Easter: After the Pain

Jesus' Resurrection points beyond history but has left a FOOTPRINT within history. (Jesus of Nazareth vol 2, p 275)

We acknowledge the pain and woundedness of Good Friday. To deny it is to numb ourselves, not only to the pain but also to love. We go through grief, confusion, fear, and uncertainties of Black Saturday. We are shaken. Through all this we hold on to Jesus and He will never let go. His seeming absence and silence can sometimes discourage us but we know He is there. Jesus is there, ready to forgive... always loving. We accept, we embrace this Mercy... this love. Sometimes, it is difficult, we still do not feel worthy of being loved. Still Jesus offers His love.

He continues to knock gently at the doors of our hearts and slowly opens our eyes if we open our doors to Him.(Jesus of Nazareth vol 2, p 276)

It can be overwhelming and sometimes incomprehensible. But you just know... this is love.

He is ALIVE. Let us entrust ourselves to Him, knowing that we are on the right path. With Thomas let us place our hands into Jesus' pierced side and confess: "My Lord and my God!" (Jn 20:28) (Jesus of Nazareth vol 2, p 277)

Charity Without Obedience

The act of condescension of God to become Incarnate is an act of humility because we can never be equal to God. We are creatures of a Loving God who initiates love in each of us.

Yet, for a person condescending to another person (the poor, the infirmed, etc) is not an act of humility. On the contrary, it is approaching another person with a view of superiority towards an inferior.

Certainly, the act of kindness or the service rendered is still acceptable and its value remains; But the poor becomes poorer for it while the condescending one even becomes more superior.

In St. Francis of Assisi, the encounter with the leper brought out far greater generosity in him. He did not reject the material gifts at his disposal, but used them for others. Gifts are not self-serving.

When Francis' father disowned and disinherited him, St Francis became poor. It is then, that he marries Lady Poverty. He decided he will not work, he will be a beggar.

To beg others even for a good cause (for others) can be unsettling. To be a beggar for himself is even harder. A person must be so rooted in faith and always looking up to God as the true Giver while others are just instruments of His providence, can a person beg without becoming beholden to the instrument of providence. As such, the poor had always been used by politicians, actors, businesses, organizations, and idealogues. It is not a sweeping generalization that such love for the poor is purely exploitative to promote their image; Without a doubt, there are many who have genuine concern for the poor, a real endeavour to help others, and a true desire for goodness.

Yet, history tells us that many tragedies were borne of good intentions. Many of the pro-RH (pro-abortion) are truly concerned with the poor and poverty alleviation. They would initiate fund-raising for calamity victims. They would volunteer in worthy causes like Gawad Kalinga, Habitat for Humanity, World Vision, and others. And yet, they can not see the harm of reproductive health and abortion. Even priests and missionaries fall into such thinking.

This is the dangerous trajectory of Pope Francis' actuations which is so common among Jesuit-formed and Jesuit-educated people. It is PRACTICAL CHARITY marked by PRACTICAL OBEDIENCE.

With practical charity, there is also practical obedience. Traditions, laws (even natural laws), Liturgy, and the like are only obstacles in the way of practical charity. To a certain extent, it is an arrogant way of humility. There is no tempering the road of service to humanity, and often, it is based on a self-righteous approach of "I know what is best for you". Surely, they listen to the moans and groans of people in need, but their will is so focused on practically addressing it, that even without being conscious of it, they play god.

Who would be offended by beautiful churches, beautiful liturgy, beautiful vestments, beautiful artworks? Certainly, not the poor. Those who do not want to see such things are those who have it but can not reflect the beauty and greatness of God. Reflecting God in His Kingship and His splendour is an act of humility that doesn't make us poorer; It is calling us to greatness.

Still, we are not to disregard service to the poor or the "preferential option of the poor". (Blsd) Mother Teresa of Calcutta had exemplified this. She knows that there is greater poverty than that of material poverty. To be so focused on material poverty will tilt the balance of a person having body and soul. Beyond the "distressing disguise" of the body, we must always see the heart and soul of another person. Mother Teresa did not practice "practical charity". She was so strongly willed in her desire to be among the poorest of the poor, and she was totally convicted that that is what Jesus is asking of her; And yet, she was tempered by obedience to her bishop and spiritual director. Thus, in spite of, the temptation "to turn the stone into bread", she was able to serve with purity and authentic love that finds its source from the love of God.

Simplicity in living which I practice does not guarantee purity or humility. There is a tendency to reject the gifts; Thus, depriving others of a chance of generosity and ultimately, it can lead to less appreciation of God's bountiful blessings. It, in turn, becomes arrogance in simplicity.

Whatever way of life we have, we can practice charity and humility, but it must be coming from the "living waters" of God's love and Truth. And the only way to be faithful to God and love is thru obedience. Undermined as it is today, obedience is the only key to tempering our self-righteousness.

Only in truth does charity shine forth, only in truth can charity be authentically lived. TRUTH IS THE LIGHT THAT GIVES MEANING AND VALUE TO CHARITY. That light is both the light of reason and the light of faith, through which the intellect attains to the natural and supernatural truth of charity; it grasps its meaning as gift, acceptance, and communion. Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way. In a culture without truth, this is the fatal risk facing love. It falls prey to contingent subjective emotions and opinions, the word "love" is abused and distorted, to the point where it becomes the opposite." (Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate #3)

Passion of Christ Today

Jesus:
”My Words are there and I SPEAK, yet, so few LISTEN .”
”My House is there and I WAIT, yet, so few CAME.”
”My Miracle is there and I THIRST, yet, so few PARTAKE.”
”I left everything in place for them.”

”They can spend hours in front of the television and computer monitors,
they can’t even GAZE AT ME FOR AN HOUR.”

”They can spend an hour naked in bed with someone they hardly knew, yet,
they can’t BARE THEIR HEARTS out to Me even for a few minutes.”

”They can spend countless hours and days working for money and fame,
yet they can’t give Me a LORD'S DAY to give them some providence.”

”My feet are BRUISED, I kept running after them,
but they kept on chasing adventure. They never had time for me.”

”My knuckles are SWOLLEN from knocking,
they won’t open the door, they were with alcohol and drugs.”

”My voice is HOARSE from shouting,
but the television and radio were too loud, they couldn’t hear.”

”My hand reached out to TOUCH them,
but they couldn’t feel because they were having fun and feeling good.”

”I wanted to carry and PROTECT them,
but they don’t trust me, they would rather trust Science, Psychology, money, and Democracy.”

”I wanted to GIVE them something,
but their hands are too full holding on to material things.”

”I wanted to WHISPER ’I love you’
but fame’s clapping and cheers drowned my whisper.”

”I have given them everything that they may KNOW ME and know love,
still they want their way.”

”I have SHED blood, sweat and tears for them;
yet, they shed their blood, sweat and tears for what? For things that pass away.

”I have CARRIED My Cross,
yet won’t let Me help them in their baggages.”

”If only they knew that they need not be a victim anymore,
I have taken their place for them - became a victim for them, THEN and NOW
Just so they can have the victory of love and eternal life. Still, they don’t want to CHOOSE ME.”

Holy Week: To Serve and Be Served

We are meant to serve but also to be served.
Breadwinners, stars, and bratty children want everything done for them. They want to be served because they think themselves special with special priveleges.
On the other hand, there are those who are continually serving, attending to the every need of everyone. They carry a false martyrdom, of being the good one and the loving one.
Then, there are those who neither want to serve and be served, carrying the badge of self-sufficiency.
The acts of serving and being served do not necessarily mean HUMILITY or ARROGANCE. Peter was rebuked for not wanting his feet to be washed by Jesus. The apostles were rebuked when they did not want Mary to wash the feet of Jesus with perfume.

Jesus says, "If I wash you not, you shall have no part with me." Serving and not wanting to be served can be acts of self-centeredness and can be self-serving. Pope Benedict XVI connected acts of charity in the service of Truth. "Caritas in Veritate 79: Development needs Christians with their arms raised towards God in prayer, Christians moved by the knowledge that TRUTH-FILLED LOVE, caritas in veritate, from which authentic development proceeds, is not produced by us, but GIVEN TO US. For this reason, even in the most difficult and complex times, besides recognizing what is happening, we must above all else turn to God's love."

For the modern times, the "washing of the feet" had been focused on service and humility. For St Augustine, the "washing of the feet" also meant a continuing SPIRITUAL WASHING - cleansing as we engage in public life. Such cleansing is necessary even after the regeneration brought about by our Baptism.
The point is this: guilt must not be allowed to FESTER in the SILENCE of the SOUL, poisoning it from within. It needs to be confessed. Through confession, we bring it into the light, we place it within Christ's PURIFYING LOVE (cf Jn3:20-21). In confession, the Lord washes our soiled feet over and over again and prepares us for TABLE FELLOWSHIP with Him."Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth vol2, p74)

Thus, "to serve and be served" is to "be blessed and be a blessing". In communion with God, we can be in communion with others. As God becomes an integral part of our life, our individual persons can be integrated with humanity in harmony, serving each other physically and spiritually.

":not telling God what to do, but learning to ACCEPT HIM as He reveals Himself to us; noy seeking to exalt ourselves to God's level, but in HUMBLE SERVICE letting ourselves be slowly REFASHIONED into God's true Image."Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth vol2, p72)

Holy Week: Living and Dying

Sometimes we hold on too much to life and there are times when we seem to use death as an escape route - a false solution to our problems. But what is it that makes life worth living and at the same time worth dying for.

“How can we describe that moment in which we experience what life truly is? It is the MOMENT of LOVE, a moment which is simultaneously the moment of truth when life is discovered for what it is. The DESIRE for IMMORTALITY does not arise from the fundamentally unsatisfying enclosed existence of the isolated self, but from the experience of love, of communion, of the Thou." - Joseph Ratzimger, Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life

Death is the door to eternity. With a life lived in love and truth, death becomes its fullness. It is fulfilment of what we are living for.

“I have not so lived amongst you, that I need be ASHAMED to LIVE; nor do I FEAR to DIE, for we have a GOOD LORD”. -St. Ambrose

“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong DESIRE to LIVE taking the form of a READINESS to DIE.” - GK Chesterton

Holy Week- to Die with Jesus

There is always a dying in each of us. A sense of losing a part of us. It could be a loss of meaning and purpose due to lack of direction, physical sickness, or just that emptiness. It could be a sense of not knowing who we are. There is a LOSS. There is SOMETHING MISSING.

But there is also a holy death that brings forth life, a re-creation, a transformation. We know and we believe Jesus died and resurrected. This is our holy death - to experience Christ Crucified in our suffering and the suffering of others.

"As the cross of Christ demonstrates, God also speaks by his SILENCE. The silence of God, the experience of the distance of the almighty Father, is a decisive stage in the earthly journey of the Son of God, the incarnate Word. Hanging from the wood of the cross, He lamented the suffering caused by that silence: ' My God, my God, why have you forsaken me ( Mk 15:34; Mt 27:46). Advancing in obedience to His very last breath, in the obscurity of death, Jesus called upon the Father. He commended himself to him at the MOMENT of PASSAGE, through death, to eternal life: 'Father, into your hands I commend my spirit' ( Lk 23:46)." (Benedict XVI, Verbum Dei)

We all experience pain. Yet, it is a loud call that beckons, or even begs us to accept the love of God. When we do, we, in turn, can continue to love, to hope, to believe. Our life, even in suffering, becomes a prayer. This experience of dying is not limited to sickness. Parents, most esp mothers, would know the pain of going through this passage to new life. In Pope Benedict XVI, he must have experienced this, too, when he accepted the papacy. And moreso when he renounced it.

"Yet at the same time, Jesus' suffering is a Messianic Passion. It is suffering in FELLOWSHIP with us, in a solidarity - born of love- that already includes redemption, the VICTORY of LOVE." (Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth vol 2, p 216)

With the Cross, God loved me and you. He fought the battle with us and for us. He conquered death with new life.

“And so it turns out that the confrontation with physical death is actually a confrontation with the basic constitution of human existence. It places before us a choice: to accept either the PATTERN of LOVE, or the PATTERN of POWER. The God who personally died in Jesus Christ fulfilled the pattern of love beyond all expectation… The Christian dies into the death of Christ himself. The uncontrollable Power that everywhere sets limits to life is not a blind law of nature. It is a LOVE which puts itself AT OUR DISPOSAL by DYING FOR US and WITH US. Man’s enemy, death, that would waylay him to steal his life, is conquered at the point where one meets the thievery of death with the attitude of trusting love, and so transforms the theft into the increase of life.” (Joseph Ratzinger, Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life)

Holy Week Thru Pope Benedict XVI

The time of Lent is commemorating the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It speaks of the tremendous love of God for humanity.  Lent is a call to repentance, fasting, and alms giving; It is the constant call of God to each of us to journey with Him, in Him, and through Him.

The aging process brings new dimension to things, and with the devaluation of life around us in a culture of death.  I, now, meditate on the Holy Week through the eyes of a mortal man, Benedict XVI.  To die with Jesus.

“I will simply be a pilgrim who is beginning the last part of his pilgrimage on earth.” (Benedict XVI, March 28, 2013)

Good-byes are always difficult.  It cuts through our hearts – the HOLDING ON and the LETTING GO of good-byes. That is good-bye in whatever form, whether physical death, geographical separation, or end of a relationship. The significant other is responding to a call.  For someone like Pope Benedict XVI, it is definitely, a response to God’s call.

“The Lord is calling me to ‘climb the mountain’, to devote myself even more to prayer and meditation.” (Benedict XVI, March 24, 2012, Final Angelus)

And in all of Benedict XVI’s writings, everything in life is about an encounter with Jesus – with God.

“As pilgrims, we go up to Him; As a pilgrim, He comes to us and takes us up with Him in his ‘ascent’ to the Cross and Resurrection, to the definitive Jerusalem that is already growing in the midst of this world in the communion that unites us with His body.” (Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, vol 2)

There is always that point of intimate contact with God, so much like Michelangelo’s painting of the creation.  A reaching out of hands to the point of touching. Not just God’s but also our hands.

But then, there is always that inescapable CROSS that we have to face.  Abandonment, betrayal, failed aspirations, physical sickness… that we would rather drown in the accumulation of things, whirlwind of activities, fame and fortune.

“[Mount of Olives]: it was here that Jesus experienced the final loneliness, the whole anguish of the human condition.  Here the abyss of sin and evil permeated deep within his soul. Here He was to quake with foreboding of His imminent death. Here He was kissed by the betrayer. Here He was abandoned by all the disciples. Here He wrestled with His destiny for MY SAKE.” (Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, Vol 2, p 149)