Why do evil things happen to good people?

HOMILY

2^nd Sunday of Lent: Transfiguration

          When Pope Francis was asked by that crying little girl in UST (Philippines): “Why does God allow bad things to happen to children?” the Pope noted that the little girl made a question that is very difficult to answer. Indeed, whenever we are confronted with any form of evil in the society or in our personal experience, we ask the same or similar question: “Why do evil things happen to good people?”

          During his homily in Tacloban airport, after knowing the extent of the catastrophe that the people of Tacloban and Leyte experienced, the Pope said: “So many of you have lost everything. I don’t know what to say to you. But the Lord does know what to say to you. Some of you have lost part of your families. All I can do is keep silence and walk with you all with my silent heart. Many of you have asked the Lord – why lord? And to each of you, to your heart, Christ responds with his heart from the cross. I have no more words for you. Let us look to Christ. He is the lord. He understands us because he underwent all the trials that we, that you, have experienced.”

           It is not easy to understand this. Oftentimes, we are scandalized by evil. But the Pope is telling us that whenever we are confronted with evil, let us look to Christ. Whenever we experience pain, suffering and trials, let us let Christ speak to us. In our readings today, the 2^nd Sunday of Lent, commemorating the Transfiguration of the Lord, Christ does not want us to be scandalized by the existence of pain, suffering and all forms of evil. He assures us that through His cross He has already conquered evil. Thus, we must also conquer evil by doing good.

          Very gently, Jesus introduces His disciples, represented in the Gospel today by Peter, James and John, to the reality of the cross. He brought them to a high mountain (Mt. Tabor according to tradition), and He was transfigured in front of them. He gives them in advance a vision of His glory, His future resurrection, in order to strengthen them in the face of the coming trials, so that they would not be scandalized by the cross, His passion and death.

          Oftentimes, Jesus also lets you experience His glory, through what I call “Taboric experiences” – experiences of your own “Transfiguration” – in order to keep you from the scandal of the crosses that will surely come your way. This is a proof of Jesus’ concern and love for you. He loves you so much that He doesn’t want to lose you. He dreads the thought of you losing faith in Him because of pain and suffering. He is afraid that you would desert Him once you encounter your crosses. So, He advances His consolation. He wants you to carry your cross and follow Him. But He assures you also that beyond the cross, there is resurrection and glory. He assures you that, if you remain faithful, through your cross you will also conquer evil.

          Your cross can be big or small, light or heavy. But rest assured: no cross of yours is bigger than the Cross of Jesus. In His cross, you are included. As the song goes, “He carries the weight of the world upon His shoulder”. If He did that, I know He also carries you and your crosses.

          Sometimes, the Lord allows you to carry a portion of His cross, just to see if you are really His true disciple. He did that with Abraham in the First Reading. He asked Abraham to sacrifice His own son, Isaac. This was to test Abraham’s faith and trust in God’s promise. This was Abraham’s heavy cross. Isn’t it true that when we are asked to sacrifice the things or relationships that we find so precious, it is as if a portion of us also dies? This is precisely what Calvary means: to sacrifice that which is most important to us.

 Tradition says Mt. Moria was the Calvary in Jesus’ time. Hence, the sacrifice that God asked Abraham to make in Mt. Moria (and later, did not push through) was exactly the sacrifice that God the Father did when He sacrificed His Son on the cross at Mt. Calvary. If God sacrificed His Son for you, what can you sacrifice for God? Are you willing to sacrifice your time, talent and treasure for God’s project? Are you willing to sacrifice and offer your freedom to God? Are you willing to forego with your favorite food, or favorite pastime, your internet or DOTA this Lenten season, for God?

To the question: Why do evil things happen to good people? God did not give a rational explanation. Instead, He sacrificed His only Son, Jesus Christ. He allowed evil thing to happen to His perfect Son so that whenever you ask God, “Why the suffering and evil, Lord?” He will tell you: “Look at my Son.” God’s answer to the question is not theoretical but practical. He did not explain the existence of evil; He conquered it through the cross.

Are you still going to complain when you encounter pain, trials, problems, sickness or any form of evil? Will you still insist with the question: why the evil in the world? That should be God’s question to us, instead. We should be the ones looking for a rational explanation. God created the world good, but why the evil? Clearly, evil comes when man abuses his freedom. Evil takes place when man disobeys God’s will and follows instead his own will.

So, whenever you are confronted with evil in the world, don’t ask God why. Instead, strive to conquer it. But ask yourself: Am I an accomplice of evil? Have I contributed to the evil in the world because of my sins? If you think you do, then come back to God. Trust in His mercy and compassion. St. Paul assured us that God will forgive us. In the Second Reading he said: “If God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not give us all things with Him?” How can God not forgive us if He Himself sacrificed His own Son so that we may receive forgiveness of our sins?

Through His Transfiguration, the Lord keeps His apostles from the scandal of the cross. Let us also ask the Lord now to keep us from the scandal of our own crosses by giving us the hope of our own Transfiguration. Through the sacrifice of His own Son, God showed us how much He loves us and how His love conquers any form of evil that threatens us. Let us also ask Him to conquer evil by showing love and by doing good this Lenten season.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary intercede for us. Amen.

More Human, More Divine

Homily

December 17, 2014

Ang Unang Pagbasa kabahin sa gitawag nato nga “Panalangin ni Jacob” (The Blessings of Jacob). Gipatawag ni Jacob ang iyang mga anak ug giingnan: “Pagtigum kamo, ug patalinghugi ninyo, mga anak ni Jacob; Ug magpatalinghug kamo sa inyong amahan nga si Israel” (Gen. 49:2). Atong ma-obserbahan nga ang panalangin nga gihatag ni Jacob sa iyang mga anak, ilabi na kang Judah, nga karon atong nadungog, nagdala usab ug usa ka panagna (prophecy).

Panalangin nga nahimong panagna, kining tanan hingpit nga natuman diha kang Kristo. Tulo ka mga panalangin-nga-panagna (blessing-prophecy) nga natuman diha kang Kristo:

a)      “Pagadayegon ka sa imong mga igsoong lalake: Ang imong kamot anha sa liog sa imong mga kaaway; Ang mga anak sa imong amahan managyukbo kanimo” (Gen. 49: 8). Natuman kini sa panahon ni David, kaliwat ni Judah nga maoy naghari sa Israel sulod sa 40 ka tuig. Gibuntog ni David ang tanang mga kaaway sa Israel ug giyukboan siya sa mga hari sa yuta sa Canaan. Apan si Hesus ang kahingpitan sa katumanan niining maong panagna. Gibuntog Niya ang kaaway sa tanan (the ultimate enemy): ang sala. “At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bend in the heavens and on earth, and under the earth” (Phil. 2: 10).

b)     “Si Juda itoy sa leon… nga nagtikotkot siya, ug milukso siya ingon sa leon, Ug mao kini ingon sa leon nga baye. Kinsa ang magapukaw niini?” (Gen. 49: 9). Ang leon mao ang hari sa mga mabangis nga mga mananap. He is the terror of the forest when he roars – the Lion King. Kung makatangag siya ug biktima, walang mangahas mokalaban kaniya. By this it is foretold that the tribe of Judah should become very formidable, and should not only obtain great victories but should peaceably enjoy what was got by those victories. Judah is compared not to a lion rampant, always raging but to a lion couching, enjoying the satisfaction of his success. Usa ka Leon nga nagtamasa (enjoying) sa iyang kadaugan. Kining tanan natuman diha kang Hesus. Sa basahon sa Gipadayag (5:5), si Hesus gitawag nga “Leon sa Banay ni Judah”.

c)  “Ang cetro sa gahum dili pagakuhaon kang Juda, Hangtud nga moabut si Shilo; Ug maiya ang pagka-masinulondon sa mga katawhan” (Gen. 49: 10). Tinood man, wala gayod makuha gikan sa banay ni Judah ang pagkapangulo sa Israel hangtod nga natawo si Hesus, kaliwat ni David, kaliwat ni Judah.

Sa atong Ebanghelyo, gisubay ni San Mateo ang kaliwat ni Hesus. Importante kaayo alang sa mga Judio ang pagsubay sa ilang kagikan. For the Jews, knowing or tracing their genealogies is very important because these are proofs of their belongingness to the chosen people of God, Israel. Buot ni Mateo ipakita nga si Hesus mao ang katumanan sa mga blessings-prophecy ni Jacob.

Unsa man ang mga pagtulun-an nga atong makutlo gikan niining maong kagikan (genealogy) ni Hesus? Adunay tulo:

1)      God is faithful to His promise. Ang tawo mamahimo pang dili motuman sa iyang saad; apan ang Diyos makanunayon. Pipila na ka henerasyon ang milabay, apan gituman gihapon Niya ang iyang panaad pinaagi kang Jacob. Kita kaha: faithful ba kaha kita sa atong mga panaad sa Ginoo?

2)      God can write straight with crooked lines. Most of the time, we put obstacle to God’s grace with our infidelities and sinfulness. But God even uses our failures, sins and weaknesses as instruments to show us His mercy. Nakita nato kini sa family tree ni Kristo. The Gospel makes no effort to “sanitize” his origins, or the members of his immediate family. There are FOUR women with defects mentioned: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba.

·        The story of Tamar is a story of incest. Tamar was the daughter-in-law of Judah with whom she slept because Judah’s sons could not give her children.

·        Rahab’s is a story of a prostitute, not even a Jew, who protected the spies of Israel as they were preparing to demolish her city, Jericho. As a result of her sacrifice, she and her family were protected.

·        Ruth’s story is that of fidelity of a woman who did not belong to God’s people.

·        Bathsheba’s story is that of infidelity.

Despite these defects, God still realizes His plan. If God accepts all our defects and still continues to do good to us, to bless us and to do good to others through us, how can we not tolerate the defects of others and continue to do good despite the fact that we see their defects?

3)      Jesus fully entered our human condition, with all its virtues and vices. Si Hesus tinood nga Diyos ug tinood nga tawo. When He fully accepted and embraced the human nature, the Son of God really did become one of us except sin. And, if Jesus was totally incarnated in the world so that he could communicate the message of God’s love to the world, then we, too, must be totally incarnated. As St. Josemaria said: “In order to become more divine, we have to become more human”. If we think that, in order to be true to Jesus, we have to separate ourselves from a material and sinful world, we are not true to our calling. We cannot be the “salt” of the earth, unless we are fully inserted into it. But we can do that only when we also fully identify with the values and concerns of the Kingdom of God. Otherwise we are salt without taste.

Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to help us remain faithful to God despite our “crooked lines”. As we venerate the Sacred Humanity of Jesus, may we learn to become more human, so as to become more divine. Amen.

Sa Kristohanong kinabuhi, dili tanang naghayag, nagsiga

Homily

(December 16, 2014 Misa de Gallo)

Misa de Gallo na usab. Siyam ka kaadlawon nga gikahinaman sa kadaghanan. Pipila na usab ka mga body clock nga manga-usab. Inigkahuman sa siyam ka buntag, sip-on ug ubo. Sa mga batan-on, nindot ni nga higayon kay diri ka kakita ug mga natural beauty. Pipila kaha ka mga pangandoy or wishes ang matuman karong tuiga.

Salamat, Misa de Gallo, kay daghan mig pasahero (hunahuna sa mga traysikad drivers). Salamat, Misa de Gallo, daghang mamahaw karon diri sa McDo o kaha diha sa Jolibee. Lain-laing klase sa mga tawo, magkalahi ang tan-aw ug epekto sa Misa de Gallo sa ilang kinabuhi. Pero mao na kini ang atong nakasanayan. Mao ni ang gitawag nga “lifestyle faith” – atong nakasanayan nga kinabuhi sa pagtoo: Misa de Gallo tradition.

Apan sa atong Unang Pagbasa karon, ang “lifestyle faith” nga atong nadunggan lahi. Si Propeta Isaias naghisgot nga ang tinood nga pagkinabuhi sa pagtoo (lifestyle faith) mao ang pagpuyo niini daw sa pagtukaw (vigil). Believers must live every day as if the Lord is coming today! Magkinabuhi kita sa atong pagtoo sa pamaagi nga murag nagtukaw kay anytime moabot na ang Ginoo.

Mao kini ang unang kahulugan sa Misa de Gallo: nangmata kita’g kaadlawon aron magtukaw. Lami pa unta ikatulog, apan kinahanglang momata. Ug bahala’g wa’y kaligo, hilam-os lang, hala adto sa simbahan kay magtukaw alang sa pag-abot sa Ginoo.

Ang nakanindot kay matag kaadlawon, dili gayod useless ang pagtukaw: moabot ang Ginoo diha sa dagway sa pan ug sa bino ug musulod sa atong kalag ug kasingkasing…makighiusa kanato. Mao kini ang “lifestyle faith” natong mga Katoliko: we live our faith every day as is the Lord is coming today!

Kung naghunahuna ka nga si Kristo muabot sa imong kinabuhi matag adlaw diha sa Eyukaristiya, diha sa presensya sa imong isigkaingon, silingan, mga nagkinahanglan, etc., unsaon man nimo pagpuyo ang imong pagtoo? Ang Ebanghelyo karon naghatag kanato ug clue.

Not all that shine, burn

Sa Ebanghelyo, gilarawan (describe) ni Kristo si Juan nga Magbubunyag isip usa ka “lampara” o suga nga nagdilaab ug naghayag (“burning” and “shining”). Unsa man ang nauna: “burning” then “shining” or “shining” then “burning”. Maka-ingon siguro ka nga pareho ra man na, Father.

Kung ang gipasabot lamang usa ka kahoy nga nagsiga unya naghayag, pareho lang. Apan kung ang gipasabot ang atong kinabuhi sa pagtoo or lifestyle faith, adunay kalahian: sa espirituhanong kinabuhi, dili tanang naghayag, nagsiga (not all that shine, burn). Sumala pa ni San Bernardo:

“John was a burning and shining light. It does not say, shining and burning, because the brightness of John sprang from his fervour, not his fervour from his brightness. For there are some who do not shine because they burn, but rather burn in order that they may shine.” But there are those who shine yet do not burn… they “do not burn with the spirit of charity, but with the love of vanity”.

Ingon ni San Bernardo, adunay mga tawo nga nagpuyo sa pagtoo nga nagpasikat lang (shining) apan wala nagdilaab (burning). Mamahimong aktibo kaayo diha sa mga kalihukan sa Simbahan ug nakita sa tanan ang ilang gipamuhat o achievement. Apan kung tan-awon nato ang sulod, walay kainit, walay nagdilaab.

There are Christians who may be shining but not burning in their spiritual life. But Christ tells us today to be like John who is a “burning and shining lamp”. Jesus is telling us to “burn first with the zeal and love of God” before we can “shine as examples to others”.

Unahon usa nato ang pagdilaab diha sa gugma sa Ginoo: kining sakripisyo nga atong gihimo sa pagmata ug sayo aron pagsimba, kung ato kining gihimo tungod sa gugma sa Diyos, sa ato pa NAGDILAAB KITA SA GUGMA SA GINOO. Apan kung gihimo lamang nato kini tungod sa tradisyon, nakasanayan na, o kaha kay nagsimba pud ang crush, murag NAGHAYAG KITA APAN WALA NAGSIGA.

Unsay mahitabo kung “naghayag” lamang apan wala “nagsiga”? If we only “shine” out of vanity, but we are not “burning” inside with God’s love, we get burned out. Muabot ang higayon nga mawad-an kita’g kadasig sa pagbuhat ug maayo, sa pag-alagad sa katilingban o kaha sa pagtagad sa mga nanginahanglan.

Mahisama kita sa mga “Christmas lights” nga naghayag apan walay tinood nga pagdilaab sa sulod. Christmas lights just shine, but they don’t burn inside. Nindot lamang tan-awon sa mga mata apan walay hustong kainit nga makapadilaab.

Ang tinood nga kristiyano sama kang Juan. This is the lifestyle faith of every Christian: “We must burn first with the love of God; then, we shine as good examples to others”. May the Blessed Virgin Mary help us so we keep on “burning” and “shining” in our lifestyle faith. Amen.

Exercising Christian charity through fraternal correction

Homily: 23^rd Sunday in O.T.

We are familiar with the Filipino saying: “Wala ka ngang ginawang masama, wala ka rin namang kabutihang nagawa”. It points out to two things that we must avoid: (1) the sin of omission (of not doing the good that we must do when given the opportunity); and (2) the wrong notion of Christian charity (that is, the “mind-your-own-business” morality, wag makialam sa buhay ng iba, kahit na nakikita mong mali na ang ginagawa nila).

We may think that for as long as we don’t hurt anybody, okay lang: we are still exercising Christian charity. But charity is more than just to avoid causing pain or hurt to our neighbors. Christian charity is actively doing what is good for our neighbor. This, in a nutshell, is what the Church reminds us today through our readings.

How deep is your concern for your neighbor? What good things are you willing to do to show them your charity? Let us reflect on our readings to find out what the Church suggests we must do to exercise Christian charity, that is, fraternal correction. (Fraternal correction is here taken to mean the admonishing of one's neighbor by a private individual with the purpose of reforming him or, if possible, preventing his sinful indulgence.)

In the First Reading, the Lord warns us against a sin of omission: that of not giving fraternal correction to a brother or sister who is wrong. The Prophet Ezequiel says: “If I tell the wicked man that he shall surely die, and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death”. Mortal sin is called “mortal” because it brings death to the soul: the soul is deprived of God’s grace which is its life.

Sometimes, we are afraid or ashamed of telling a friend, a brother or a sister that what they are doing is a mortal sin because it might hurt them. We prefer not to tell them that cohabitation (living together without marriage) is mortal sin, that masturbation is mortal sin, etc. because they might get hurt. Our fear of hurting their pride hinders us from giving them fraternal correction, from showing Christian charity. The Lord says: “they shall die for their guilt – mortal sin – but I will hold you responsible for it” (sin of omission). He is saying, “If you really are concerned for your neighbor, then, try your best to warn them of their wicked deeds. Motivate them to soften their hearts and to listen to God’s voice” (as we prayed in the Responsorial Psalm). Now, that’s authentic Christian charity!

In the Second Reading, St. Paul exhorts the Romans and us, today, to follow the command of the Lord to “love one another for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law”. All the commandments are summed up in the law of Christian charity. “Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law”.

We should not let our zeal and our love for the law hinder us from fulfilling the law of love. Our eagerness to follow the norms in school, in the office, in our community, should not make us neglect the most fundamental law: the law of charity. It should not make us so stiff and tough in our dealings with others and forget that the law is basically fulfilled whenever we show charity to them. The law is there for correctional purposes only. What really matters is charity.

This is exactly what Jesus wants us to understand in the Gospel today. He is saying that we must do fraternal correction in a loving way. “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. If not, take one or two others along with you… If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church…” Three steps to a fruitful and loving dialogue: (1) truthful confrontation; (2) sincere communication, and (3) loving compassion.

Truthful confrontation must be done by distinguishing clearly the person from the evil deeds he/she has done. To distinguish person from action is not easy because our immediate tendency is to identify both. But Christian charity demands that we condemn the evil action but that we have compassion for the person. The evil action cannot be undone anymore. But the person who committed it can still be converted.

Sincere communication demands that we tell the person that his action is wrong, not because it goes against our self-interest. We do fraternal correction not just because we are offended but because the person has committed an objectively wrong action that offends God. We correct the person’s behavior because it degrades him. But we must be sincere enough to ensure that fraternal correction is not done for our personal interest.

Lastly, loving compassion must be the motive of our fraternal correction. It is harder to give correction than to receive one. That is why it is an authentic manifestation of Christian charity to give fraternal correction: because it is hard to do but it does so much good to our neighbor.

May we learn to make good use of this very Catholic way of loving in our efforts to live to the fullest the virtue of Christian charity. May the Blessed Virgin Mary help us to be courageous enough to exercise Christian charity through fraternal correction. Amen.