6th SUNDAY OF EASTER

Defining Love

By Br. Adrian Louise Siayngco, OP

Aside from waking up early in the morning, one of the hardest thing for me is to define love. What is love? Is it just an emotion common to us humans? Is it an attraction to other people? Or is it that which makes you blind? Personally, I see love as action. To love is to act; and this action oftentimes demands our precious
time and our valued self.

This Sunday’s Gospel reminds us of the greatest commandment the world has been struggling with since time immemorial: “That you love one another.” Our world has not had enough of wars and killings and all kinds of atrocities. We witness these forms of violence in our country alone. “Kahit sa TV nga lang e, hindi buo ang gabi ng mga Pilipino kung walang patayan sa balita.” It’s rather funny, but it’s true.

Our Lord Jesus Christ keeps on reminding us that we live not only for ourselves but also for others. Yes, it is natural for us to prioritize first ourselves. “Sino bang pahanga ang ayaw unahin ang kanyang sariling kaligayahan?” But then let us hear Christ’s words: “I have told you this that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete…Love one another as I have loved you.” If we would only reflect on these words of Christ, we will realize that pursuing only our personal goals would merely give us satisfaction, but never the fulfillment and the complete joy that Christ refers to.

And thus, let us heed Christ’s command. With our own little ways and with God’s love, we can change the world. “Magmahal lang ng magmahal. Magbabago rin ang mundo.”

5th SUNDAY OF EASTER

Unity

By Br. Alexander Seño, OP

Most people aim to be whole and undivided. They want to be complete by being united to themselves, to family and to society. As an individual, everyone keeps his/her body parts complete and whole. That is why it is a nightmare for a person to experience accidents that might cause him/ her to lose body parts. It is worth noting that every New Year, there are incidents of fire cracker explosions among the people. From this scenario, people learn an important lesson that they must always do the necessary means in order to keep themselves whole.

Aside from the personal element, people always aim to be united with their family. The value of close family ties is apparent in the Filipino setting. That is why most grandparents, parents and children live together in one single home. They want to be together because they appreciate and give importance to each member of the family.

Among these elements, there is one thing that people must not forget: their unity with God. In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds everyone of the importance of the unity of people with God. Nowadays, people sometimes forget God, even more frequently than things. People are afraid of any harm or diminution happening to their body. They would rather choose to cheat at work in order to sustain the needs of their family. Moreover, they would do evil deeds because they want to be in and united with the evil society.

The Gospel for today strongly encourages us to be united with God first. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches: He is the only source of life for us. We might lose all the parts of our body, we could lose our loved ones and we would be divided from the society, but we must not forget that we could still live without them. Above anything else, we must be united with Jesus first because He is our life and salvation. We  cannot be without God for he is the vine that always sustains life and keeps us whole and united.

4th SUNDAY OF EASTER

The Good Shepherd

By Br. Jeffrey Pagaduan, OP


What a very timely Gospel! Today, while some of our leaders continue to act irresponsibly over the series of bad events that happened in our country, we hear from the Gospel the consoling words of our Lord Jesus Christ, “I am the Good Shepherd.” Let us therefore turn to Him and learn from Him.

The Good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The life of a leader is a life of service. To serve is not a work. It is a vocation. It entails commitment and responsibility. When one becomes a leader, he never ceases to be so. Every second of his life is a time of fulfilling his leadership. Why do some of our leaders often fail? It is because they see leadership as a work, a source of income. “A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.” (John 10:10).

The Good shepherd know his sheep. In order for the leader to serve, he needs to know his people. To know the people is to live with them, to live their lives. One cannot serve by merely staying in his comfortable office. To live the lives of the people is sacrifice. We see this in Jesus Himself. Though he was in the form of God… He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness (Philippians 2:6-7).

One can only make a commitment to serve if he knows the people whom he is serving.

Brothers and sisters, we can be leaders in our own simple ways. May the image of the Good Shepherd be the source of our strength and perseverance in leading the people in our home, school, and work.

3rd SUNDAY OF EASTER

He is not an illusion

by Br. Ed Christian R. Estrada, OP
Sometimes we are deceived by many things. The objects we see now may not exactly be the same as yesterday or tomorrow. There is no guarantee of stability. Anything may happen anytime. What will happen then if our world today were a mere deception, with no guarantees-- just an illusion? Our reaction may be fear, as what happened to the disciples of Jesus Christ when they gathered in the upper room. They felt afraid and terrified when they saw Jesus in their midst. Maybe they asked themselves if he was real or just an illusion. Christ’s appearance was real and He was not an illusion. To prove that He had risen, He showed His pierced hands and feet and He invited them to touch Him.

In today’s Gospel, Christ manifests Himself as the Risen Lord. Today is when all the messianic visions and prophecies of the coming of the Savior are fulfilled. Jesus taught His disciples and the two disciples going to Emmaus that the scriptures will help them to understand what happened.

Even though our life may seem to be full of uncertainty, always remember that Christ is there for us. He will help us and guide us as He guided His disciples. Through His risen body, remember that He is not an illusion; He is real. Go and spread the good news that Christ is risen.

2nd SUNDAY OF EASTER

ANG MABATHALANG AWA, MAKA-TAONG GAWA
By Br. Jaymar Godalle, OP


Ang ikalawang linggo sa Panahon ng Pasko ng Muling Pagkabuhay ng Panginoong Hesu-Kristo ay inilaan sa pagdiriwang ng Linggo ng Mabathalang Awa (Divine Mercy Sunday). Ang pagdiriwang na ito ay may kaakibat na imbitasyon para sa ating mga Kristiyano. Tayo ay inaanyayahan na harapin ang lahat ng pagsubok at hirap sa ating buhay nang may buong pagtitiwala sa kabutihan ng Diyos.

Tunay ngang ang buhay sa mundong ito ay punong-puno ng iba’t-ibang pagsubok na kung minsan ay nagdudulot sa atin ng kadiliman. Subalit ano mang hirap ang ating dinaranas, tayo ay inaalalayan ng Panginoon sa pagpapa-tuloy ng ating paglalakbay patungo sa kabutihan at kabanalan. Ano mang uri at dami ng ating mga paghihirap, hindi pa rin nito madadaig ang awa ng ating Panginoon na Siyang nagpapalakas at umaakay sa atin.

Maisa-buhay at maibahagi nawa natin ang mga maka-taong gawa na inaasahan mula sa atin. Tulad na lamang ng itinuturo sa ating Ebanghelyo sa linggong ito: Una, ang iwaksi sa ating puso at isipan ang mga agam-agam o pag-aalinlangan (tulad ni Tomas) sa ating paniniwala na si Hesus ay muling nabuhay. At ikalawa, huwag nawa sana tayong magdalawang-isip na lumapit sa Kanya sa tuwing tayo’y nababalisa o nahihirapan. Sapagkat ang mga mananampalatayang may maka-taong gawa na lumalapit sa Kanyang Mabathalang awa ay pagkakalooban Niya ng tunay at wagas na kapayapaan, kapayapaang hindi maipagkaka-loob ng mundong ito.

EASTER SUNDAY

THE LORD IS RISEN

By Br. Sandy Alerta, OP

The Lord is risen!

This is our proclamation. This is what we hold dear. This is our faith. Christ has died and He has risen from the dead.

But what does “rising” mean? The dictionary gives three definitions for it. Rising is to rise is to move upward, to go higher, or to slope or extend upward.

To rise is to move upward. As Jesus rises from the cold tomb that Joseph of Arimathea prepared for Him, we, too, are called to move upward from the sinfulness that breaks our relationships with our families, friends, neighbors, workmates and God. This season of Easter is a reminder for us to re-evaluate our lives and live it with a new enthusiasm brought forth by the risen Lord.

To rise is to go higher. Please don't take the negative notion of the definition. To go higher, in this sense, should be to be higher than our old self. If we were once insensitive, may we become sensitive to the needs of others. We should strive to become better day after day. As one bishop said: Tomorrow, be better than yourself today.

To rise is to slope or extend upward. It is always better to see progress than to stagnate or worse, to regress. We are happy when we see ourselves progress, don't we?

Indeed, Easter invites us to grow in the love of Jesus every day. This season teaches us to move upward, to go higher, and to extend upward, that is, to rise from our old sinful ways and to proclaim that Jesus has risen to give us hope, so that we, too, will rise in the last days. The Lord is risen, let us rejoice!