God's Word and Daily Life

Mary Magdalene, model of hope

Mary Magdalene, model of hope

ABy Paul Deniega Cruz

On July 22, we will celebrate the memorial of Saint Mary Magdalene.  Many of us probably remember Mary Magdalene as one of the women who remained at the feet of Jesus throughout his suffering and death on the cross. Or, we might remember her as the first person to witness Jesus’ Resurrection. Both roles are very important to consider as we examine the readings from today and their importance in recognizing God’s presence in our lives.

The Gospel taught us that Mary Magdalene visited the tomb of Jesus.  She arrived, found it empty, and wept.  When confronted by Jesus, she replied, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.”  Mary Magdalene was blinded by her grief, her own human failings, because in that moment, she believed her struggles were greater than God himself.  She has forgotten Christ’s promise that he will rebuild this temple in three days (Cf, Jn 2:19).  She, who sat at the feet of Jesus as he suffered on the cross, does not recognize that Christ is standing in front of her. 

We often go through life like Mary Magdalene, blinded by our everyday fears and hardships, but her life and her actions give us an example to follow. Though blinded by her own human failings, she learned to have faith and trust in the constant presence of the mercy and love of Christ. So, in prayer let us say together:

Grant to us, most merciful Father, that as the blessed Mary Magdalen, by loving Our Lord Jesus Christ above all things, won the forgiveness of her sins, so may she obtain for us, through Your mercy, everlasting happiness. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

 

The coming Synod and I

The coming Synod and I

By Fr. Bernard Holzer, aa

 

We already know the Filipino participants to the Synod in October: Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization; Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila; Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, CBCP President; Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara of Pasig, CBCP Vice President; and a lay woman, Ms. Estela Padilla.

But do we know about the Synod, and how we could participate?

The theme of the upcoming 16th Synod of Bishops is: “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission”.  Synodality indicates walking together and listening to one another but above all to the Holy Spirit. 

“Enabling everyone to participate is an essential ecclesial duty!”, stressed Pope Francis recently, adding that it is an indispensable ecclesial commitment based on the “identity card” of the baptism.

How can we, therefore, participate? By praying the Holy Spirit and by reading the “Instrumentum Laboris”, the document that will guide the work of the two-part General Assembly that will meet in Rome in October 2023 and October 2024. Let’s take the next weeks to read and share the thoughts of the preparation of this event.

Here is the link:

SYNOD OF BISHOPS

What God to announce?

What God to announce?

By Fr. Bernard Holzer, aa

On Saturday, July 1, 2023, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández of La Plata (Argentina) as the new Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, whose central purpose is to guard the teaching that flows from the faith in order to "give reasons for our hope, but not as an enemy who critiques and condemns”.

In a letter addressed to him (*), Pope Francis encourages us too, to live our faith in a joyful way. He gives us some criteria of discernment for the mission of the Church and for our own life.

“We need a way of thinking which can convincingly present a God who loves, who forgives, who saves, who liberates, who promotes people and calls them to fraternal service.

This happens if “the message has to concentrate on the essentials, on what is most beautiful, most grand, most appealing and at the same time most necessary” 11. You are well aware that there is a harmonious order among the truths of our message, and the greatest danger occurs when secondary issues end up overshadowing the central ones.”

(*) Letter of the Holy Father to the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, Vatican City, 1 July 2023 – www.press.vatican.va/bollettino

The two pillars of the Church

The two pillars of the Church

By Jen Avisado

June 29 is the combined celebration of Saints Peter and Paul, both apostles and martyrs. 

The Body of Christ, the Church, is a great structure, with Jesus as the keystone, the fellowship of believers as living stones (1 Pt 2:5), and the apostles with their preaching and teaching as the firm and solid foundation (see Eph 2:20). Of the apostles, Peter and Paul stand above the rest, the two greatest builders of the foundation.

Peter is foremost in confessing the faith, the one who established the early Church from the remnant of Israel; while Paul is the outstanding preacher of the faith, the master and teacher of the Gentiles. Each of them in a different way gathered together the one family of Christ (Roman Missal, 740).

Both Peter and Paul are considered apostles, Peter because he was called by Jesus at the Sea of Galilee (Mt 4:18-20; Mk 1:16-18; Lk 5:10) and commissioned with the keys to the kingdom (Mt 16:19) and as the shepherd of the sheep (Jn 21:15-17); and Paul because he was called by Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:4-6) and commissioned “to be an apostle and set apart to proclaim the gospel” (Rom 1:1). Peter is known as the “Prince of Apostles” and Paul is known as the “Apostle to the Gentiles.”

Let us pray: God Our Father, today you give us the joy of celebrating the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul. Through them your Church first received the faith. Keep us true to their teaching. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Repent and be saved!

Repent and be saved!

By Rems Noquiao

June 24 is the celebration of the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin.

There is no way to prepare the Lord’s way, to open our hearts to God’s reign, apart from repentance. It’s our sin that blocks the way, our rebellion that impedes His coming, our pride that leaves no room for Him.

So, John calls all of us to repent. As the other gospel writers tell us, he makes that call explicit for particular groups of people. “Bear fruits that befit repentance… Don’t simply confess your sins and receive baptism but turn from them to God and begin a new life.”

One of the things that we can learn from St. John, according to Pope Francis, was his “spirit of service. St. John was “not interested in having a following for himself, in gaining prestige and success, but he bears witness and then steps back, so that many may have the joy of meeting Jesus,” the pope said.

Corpus Christi Sunday

Corpus Christi Sunday

By Jen Avisado

Corpus Christi is Latin for the “Body of Christ.” We celebrate it as solemnity on the Sunday after the Most Holy Trinity Sunday. It is fitting that after the feast of the Holy Trinity, each of us is assured of the presence of the God that we yearn, in the Eucharist. The Mass is where the real presence of Jesus Christ is. It is in the Mass where we find the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we procession the Body and Blood of Christ on this day, may we be reminded of the real and actual presence of Christ within our midst. He did not abandon us. He kept his promise to be actually present with us through the Eucharist.

How do we treat the Mass? Do we treat it simply an obligatory event? Do we treat it with reverence –a time to meet and spend time with our Lord?

 

Holy Trinity Sunday

Holy Trinity Sunday

By Rems Noquiao

What is 1 plus 1 plus 1? Mathematics teaches that the answer is 3. But in the dogma of the Holy Trinity the answer is still 1. The fundamental dogma, on which everything in Christianity is based, is that of the Blessed Trinity in whose name all Christians are baptized. 

The feast of the Blessed Trinity needs to be understood and celebrated as a prolongation of the mysteries of Christ and as the solemn expression of our faith in this triune life of the Divine Persons, to which we have been given access by Baptism and by the Redemption won for us by Christ. Only in heaven shall we properly understand what it means, in union with Christ, to share as sons and daughters in the very life of God. Trinity Sunday is an invitation to remember that “[being] Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction”, according to Benedict XVI in his encyclical Deus Caritas Est.

This Trinity Sunday, let us be reminded by the love that binds the Trinity and the Church. This same love binds our family and our relationship with others.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday!

By Nette Pinon

Happy birthday! Don’t be surprised because every Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate the birthday of the Catholic Church.

We may not read so much about the Holy Spirit but the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, is literally “he who is called to one’s side,” advocatus in Latin. The Paraclete is commonly translated by “consoler”, and Jesus is the first consoler. The Lord also called the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit of Truth”.

So, every time we have problems and we pray for consolation, we are in fact, praying for the consoler- the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit – to be at our side to guide us through the pains and trials in life.

And Jesus sends the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Day. How about now? What are the things that bother you? Phone a friend? Yes. Call the Paraclete and he will be there to console you.

Being witnesses of the Ascension

Being witnesses of the Ascension

By Jen Avisado

On May 21, the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord.

In the First Reading on Sunday, the Acts of the Apostles talks about Jesus’ earthly mission and ministry. From the healer of the physical body, Jesus is also the healer of souls. He did not only feed the hungry and raised the dead, He also forgave sins and brought men closer to God.

The First Reading tells us that we will all be baptized with the Holy Spirit while in the Gospel, Jesus tells us that are to be his witnesses in His resurrection. He also promised that those who are his disciples and witnesses will be clothed with the Holy Spirit. He knows that they will need help encouragement and strength for the task that lies ahead of them. This promise points and leads us directly to Pentecost which we celebrate next Sunday. Jesus knows that these men and woman will need all the help they can get as they spread the good news of his resurrection.

Is following Christ difficult? Is it easier to do bad things than to do good things? Is it easier to be just than to be corrupt? Jesus tells us to carry on. Let us be witnesses of the Gospel in the family and in the workplace. Let us light the lamp of hope instead of cursing the darkness. Let us not be afraid for we are clothed with the Holy Spirit. ‘God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,” St. Paul tells us.

 

Asian values and Gospel

Asian values and Gospel

By Fr. Bernard Holzer, aa

In a week-long meeting, around twenty theologians from Asia gathered recently in Seoul (South Korea). The theme of the meeting, organized by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) was “The Future and Theological Prospect of the Church in Asia.”

To evangelize today in Asia, is to focus on emerging regional realities such as migration and environment while protecting Asian heritage and values. Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taek of Seoul Archdiocese said: “We must reflect very seriously on how to theologize the Asian heritage and values by illuminating them in the light of Christian faith while preserving them, and how to dynamically testify to the gospel in an Asian context.”

As an Asian, how do I know my own culture and do I savor the Gospel?What are the values of Asia that I find in the Gospel and that the Gospel makes me discover?

Going back to the conversation of Saint Paul to the people of Athens (Acts 17:16-34) could help me to understand our challenge as Asian Christians.