God's Word and Daily Life

By Rems Noquiao

On Sept. 24, the Catholic Church celebrates the National Seafarers’ Day, an annual celebration organized by the Apostleship of the Sea. The day lets Filipino Catholics remember Filipino seafarers who on account of employment at sea are often deprived of the grace and comfort of the Holy Mass.

The role of seafarers often goes under-appreciated within the maritime industry and by the general public. Seafarers are an essential component in world trade, keeping the economy moving and delivering the goods and fuels we use every day.

Thus, on Sunday, we pray for seafarers’ safety and grace so that their bonds of love and loyalty to their families may remain strong in spite of their physical separation.

Let us pray:

Watch over all who go down to the sea in ships – on business, for leisure, or to rescue those in peril or difficulty. Keep them from danger, befriend them in loneliness, and bring them safely home to those they love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

From September 1 to 4, Pope Francis visited Mongolia to encourage the country's small Catholic community- less than 1,400 faithful and only one Bishop for 3.3 million inhabitants- a Church in the peripheries of the world.

For us who live in the Philippines, a Catholic country, his message allows us to go deeper in our mission beyond the difficulties we may encounter that can sometimes discourage us.

"Smallness is not a problem, but an asset, Pope Francis said. Yes, God loves smallness and loves to accomplish great things through smallness,” he added.

In this Church founded on charity, the first missionaries cared for orphans, the sick and opened homes for the disabled. Catholicism develops there by adopting "the style of service that Jesus taught us," Pope Francis said.

And he encouraged this little flock, as he also encourages us: "Stay in touch with the face of Christ, scrutinizing him in the Scriptures and contemplating him in a silence of adoration before the tabernacle, you will recognize him in the faces of those you serve."

May we ask for this grace.

By Rems Noquiao

On Sept. 1, the Philippines will celebrate the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. The most basic, powerful, and counter-cultural thing we can do for God's creation is pray. The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation kicks off the Season of Creation, a time of sustained prayer and action which lasts a month and four days.

We live in a culture that values busy-ness and accomplishments. Following our Creator's call to "Be still and know what I am God" (Psalm 46:10) humbles us. With prayer, we become open to God's guidance, inspiration, and calls to action. With prayer, God knits us closer together in community. Only by the grace and inspiration of God can hearts and minds transform.

The Creation Justice community is diverse. We have many different ways of praying. Whether you will be taking time on September 1 to go on a meditative nature walk, celebrate liturgy in community, engage with scripture, speak sacred words aloud, or sing your prayers, it matters. Thanks for joining us in prayer! 

Let us pray: God our Father, you created the world and sent your own Son to live among us, made of the same stuff, breathing the same air, marveling at sunrise and sunset just as we do. Help us to participate in the life around and within us as your life, as you living in us and we living in you and in each other.

By Rems Noquiao

On August 23, Wednesday, the entire Philippines commemorates its secondary patroness, St. Rose of Lima.

Historians remember St. Rose of Lima for her piety and chastity. Born in 1586 in Lima, Peru to Spanish colonists, and named Isabel Flores de Olivia, she was exceptionally beautiful.

Her beauty was so great that she was nicknamed "Rose," a name that remains with her to this day. According to legend, a servant had a vision where her face turned into a rose. At her confirmation in 1597, she officially took the name of Rose.

From an early age, Rose wanted to become a nun. She often prayed and fasted in secret. She performed secret penances, some of which were painful and severe. She performed daily adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and took daily communion.

As a young woman, her beauty began to attract suitors. To deter these men, St. Rose marred her face, rubbing it with pepper to make it blister. She cropped her hair short.

Her parents opposed her plan to take a vow of chastity. This resulted in a clash of wills, because her parents wanted her to marry. Her father eventually relented and gave her a room to herself.

St. Rose kept herself cloistered in her room, spending long periods in prayer. It was said she slept only two hours per night so as to have more time for prayer.

During difficult times, have we bent our knees for prayer just like St. Rose?  Let us pray:

Help me to remember what is really important: that I am Your child You are my Father You love me for who I am and how I live not what I look like or what I own. Let me praise You Who sees into my heart, Who is always with me and Who eases my suffering. St. Rose of Lima, pray for us! Amen.

By Rems Noquiao

Today, the church celebrates the assumption of Mary, and we might wonder what this has to do with us. The answer is quite simple: Whatever God has done for Mary, God has done or will do for us. Mary was conceived without original sin, and in the waters of baptism, we are cleansed of original sin. Mary brought Christ into the world, in the anointing with chrism, we are commissioned to bring him into the world by what we say and do. And as Mary was assumed into heaven, a place in heaven awaits us.

In today’s gospel, we hear Mary’s great prayer of thanksgiving, a prayer we are invited to make our own: Our souls proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Our spirits rejoice in God our Savior.

Every evening, millions of people in the church pray the Magnificat. Every time I pray it, I am reminded to remember what Mary and that old, dying priest remembered: “The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”

By Reynaldo Cruz

On July 26, the Church celebrates the feast of the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saints Joachim and Anne. Joachim and Anne were also the grandparents of Jesus. According to those traditions, Joachim was a very wealthy and generous man. He and his wife, Anne, however, were childless until they were advanced in years. One day, before Anne conceived the Blessed Virgin Mary, Joachim arrived at the Temple to make an offering. It was rejected by a man named Rubim, most likely a Levitical priest, because Joachim was childless. “It is not right for you first to bring your offerings, because you have not made seed in Israel.” Children were exceedingly important at that time; to be childless was understood as disfavor from God.

So, why do we honor them? We honor them because of the love and care they have shown in raising Mary. Just like what Pope Francis said:

“Mary grew up in the home of Joachim and Anne; she was surrounded by their love and faith: in their home she learned to listen to the Lord and to follow his will. Saints Joachim and Anne were part of a long chain of people who had transmitted their faith and love for God, expressed in the warmth and love of family life, down to Mary, who received the Son of God in her womb and who gave him to the world, to us. How precious is the family as the privileged place for transmitting the faith!”

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.

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

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