a Christian and a citizen of the Kingdom of God means a full turning back from a life of sin and unconcern into a life of holiness and loving.

Friends, may we have a great pilgrimage through this Season of Lent.

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time [2012]

Which of these is easier: to say to the paralytic, 

"Your sins are forgiven" 

or to say, 

"Get up, pick up your stretcher and walk"?

- Mark 2:9

As Christians we are faced with the challenge of manifesting to the world that God is a true God and that the Lord really saved us from bondage to sin. With so many people denying the reality of sin and the need for spiritual salvation we Christians must continue to manifest steadfast faith, ardent hope and generous love.

Actually, the Lord has told us that it is by loving one another that the world will ever believe that He has sent us the same manner that the Father has sent Him to save us. Many times we spend so much on justifying our faith through arguments and evidences but with so many people having their own intellectual prowess to prove their own stand, we are actually left with the option of manifesting true love as our best argument to manifest our faith and hope. 

Hence it is a lot easier to say and show love - and forgiveness - than to argue about whether someone who has been living on a stretcher for much of his life could be loosened from such bondage and be able to carry his own stretcher and walk home. Many times the solution to one's condition is not to take him away from such condition but to make him accept such condition and then use such condition as the starting point of holiness and salvation.

For example, one of the many problems that the government has been trying to solve is the problem on squatters, which now are called informal settlers. But many times the solutions that have been planned, tried and sometimes forced to be implemented, and maybe not properly monitored and evaluated, do not really respond to the problem. Most of these people return to their original informal settlements because the place they are transferred to to live better lives do not provide the basic necessities of life such as opportunities for livelihood for their daily sustenance. Hence the better alternative would be to solve the sinful social structures that create these informal settlers rather than just whisk them away into some place where they would not find solutions to their problems.

May we accept the fact that even the Lord said that the poor will always be with us. First of all, poverty is not a disease or a thing to be considered evil. It is rather a condition that challenges us to manifest our faith, hope and love.

A blessed Sunday, friends!

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time [2012]

"Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand, 

touched him and said to him, 'I am willing. Be cleansed.'"

- Mark 1:41

This verse - and the whole reading - somehow summarizes the entire history of salvation. It tells us about the story of how the Lord Jesus Christ went around the area of Galilee proclaiming the Gospel and making this miraculous healing of a leper. God has been proclaiming His love ever since the first moment of Creation and when man fell into the bondage to sin has saved - healed, cleansed - him through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. The empathy felt by Jesus our Lord toward the leper is the same empathy that the Father showed by sending forth His Son to become like us, a man, but yet remained a God!

We, followers and friends of our Lord Jesus Christ and children of God the Father, must also manifest that same love of God. Through us we can renew the face of the earth. God did not create mankind to destroy the world, and He did not establish the Church to divide humanity. God created mankind to become the stewards of the whole creation and the Lord established the Church to continue the mission of salvation.

Our work is to empathize with those who feel sick, weak and unloved. We are not called to love those who love us, to be happy with those who make us happy, to be well together with the people who are also well. We are called to become witnesses of God's love among those who are considered outcast: the sick, the unable, the weak, the ignorant, the innocent, the unknown.

May we accept the challenge to become instruments of God's love and healing and cleansing and be love ourselves just like how Christ our Lord become love and healing and cleansing for us all.

Have a blessed Sunday, friends!

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time [2012]

"In the morning, long before dawn, 

he got up and left the house 

and went off to a lonely place and prayed there. " 

- Mark 1:35

One of the most important things in every relationship is constant communications. It is hard to keep any relationship without communications. The motto of the Family Rosary Crusade, "The family that prays together stays together" is one expression of this - even if the members of the family may not be physically together, they will still be together through prayers. Families who are separated due to various reasons try to keep united through various means - before through snail mail, telephone calls and friends. Now we have many other ways of communicating especially with the advent of cellular phones and the Internet.

If we understand and value having constant communications with the people we love here on earth we should also understand and value having constant communications with God through prayers. 

Jesus our Lord never neglected the importance of keeping His communication lines open with the Father for prayer is our way of communicating with God the Father. He would always find time to pray in solitude even if it has to be in the very early hours of the day and of course during the entire day when He would do miracles and signs He would communicate with the Father.

As children of the Father and friends of the Lord Jesus Christ we also ought to keep communicating with them. It would keep us from sin and temptations if we constantly relate with God. We also have to develop our relationships with other members of the family of God, the Church, including the ones we consider to be Church Triumphant, the Saints, and the Church Suffering, those in purgatory. We also have to be constantly communicating with our guardian angels to keep us from spiritual, and at times physical, harm.

May we never disregard this important instrument of being one with God and the whole Church. Even the Lord Jesus Christ said that whatever we ask God the Father in prayer through His name the Father would give. St James also  encourages to pray for one another for the prayer of holy persons is very effective. St Paul encourages us to pray constantly. The late Jaime Cardinal Sin of Manila said, "God is omnipotent but prayer is more omnipotent!" 

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time [2012]

"The people were so astonished that 

they started asking one another what it all meant, saying, 

'Here is a teaching that is new, and with authority behind it: 

he gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey him.' "

- Mark 1:27

One of the things that make people follow a person is when that person can do something beyond what normal or ordinary people can do. That is why Jesus did not allow the spirits to tell people what they know about Him and even to His disciples He made it clear that they should not tell the people about His being the Son of the living God as Peter has professed.

If Jesus our Lord walked on this earth proclaiming clearly that He was the Son of God, that He was God Himself, the Second Person of the Divine Trinity, it would have been an easy task for Him to accomplish what He was sent for: to tell mankind about God the Father and heaven. But it would have made people think that life is easy and being with God mean pure comfort and convenience even here on earth. Even a small pain or trouble would be considered inordinate or abnormal. They would not believe in the importance of sacrifice and suffering anymore since Jesus would not be allowed to live in poverty for He will be lifted up as an earthly King! He would have a hard time teaching about so many things that necessarily imply hardships for people would demand that since He is God and He is already present He should not allow any trouble anymore!  People would not allow Him to be crucified and He did not have to be resurrected. 

Remember when Jesus went up to the mountain with Peter, James and John where He was transfigured and they did not want to go down the mountain anymore? That would have been what people would experience too if Jesus presented Himself clearly as the Son of God. No more hardships, no need to work, no need to suffer! 

But life on earth is not yet life in heaven. Life on earth is a mere preparation for that eternity in heaven. Unless we prepare ourselves in accordance with the will of God - which includes hardships and sufferings - here on earth we shall never be able to enter that everlasting joy in heaven!

Let us ask God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to give us the grace to prepare very well here on earth that we may become truly worthy of enjoying eternity with Him in heaven!

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time [2012]

“The time has come,” he said. 

“The kingdom of God has come near. 

Repent and believe the good news!” - Mark 1:15

Today we hear about the proclamation of the Kingdom of God connected with the invitation to repent and to believe the gospel and the selection of the first four disciples.

Though today's gospel reading is very short it is full of significance. The proclamation of the Kingdom is connected with the importance of repentance which John the Baptist have been proclaiming too. But aside from the call to repentance, Jesus Christ our Lord goes further by the addition of the call to believe in the good news, who is Himself. Hence believing in His words is the same as believing in Himself for He is the Word - the Kingdom - Himself being proclaimed [see John 1:1].

The gospel is so much more emphasized by the calling of the first four disciples. The urgency of His calling - and the mission connected with the call - is demonstrated by His word, "Come" - He did not leave any room for them to say "No" because He did not say, "Would you follow me?" or "Would you come with me?" - it was not a mere invitation, it was a true CALL and may even be considered as a command or an order. The immediacy of the four's response: they left their nets at once, with John and James even leaving their father Zebedee behind with the hired men, shows that they understood the urgency of the "what" though they did not yet fully understood the "why" for the Holy Spirit has not yet come. The "what" is of course the proclamation of the Kingdom and the "why" is the fulfillment of the ultimate union with God. 

As Christians we are called to proclaim the good news: the coming of the Kingdom who is Jesus Christ Himself and we have to repent and believe in Him so that we may be able to attain union with Him even while here on earth as His disciples and friends. 

Our life with and in God begins the moment we accept the call of the Lord Jesus Christ and leave everything behind. Let us pray for courage to make our response to the Lord's call as immediate as that of the first four disciples.

The Greatest Manifestation of Love

Picture from the Last Supper scene at the Cenacle from the movie, 

"The Passion of the Christ"

"No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. "

- John 15:13

The measure of true love is one's willingness to die for another, especially a friend. We have discussed earlier that God showed us how He loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son for our sake [see John 3:16; Roman 5: 6-8].  Before we even accepted God's friendship He already considered us as His friends, more than that, as children!

The Lord Jesus Christ did not only speak of these words to His disciples. He made an example of Himself about the truth of what He said. Within a few hours after He said these words, He was arrested and a complete day has not passed till He died for the sake of mankind. He did not merely made a speech, He concretely manifested the message that He delivered. 

We cannot do less with regards to our manifestation of love for our brethren. We cannot say that the Lord could do such a thing because He was God. Yes He was God and we were unworthy of the humiliation which He went through for our sake. But He did it for the love of us. He even have to become human just to be able to go through the sufferings and pains as a human being for He could not be harmed if He remained God.

By His great sacrifice we were redeemed by Him to regain our original status of living in the state of grace, of having the divine life in us. Hence He once again made us worthy to claim what the Psalmist said, "You have made me little less than a god!" [Psalm 8:5]. 

Giving our life for the sake of our friends is not necessarily dying physically. We can "die" a million times by giving someone who is in a hurry our place in a line, by listening to someone whom nobody would want to listen to anymore because what he speaks about are but the same problems day by day, by giving what we actually need to someone who might be needing more of it, by waking up in the middle of a sound sleep after nights of sleeplessness when someone needs assistance, and more.

Sometimes we look for great ways of helping when we can do some little things to comfort anyone within our area. We do not have to seek martyrdom to become "martyrs" of charity because each moment of our days we find ourselves amid many challenges which actually try our resolve to become true Christian lovers. The Lord said, he who can be trusted with small things can be trusted with great things. Maybe we are not yet given by God some great things to accomplish because we are not ye through the test about small things!

Let us remember that being a Christian is not about accomplishing great things. We are not called to become adventurous professionals who could ride on motorbikes and cross two towering buildings along a single cable! We are children of God and friends of the Lord who are called to show love and concern from the smallest possible manner until we are perhaps tested through the crucible of fire by martyrdom when we have already become ready to undergo such terrible test!

Have a blessed "dying" each moment of our lives, friends!

Christian Pilgrimage VII: More Temptations

"Then Jesus replied, 'Away with you, Satan! 

For scripture says: 

The Lord your God is the one to whom you must do homage, 

him alone you must serve.'"

- Matthew 4:10

The greatest temptation lead us to the greatest sin: the denial of God or making a god out of something else or of acting like God. 

The serpent said to Eve, "You will be like gods knowing good from evil!" [see Genesis 3:5]. With the Lord the Devil tried to tempt the Lord to worship him in exchange of giving Him all the kingdoms of the world [see Matthew 4: 8-9] which he does not even own in the first place but merely controls due to his cunning and deceptiveness.

Without our knowing it, many times we fall into this trap of the evil one. Without us recognizing it we begin worshiping other "gods" and slowly deny our allegiance to Him who has created, saved and sanctified us. He who gave us life and everything else in this world we deny in what we think, say or do even when we do not mention the words "I don't believe in God anymore!"

When we give more time to earthly affairs, give more attention to celebrities and people in power, care so much more about what tomorrow will bring, believe in superstitions and follow activities and beliefs of other religions, aspire for great things without reference to God, and many more even when these are seemingly intended to "honor" or "give glory" to God but in reality are only for the sake of our own personal greatness or fame - all of these are examples of succumbing to the temptation of the evil one to be like God or to worship the evil one through something merely created.

People nowadays "find comfort" in the fact that God does not directly communicate with us. They make excuse of the sinfulness of some members of the Church He has established on earth upon St Peter and the Apostles to say that God has not provided for a clear guidelines to follow after all since there is no "true religion" to follow on earth. Even some members of the Church seem to add to the confusion by saying that the Lord did not really intend to set up an "institutional Church" but He merely intended us to preach and proclaim His command to love one another!

But God did not intend to confuse His people. He made straight revelations and commandments: "I the Lord am your God, you shall have no other god beside me!" "You are rock and upon this rock I shall build my Church!" "Go and make disciples of all nations teaching them all that I have taught you and baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!" "Behold, I shall be with you until the end of the world!" "I will send the Holy Spirit who will guide you into all the truth and shall remind you of all that I have taught you!" "Receive the Holy Spirit!"

God alone deserves all our service and worship. When something else try to distract us from our obligations to God and damage our relationship with Him, then these must be the temptations that the evil one is trying to use just to lead us to him. Be watchful then and beware of the things that lead us to sin. We only have to follow the example of Jesus Christ our Lord - He who is God Himself but never held on to that status while on earth but humbly accepted the condition of a mere human being! More importantly we must never forget that if we will only remain steadfast, He will provide the necessary assistance that we need after we have overcome all the trials [see Matthew 4:11]!

Christian Pilgrimage VI: The Next Temptations

"Jesus said to him, 

'Scripture also says: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "

- Matthew 4:7

The next temptation challenges us to do "incredible things"! 

The Serpent told Eve when she said that the Lord warned them not to eat the forbidden fruit because they will die that "you certainly will not die!" [see Genesis 3:4] while the Lord Jesus Christ was tempted to jump from the parapet of the Temple even quoting the Scriptures that He will surely be protected from harm [see Psalm 91: 11-12]. 

Today we can watch and witness various survival challenges and adventures that measure human endurance, skills, and capabilities. We even have various record setting events and competitions which try to memorialize human achievements and feats beyond the ordinary or normal human capability!


It is not bad to develop one's talents and capabilities but it must not be conducted merely for human purposes and more importantly, must not endanger one's life and put one's eternal salvation in peril. The Christian puts himself in harm's way only for the sake of glorifying God and manifesting true love for others, not for the sake of glorifying himself and gaining the love of others. Many might say they are doing it to please and honor God who has given mankind gifts and talents to be developed. But these gifts and talents must be developed in accordance with His will - not for mere show or to test human capacity.


The Lord Himself said that what good is it to gain the whole world and ruin one's soul in the process? [see Mark 8:36]. 


Moreover, undertaking activities which put one's life in peril is somehow a way to test God. Do we not see many of these people praying for God's help and protection before doing these activities - as if asking God to give them the go signal to do what He does not intend man to be doing? What these people are doing are nothing compared to what the martyrs who were burnt, eaten by the lions and beheaded because of God and the Lord Jesus Christ! The modern adventurers do it to beat human standards, the martyrs went through those horrific deaths for their faith in God!


We have made created by God to worship Him all the days of our lives, not to put ourselves in danger. The only pleasing peril for Him that we could undergo are the tests to the strength of our faith in and love for God Himself. It is not that He is a selfish self-centered God. It is just that He wants us to live and offer our lives for something more dignified and worthier of our status as children of God and friends of the Lord Jesus Christ.


"Do not put your God to the test" says the Lord. If we love God we will never put these lives which He has given us as gifts in danger of being lost forever!

Something Personal II: The Impatient Me

Impatience is my worst vice. If there is something that could lead me to hell perhaps it would surely be impatience. It is a vice which I am personally struggling against each moment of my life. Perhaps I am one of the many people who are praying to God for the gift of the virtue of patience in this manner, "Lord, give me patience and I want it now!"

"Be patient, brothers," writes St James [see James 5:7ff].

Surely, the Apostle speaks about the patience that Christians should have in  anticipating and waiting for the second coming of the Lord. He even cites as examples the patience of the Prophets who spoke in behalf of God and in view of the Lord's coming though they themselves did not live long enough to see the fulfillment of the coming of the promised Messiah. St Paul writes we should not get tired of doing good because at the proper time we shall reap a rich harvest [see Galatians 6:9]. 

In the same manner, patience in the sense of a personal struggle to be holy each moment of our lives is our way of showing God that we are anticipating His coming while manifesting true Christian in everything we say, think or do. It is as unchristian to lose faith in God and believe in fortune tellers and diviners as one's being impatient in dealing with people - and things - even with regards to simple and ordinary events as in line trying to find a way to get ahead of those who got to fall in line earlier, getting angry when things do not happen the way one hopes it goes even if the failure is due to one's own not doing the right and proper things, and many more.

Honestly, my impatience mostly shows when things do not happen the way I expect them to happen as if they should happen though they would not happen without me doing the proper way to make them happen. Confusing eh? Well let me put it this way. Have you tried opening a closed door with your foot because you won't put down what you are holding with both of your hands even if there is no harm in putting down what you are holding in the first place. And once you failed to open the door with your foot you get so angry at the door or at the person who made the door so hard to be opened by your foot? Sometimes I also become impatient when someone I request to do something fails to do it when in the first place I could do it myself better but I won't do it for the simple reason that I am a bit lazy during that time. I also become impatient when I try to teach someone something that seems too easy for me but maybe not for him totally failing to remember that people do not have the same capabilities, talents and skills. 

Impatience is a real culprit which sheepishly lead us to damnation. Sometimes we make impatience as an excuse for our failure to be true Christians, of understanding others and showing them kindly how things could be done or teaching them slowly why things are like these and that, or of our own failure to understand or learn about things, of acting in a Christian manner when we observe or take notice of other people's conditions and situations, or when we wish to look for others to blame! Sometimes it appears in the guise of a good, making us feel better than others, leading us to think more effective than them. But actually impatience lets out the worst in us and it leads us to be angry. If we allow impatience which turns into anger to reign over us, we will soon find out we are drawn to commit more serious sins [see James 4:2]. 

Hence I pray that God may give me patience. It is actually a fruit of the Holy Spirit. A person who has the Spirit of God in him would become a patient person. But of course just like anyone else, I am still a work in progress. But I guess the Spirit is now slowly working in me because I am becoming more committed to a work that I once tried to forsake, the sharing of the Gospel of Holy Friendship, John 15; 12-17.  

I still pray that God may give me patience but I am not hurrying Him up anymore. He could give it it to me in His time ... in His beautiful time! 

Christian Pilgrimage V: The First Temptations

"But he replied, 

'Scripture says: Human beings live not on bread alone 

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

- Matthew 4:4

The first temptations are directed to our corporeality, of our being made of flesh, of being bodily. The attacks against our journey toward holiness uses our basic needs [food, clothing, shelter, etc] and our senses [especially sight, hearing, taste and touch].

Eve was tempted by the serpent by showing her how good to eat and how pleasing to the eye is the fruit [see Genesis 3:6]. Jesus our Lord had just fasted for forty days and was very hungry when the Devil challenged Him to turn the stones into bread [see Matthew 4:3]. 

Eve was enticed and took a fruit, ate it and even gave some to her husband who readily accepted it not thinking about God's command. He must have loved and trusted his wife too much he forgot about God! But our Lord, instead of merely making faces to taunt the Devil and depending on His own strength knew that only one thing is necessary to overcome the temptation: to think of God and His providence. So He quoted Scriptures. The whole passage read as follows: "He humbled you, he made you feel hunger, he fed you with manna which neither you nor your ancestors had ever known, to make you understand that human beings live not on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of Yahweh" [Deuteronomy 8:3]. The next passages would even provide insight into the meaning of Matthew 6:33 quoted below. 

The Lord relied on God when Eve gave in to her senses and basic needs.

Today we are faced with so much temptations directed against our basic needs and senses that lead us to sin. Hunger is everywhere, people without their own houses can be seen even in many developed countries, and overpopulation is considered a very grave danger to the self-sufficiency of human being in the days to come. On the other hand, there are so many products backed up by strong commercials and advertisement about keeping our bodies beautiful, of having pretty externals, of having healthy lives, which all seems to be geared to the target of being perfectly fitted to a society with enough for everyone in accordance with a projected number of population that could be supported by the earth to live in luxury, pleasure and leisure. And in the midst of these, the act of procreation is being relegated into a mere act of leisure and pleasure. While promoting the program of limiting the population, sex which is supposed to be for procreation, the growth of population, is being set only as a "recreational facility". 

And the Word of God is not listened to anymore and the Church which He has established is being attacked as an outdated institution, an ultraconservative establishment that has no place on earth. And many would even proclaim, "There is no God!" when in fact they make gods out of science, technology and modern living without knowing or recognizing it. 

Basic human needs and the satisfaction of our senses are not bad in themselves. It is when they are satiated and used in an ungodly way that they become bad. As Christians it is our duty to manifest to the world that the most important thing that truly matters in the world is every word that comes out of the mouth of God. In fact, God has given us the best Word to follow and imitate in our lives: Jesus Christ Himself, our Lord, the Word Incarnate through whom everything was made.

The next time we encounter temptations using our basic needs and directed to our sense, it would be good to remember Matthew 4:4: "Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God." In short let us remember Jesus our Lord, the Word of God, who lived the holiest life on earth and never sinned even once.

With regards to our needs, God assures us, "Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on God's saving justice, and all these other things will be given you as well" [Matthew 6:33].

The Basis of a Right

We have discussed that a "right" is a "just claim". We also made it clear that a "right" is not absolute because a person may have a "just claim" over one and the same "right" in the same manner or measure as another. We also established that a "right" must have a "basis" or else it cannot be possessed, owned, exercised, enjoyed, etc for no one cannot just pluck out of the empty air any "just claim".

Let us discuss some more about the "bases" of a "right" for as we said, no "right" can merely be plucked out of empty air. No one could merely say it is his "right" to speak, travel or live anywhere he wants to reside because he "wants" it. It would be result to a useless and lengthy debate and argumentation and most probably end up in what we do not like so much to happen, the imposition of the dictum "might is right" when the opposite is more acceptable and probably true and fair, that is, "right is might".

The truly acceptable bases of a "right" is a "law". There are many definitions of law but one which seems to be most consistent with man's rational nature is that of St. Thomas Aquinas, and it is stated as "nothing other than a certain dictate of reason for the common good, made by him who has the care of the community and promulgated." Here the Saint establishes important ingredients of what a law should be: [1] a law must be reasonable, [2] must be for the common good, [3] must come from an authority, and [4] must be promulgated. Most if not all modern laws have these qualities of a law.

[1] Reasonable means that it is based on the rationality of man or his nature as a thinking animal. A law cannot be based on a whim, a fad, or passing desire, or anything that does not come from man's deliberation or process of decision-making. It cannot be based on the mere interests of a privileged few or the "wants" of a vote rich sector of society or district of a community therefore it must not be made merely due to political exigency, economic interests and socio-cultural experimentation. It must be based on the grounds of fairness, propriety and equity, or perhaps "truth, justice and peace". 

[2] A law must be for the common good. It may not actually benefit each and everyone in the same manner or measure but it has to be made for the sake of each and everyone. Laws that tend to favor only a few or a chosen group is called class legislation and is not acceptable in most countries. For example, traffic laws are enforced for every person to be assured of safety in the use of roads though not every person may be using the road. Holidays in celebration of a religious observance of a church or any other religious group may be proclaimed but not only the members of the said group have to benefit from the holiday but even those who are non-members.

[3] A law must come from an authority. No one could make a law to be enforced upon others without the power vested in him to do such a thing. In most countries, laws are enacted by a Congress or a Parliament. Before, absolute monarchs had the privilege of making laws by themselves, some have advisers to help them but still only the monarch could make laws. 

[4] A law must be promulgated, that is, it is made known. Though we have the saying that "ignorance of the law is not an excuse" it is only enforceable after it has been promulgated or made known to all who need to know the law that they may follow it. It cannot be kept hidden. Though it is not necessary to go to every person to tell him about the law, the practice these days especially with regards to national laws is to have them printed in newspapers of general circulation that at least people may have the opportunity to read them. 

Now that we have made it clear that "rights" should be based on law, we may raise the question as to what kind of law do we base a "right"?  The most common laws to us are man made laws also called positive laws or more particularly, human positive laws. But if we merely say these human positive  laws would be our bases for the possession, ownership, exercise or enjoyment of "rights", how can we claim the so-called "human rights" when these rights are observably more primitive than man made laws. Before any law on the freedom of expression have been made, man have already been claiming that "right" to express himself. Before a law on property have been made, people have been owning things already and the property law was merely enacted to confirm the said "right". Surely, there must be some other laws aside from man made laws upon which people could base the "first or prime rights" such as the human rights. 

We shall discuss this matter in the next article. 

The Respect due to Life

Adam and Eve mourning the death of Abel by his elder brother Cain: 

the very first recorded murder in the Holy Bible.

Life is something that man should respect. If he won't recognize it as a sacred gift of God he still cannot get away from the fact that life itself is older than him and therefore must be given the proper recognition and respect due to it the same way we give due acknowledgment, honor and protection to other natural things due to their age or importance in history such as the wonders of the world, tourist destinations, landmarks and heritage sites, etc.

Our first argument for life is that it is a sacred gift of God. Unfortunately since it cannot be "scientifically proven" just like the existence and essence of God, we will try to seek another bases to be used in defense of life: life as the perfection of nature.

The Theory of Evolution tells us that life was formed by the combination of basic elements that have the capacity to produce life. Out of these elements came forth the first single celled living beings which by the progress of time evolved into various living beings which now presently being ruled by the most complicated living thing which is man.

In religion, we are taught that the perfection of life is eternal life or union with God. In our present discussion focusing on the Theory of Evolution, we can say that life is a perfection of existence. From non-living something alive came out. Existence has now progressed from having merely non-living beings into having living beings already. It is surely a positive development in the history of "existence". Hence being a positive development, it is a significant event and a true progress and like any other beneficial or positive development or progress ought to be kept and protected.

Moreover, life did not remain as mere life. It still "evolved" into something better, it produced human beings, living beings that can think or rationalize. So far humanity is the crown of perfection of existence. To use the language of the Bible, while everything else is called by God as "good", the eventual creation of man made Him say everything was "very good". Very good indeed because of the fact that humans can think and guide the progress of the world and existence did not have to rely on chance anymore as to where it is supposed to go. 

The advent of humanity is supposed to be a blessing for the earth. To use the language of the Bible, man was given the task to be the steward of creation. As far as the Theory of Evolution is concerned, we now have a living being who can guide the history of existence. Existence is no more a mere slave of chance but now an opportunity to have a meaning since man as a rational being can guide its direction.

Unfortunately, the same rational beings who made existence have a better meaning with the establishment of civilization, seems to be the same beings who are leading it towards damnation. In the guise of making the earth a "paradise" for a few million human beings, they would want that a system of choosing the perfect elite be implemented. While the perfection of life means better living conditions, it doesn't have to be in the expense of other human beings who may not be "physically" fit to fight for their own survival, and yet by nature have the right to enjoy life in the same measure as the "perfect elite". 

The survival of the fittest principle, though may not be directly implemented under the same name, is a return to the time when only the lower forms of animals existed on earth. It was their rule since lower animals do not have the mental capacity to make agreements and concessions. Humans can enter into agreements and contracts and respect and honor rights of all. Hence in a world ruled by rational beings, the only true rule should be mutual respect and the greatest respect that man should give is the respect to life because without life nothing else would be!

Life may not be considered sacred by many but still life deserves being accorded the greatest respect. It is not only so much older than everything alive. It is also the source of all that we have including rights and privileges!

Second Sunday In Ordinary Time [2012]

Picture from radiantfear.blogspot.com via googl.com "Jesus turned round, saw them following and said,  'What do you want?'  They answered, 'Rabbi' -- which means Teacher --  'where do you live?'   He replied, 'Come and see' ..." - John 1: 38-39

We learn about Jesus Christ our Lord through other persons, sometimes through events in their lives but still, seeks understanding of such events through other persons, because we cannot physically meet him now. We meet Christ through other people and through the institution which He has left to represent Him and continue His saving acts, the Church and the Sacraments. It is logical that when we want to learn about a person we do the necessary things in order to get information about that person and if possible we try to meet him to get first hand information and get better understanding of him. With Jesus we come to know Him best by reading the Holy Bible, studying the history of the Church He has instituted, and taking advantage of the Sacraments which He has instituted to be the continuing signs of salvation. Moreover, we must do our best to find out all about the Lord through the proper institutions and to be given the proper explanation of the Holy Bible from the same institutions. We must keep in mind that Jesus did not just went away after His resurrection to leave us with nothing to guide us. He left us the Church to continue His teachings and actions. The authority He received from God the Father He delegated upon the Church. He gave the keys of heaven to Peter [see Matthew 16:18] and He blew the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles to forgive or retain sins [see John 20:23]. We also have to constantly pray so that we may be able to find out His will for us in our daily lives. It is by prayer that we could discern His will for us just as He prayed a lot to the Father while He was here on earth so that He would be constantly in communion with the Father. Through prayer we could also establish our friendship with the Lord and our being children of the Father. Through prayer we let the Holy Spirit grow within us thereby making our bodies truly His temple. Let us do our best to know more our Lord Jesus Christ that we may be able to be more effective apostles of His friendship and love to everyone.