Led by the Children

(Some of the children who received their first Reconciliation [L-R]: Chiara, Megan, Reyna, and Mia)

A few weeks back, I was in church along with Chiara to join in their school's celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Chiara and other students/children parishioners will be receiving their first Holy Communion in May and so the parish and school organised this event where the children would make their first confession.  

During the meeting in preparation for this activity, the parish priest told us that we could accompany our children while they make their confession. Of course this was something new, not only for me but for other parents. In a way, it felt awkward.  On the day, the children were given the option of just being alone with the priest or being with their parents in front of the priest (Confession was face-to-face!).  If I am not mistaken, all children went to the priest on their own. When all kids were finished, the headteacher encouraged parents to avail of the sacrament.

Watching my child confidently approach the priest and make her first confession, I felt called to make my own confession. I approached Fr Anthony, the same priest who heard Chiara's confession.  As I sat next to him, he chuckled "I guess this is not your first confession." We both laughed briefly. After confessing to him, he asked me what is my favourite Bible verses. I told him "The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want". He  told me to take time to read and reflect on that. He also reminded me how God doesn't get tired of forgiving us.

Most of the time, we parents take the driver's seat. And yet, there are moments when we give that seat to someone else for them to take the lead. It happened on that memorable day in church when the children made me realize that God is our merciful Father who eagerly awaits our return. Sometimes, we adults tend to make excuses when it comes to going to confession. Excuses such as "The priest is only a human being like us. I can confess directly to God, can't I?"or "I am not prepared." come to mind.  For me, let's have an open mind about this sacrament. Christ instituted this for us, so why not accept it? Think of that thief dying on the cross. Surely he wasn't prepared for that encounter with Jesus. Touched by Christ's presence, he begged for forgiveness.  And forgiveness was granted him! Wouldn't Christ, through his priests, forgive us too when we receive this sacrament?

I hope and pray that these children will value their relationship with God and that they remain simple and humble so that they would continuously avail of this often forgotten sacrament; so that they would lead others to do the same.

I felt blessed to be in Chiara's first Reconciliation. I didn't only witness my daughter receiving God's forgiveness. She inspired me to receive it as well - a perfect opportunity this Lent! 

A Priest of Mercy

Ever since retiring from active ministry and moving back to Bulwell in September last year, Fr Anthony Dolan has made his presence felt in the community. He would often concelebrate Mass whenever he could. During his first few months, I haven't heard him deliver the homily.  A few friends of mine told me that he actually did during Christmas Morning Mass. Too bad, I attended the Vigil Mass. It took a few weeks later - the feast of the Lord's Baptism to be exact - when I heard him preach to the congregation. 

His homily during that celebration focused on Jesus as the Lord's Servant. Being the Servant, Christ manifested in His life the Father's Mercy. Indeed, as Pope Francis once wrote, "Jesus is the face of the Father's mercy."

Since then, I had the chance to attend a few Sunday Masses with Fr Anthony presiding and preaching.  And in all of these instances, he would always remind people of God's mercy and of how we should celebrate the Year of Mercy.  In one of those Masses, he recommended that we assign a holy door of Mercy in our own homes. He suggested that it would be the door where we could pray as we enter and as we leave. He even gave as an example the main door of his house as his own holy door of Mercy. 

There was one instance when Fr Anthony didn't preach, but only read the Bishop's Pastoral Letter in observance of Safeguarding Sunday (24 April 2016).  What caught my attention in that Letter was the Bishop's story of "Maria" (not her real name) who was a victim of human trafficking in our own diocese.  Furthermore, I noticed Fr Anthony so much affected by such an incident that he invited us to spend some time in prayer after Mass for "Maria" and other victims of human trafficking. He told us that he too would stay for a few minutes in church to pray. Listening to him speak, I felt as though he was almost in tears.

At a time and age when mercy seems to be archaic, when we give more emphasis on "Me, mine, and myself", when we seek more independence from rather than trust in God, when our battle cry would often be "Justice!" (as though justice and mercy are completely divorced from each other),  Fr Anthony's emphasis on God's mercy comes as a wake up call. 

I think there are three things that we could learn from Fr Anthony if we wish to "Be merciful just as our heavenly Father is merciful". First, remember. During the Mass, Fr Anthony and his brother priests across the world would quote Jesus' words "Do this in memory of me". It's to our best interest to remember how merciful God is to us otherwise we won't be able accept the invite to be merciful like Him. By remembering, comes being rooted. As a priest, Fr Anthony has shown how it is to be rooted in God. As a son of Bulwell, he has shown how rooted he is in the parish which, like a mother, nurtured him in the faith.

Second, devotion to Our Lady. One thing noticeable about Fr Anthony is that he would kneel in front of the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour for a few minutes before proceeding to the sacristy to get himself ready for Mass. Next to Jesus, Mary stands out as our model of how it is to be open to God's mercy and to share that mercy to others. Apart from that, Mary is a good teacher on how we should treasure in our hearts the great things that the Lord has done for us.

Third, action.  As we were leaving the Poor Clare Monastery Chapel, after the Taize prayer service held in June, Fr Anthony quipped "We have been praying all the time!". I took as though Fr Anthony was telling me, "Now that you've prayed, it's time to put that fully charged heart, mind, and soul of yours to work and bear fruit."

Happy 50th sacerdotal ordination anniversary, Fr Anthony, this coming Saturday (23 July 2016)! Thank you for your inspiring words and faithful service.  Keep on proclaiming the Lord's mercy to all! God bless you always.

Dominic and Thomas

The Order of Preachers (a.k.a. Dominicans) is celebrating its 800^th anniversary this year.  In Santo Domingo Church (Quezon City), the Jubilee celebration was launched in November last year by Cardinal Chito Tagle.  I received almost all of my education from the Dominicans – Nursery (a.k.a. Playhouse) to Grade 3: Angelicum School (now College), Grade 6 to 4th year High School: Letran, Manila, and BSc Chemistry: UST. After obtaining my degree, I worked in UST for almost 6 years.  I am also affiliated with the Rosary Confraternity which is also under the Order’s care. My Lola Piling once encouraged me to become a Dominican priest, but unfortunately I do not have a calling to become a Domini canes (hounds of the Lord).

A few months back, I answered a quiz on “Which Dominican Saint Are You Most Like?” (https://churchpop.com/2015/11/08/quiz-which-dominican-saint-are-you-most-like/) . At the end of the quiz, I was expecting that I would be most like St Thomas Aquinas, doctor of the Church and patron of UST, but my answers revealed me to be like St Dominic de Guzman, founder of the Order.  I am happy with that because without St Dominic, there’ll be no Dominican Order and there’ll be no jubilee to celebrate.

For me, both saints were great men of mercy. When Spain experienced a famine, the young Dominic gave away his possessions to feed the hungry. "Would you have me study off these dead skins, when men are dying of hunger?", he asked his fellow students.  As a priest, he preached against the Albigensian heresy and founded an institute for women. This happened about 10 years before he founded the group of Dominican friars. The Order was instituted out of the need for new type of order which will address the spiritual needs of the growing cities at that time through dedication and systematic education and having a more flexible organization than monastic orders or the secular clergy.

As for Thomas, whose feast day we celebrate as of this writing, he was a brilliant teacher, theologian, philosopher, and priest. Credit goes to him for writing Summa Theologica, an instructional guide for theology students, seminarians, and laity alike. He thought of writing this “because  a doctor of Catholic truth ought not only to teach the proficient, but to him pertains also to instruct beginners. As the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 3: 1–2, as to infants in Christ, I gave you milk to drink, not meat, our proposed intention in this work is to convey those things that pertain to the Christian religion, in a way that is fitting to the instruction of beginners".

Both saints pointed to the Truth – Christ Himself.  No wonder that UST’s motto is Veritas.  I remember Fr Ernesto Arceo, OP (currently Rector of Aquinas University) mentioned in his homily a decade or so ago that if these men were senators in the Philippines during Joseph Estrada's impeachment, they would vote to have the controversial envelope (containing evidence that would allegedly prove Erap's corruption) opened. 

As we pay tribute to these saints and to the men and women comprising the Dominican Order in their Jubilee Year, let’s live AND share the truth. For as St Thomas once said “Better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate”.

Look Who's In Control

During the Good Friday Service at our parish last week, I was asked to be one of the readers of the Passion of Jesus according to John (18:1-19:42).  At one point I was the maidservant, later I was Peter then the soldier who slapped Jesus' face, and finally I was Pontius Pilate.

Reading through the Passion - before and during the service - I felt the tension experienced by most of the characters. Peter was a classic example with his denials of Christ before the cock crew. In the earlier parts of the Passion, this was the same apostle who drew his sword cutting off Malchus' right ear.  Another character who felt tense was Pilate who told the Lord: ‘Are you refusing to speak to me? Surely you know I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?’.

And yet, throughout that Passion, Jesus was in control. Notice His reply to the exasperated Roman governor: ‘You would have no power over me if it had not been given you from above; that is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater guilt.’. And towards the end of the story, He uttered: ‘It is accomplished’.

Jesus' being in control has been reiterated to the world through the visionary nun Faustina Kowalska.  To this 20th century nun - now a saint - Jesus appeared as the Lord of Divine Mercy.  To a world mired in sin, Jesus offers His mercy. To souls bogged down with despair and incredulity, Jesus offers His mercy. 

If Jesus was (and is and will always be) in control, what should we be afraid of? What should we worry? What is holding us back?

Only one response is necessary. And this response was taught by the Lord to St Faustina:  "Jesus, I trust in You"!

***

I am one with the whole Catholic Church in celebrating the canonization of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II this coming Mercy Sunday.  Both popes strove to trust and mirror Jesus' mercy to the world.  A day after Christmas in 1958, Pope John XXIII visited the Regina Coeli prison in Rome where he told the inmates: "You could not come to me, so I came to you.". Before the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square on the day he announced the opening of the Second Vatican Council, this beloved pope said: "Dear children, returning home, you will find children: give your children a caress and say: This is the caress of the Pope!". Another touching moment was when he He 'opened' the Church through many efforts such as eliminating the description of the Jews as 'perfidious' in the Good Friday Liturgy, removed the word 'faithless' from the prayer for the conversion of the Jews, and convened the Second Vatican Council. 

In his encyclical Pacem in Terris, he wrote:  "Man has the right to live...the right to bodily integrity and to the means necessary for the proper development of life, particularly food, clothing, shelter, medical care, rest, and, finally, the necessary social services. In consequence, he has the right to be looked after in the event of ill health; disability stemming from his work; widowhood; old age; enforced unemployment; or whenever through no fault of his own he is deprived of the means of livelihood."

The last words of Il buon Papa (The Good Pope) were "I had the great grace to be born into a Christian family, modest and poor, but with the fear of the Lord. My time on earth is drawing to a close. But Christ lives on and continues his work in the Church. Souls, souls, ut omnes unum sint (That all may be one)". 

Pope John Paul II visiting Mehmet Ali Agca (a Turkish gunman who shot and wounded him in May 1981) in prison comes to mind when I think of the Divine Mercy.  In his pontificate, he built good relations with other faiths and apologised to those who suffered in the hands of the Catholic Church such as Galileo Galilei, the victims of the Holocaust, and the victims of sexual abuse.  During his visit to Yad Vashem (the national Holocaust memorial in Israel) in march 2000 he said: "We are deeply saddened by the behaviour of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer, and asking your forgiveness we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant".

On the sexual abuse scandal that hit the US, he told American cardinals who went to Rome in April 2002: "Priests and candidates for the priesthood often live at a level both materially and educationally superior to that of their families and the members of their own age group. It is therefore very easy for them to succumb to the temptation of thinking of themselves as better than others. When this happens, the ideal of priestly service and self-giving dedication can fade, leaving the priest dissatisfied and disheartened".

His last words were "Allow me to depart to the house of the Father".

Unfortunately, John Paul II's papacy comes under a cloud of doubt due to clergy sexual abuse: he recalled Cardinal Bernard Law (who was known to cover up sexual abuse committed by priests in his archdiocese) to a key post in Rome and supported Fr Marcial Maciel (founder of the Legion of Christ who abused boys, had relationships with women, fathered several children whom he also abused).  His 'centralization' of power at the Vatican made the Roman Curia behave as though it should be served rather than serve the local churches. (Look at how the new English translation of the Mass was implemented!) These issues have made some quarters uneasy with his canonization.

I'm aware that Pope Francis is facing these two issues head on. Perhaps that is the way forward. Definitely, the Holy Father needs our support.  Let's entrust him to Jesus, King of Mercy! May Sts John XXIII and John Paul II intercede for him and the entire People of God!

Lost Mittens

These past few days I have seen misplaced winter gloves - in the lift at work, in the pavement, etc.  At this time when it's still cold in this part of the globe, I couldn't help but pity their owners, kids especially who could easily feel cold. I once lost my scarf; luckily it happened at work and was quickly located, thanks to our Security Team.

Losing an important gear this winter can be likened to losing grace at an unfriendly, chaotic, and crucial moment in our lives. Rembrandt's celebrated painting "The Return of the Prodigal Son" depicted the lost son as having a worn out pair of shoes. Having worn out shoes (as well as a shaved head), Rembrandt tells us how this son lost his dignity (as the son of the rich father) after squandering his part of the estate.

Looking carefully at the painting, we see the father as a blind man - someone whose love is greater than his son's sins put together - and whose hands are that of a man and a woman - someone whose justice (as symbolized  by the man's left hand) is tempered by his gentleness (as symbolized by the woman's right hand).

We are that prodigal child who left God, our Father, and went on our own "merry way", following the dictates of our own whims. In the long run, we have lost His grace; we have lost our dignity as His children.

Lent offers us the hope and opportunity to regain what we lost. If you haven't been to confession for ages, perhaps this is the best time to avail of this often neglected and avoided sacrament. If you haven't spoken to those who hurt you (or those you have hurt), this could be the right time to do so. By being reconciled, we regain our spiritual gloves, shoes, etc. We regain grace!

Otherwise, we are no different to the older brother on the far righthand side of the painting - so full of himself, so distant, so self-righteous.  Better to be the 'lost and found' son than to be the 'missed out' son!

***

Last week, my family and I visited Ms Eliza "Ate Liza" Manzano in Dublin, Ireland.  An old-time friend and parish colleague in Manila, Ate Liza has been working in a children's hospital in Dublin for a decade or so.  We also met Paul, her Irish boyfriend, who drove us to a number of places in the city. It was a wonderful reunion and a memorable one for Nidz who celebrated her 40th birthday there. We look forward to see her again soon.

Ate Liza has been ill these past few months and just had her first chemotherapy last week. In spite of that, she appeared to be in high spirits and have shown a strong faith in God.  I felt I was the one blessed in that visit.  Let's include her in our prayers.

***

This coming Sunday, it will be Mother's Day in the UK.  I'm taking this opportunity to thank my mother and all mothers out there for the love and care they have showered us through the years.  I'm grateful especially to Nidz for faithfully and lovingly taking good care of our family. We love you, Mommy!