Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas has recently published a 232-page book of homilies delivered during the COVID19 lockdown months entitled “Where is HE?”–Blessings from Distance and Absence.
The book is available at the CSI Malls, at selected Catholic book stores and from the Arzobispado de Lingayen Dagupan. The book is priced at PhP250.00 per copy or PhP200.00 per bulk orders of at least 10 copies.
The proceeds of the book sale will go to the Mary Help of Christians Seminary Scholarship Burse.
Lord My Chef Daily Recipe for Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday in the Fifth Week of Easter, 21 May 2025
Acts 15:1-6 <*((((>< + ><))))*> John 15:1-8
Photo by author, Cabo da Roca Villas, Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales, 15 May 2025.
Let me abide in you,
Lord Jesus for you are
the true vine and we are
your branches,
having life and sustenance
only in you and through you;
Let me remain in you
like the branches of the vine
so I may remain fruitful,
not just successful that is based
only on my efforts that are never
good enough;
Let me abide with you,
Lord especially when no one
else can truly be relied on
for you alone remains unchanged
in love and mercy.
Jesus said to his disciples, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit… Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me” (John 15:1-2, 4).
There are so many things in me
that need to be pruned and removed
especially those blocking my
growth in you as a person
and a disciple; so many parts
of my life need your nourishing
presence Lord like my temper
and anxieties that make me
hurt many people around me;
prune me of my old vices and
new ones that I have acquired
that prevent me from totally
giving myself to you in prayer
and charity; cleanse my heart
and my mind to see the other
"branches" that link me to you
our true vine like the Apostles
and the presbyters in the early
Church (Acts 15:6) by being open
to meet with others and discuss
the many issues that divide
and separate us from each other
by focusing alone in you dear Jesus.
Amen.
HOLY THURSDAY REFLECTIONS FOR MY BROTHER PRIESTS, 2025
We will remember again later this evening what the Lord did and said in the Upper Room the night before He suffered and died. This is my Body. This is my Blood. Remember Me. We are the fruits of those words. We are the heirs of that mandate.
Were there women at the Last Supper? The Gospels do not mention any women but I believe in my heart that there was at least one woman in the Upper Room that evening—Mary the mother of the Lord. If not physically, certainly spiritually, Mary was there. She, who gave Jesus her body and blood from her womb for nine months, cannot be absent. Mary, who first gave Jesus His food as milk from her breast, taught Jesus how to feed others, not from the kitchen pan and pot but from her soul.
Before Jesus said “This is my Body…this is my Blood” Mary must have whispered many times for the past thirty three years, from the silence of her soul, “This is my body…this is my blood,” as she cradled Him in her arms.
And at Calvary, standing beneath the cross, Mary could have said with her eyes fixed on her Son hanging on the tree of the cross “This is my body they have nailed to the cross. His body came from my body. This is my blood dripping on the soil of this hill. His blood came from my blood.”
The blood of the Son is the blood of the mother. The body of the Son is the body of the mother. Perhaps among all the creatures of God, the Virgin Mary was the most deserving to be a priest and bishop; but she is not, by the design of her Son Himself.
Surely the Virgin Mary was better than Peter who lied about his friendship with the Lord. Surely the Virgin Mother can offer better consolation and deeper tenderness than the sons of thunder James and John. Women have genius that men do not possess. In our age, some women in the Church can be better orators than us bishops whose homilies are long and winding. But the mandate to proclaim Easter was given to the woman apostle to the apostles—Mary Magdalene; she was not ordained for the priesthood. We have varied tasks assigned by the Lord. It is not our tasks that make us great or greater than the rest. It is love that makes us great—man or woman, young or old, rich or poor. Greatness is in love. That will never change. It is the lesson of the Lord.
The language of the Mass has changed over time; so do our vestments. Our manner of receiving absolution for sins has also changed in the course of more than two thousand years. The ordination only of men for the priesthood, for more than two thousand years now, may look outdated in need of review but it is not so. The Lord did not ordain any women. He selected all of his apostles, and none were women. Saint John Paul II said it definitively:
Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren, I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.
The mission and life of a priest must be carried out with masculine traits. Masculinity and the priesthood are inseparable because the priest reveals by his life and person, the love of God the Father. Christ’s maleness is essential, so that the same Christ can reveal the masculine fatherly love of God the Father.
A man could not claim the right to get pregnant. It simply would not work. His body would not support carrying a child to term. In the same vein, a woman cannot claim the right to reveal manhood as a priest. It simply would not work. The gift of motherhood among women complements the gift of fatherhood of men. Neither men nor women have a right to be priests. The priesthood is not a right of anyone.
The priesthood is a privilege, bestowed by God alone. He chooses and calls his priests. It is an amazing grace beyond human wisdom. Wrapped in awe we just say “Thank you Lord!”
How are we to treat women in the Church? The first letter of Paul to Timothy is our lighthouse. “Treat older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters with complete purity.” (5:2).
This Chrism Mass can be a good occasion for us to seek pardon for the sins of us priests against women in the Church. The Lord always treated women with openness, respect, acceptance and tenderness. It is good to ask ourselves how much of Christ’s attitude towards women have we really imitated?
Unchallenged clericalism has led to repeated verbal and physical abuse against our women catechists, collectors and cleaners who are old enough to be our mothers. God forgive us.
Dishonesty in private life has emboldened us to break the boundaries of celibate loving. As women are left to stay behind secret shadows, we enjoy the limelight of prestige and public respect. Lord, have mercy!
Women who suffer from unequal treatment despite their talents are relegated to menial jobs in the kitchen and laundry while their genius is mocked or ignored. We seek forgiveness.
The root of sin is a failure of gratitude. Our sins against women in the Church mostly redound to a failure to see them as graces from God for the Church. We have not truly thanked the women in our parishes and schools for their feminine genius. We seek their pardon for our blind ingratitude.
Today beloved brothers, I thank God for your mothers. I thank God for your sisters. I thank God for the women in the Church who might have hurt you but actually left with you important lessons in life. I thank God for the women who pray for you. I thank God for womanhood which helps us live fully our fatherhood and priesthood.
Message to the Archdiocese of Lingayen Dagupan Catholic Schools
February 25, 2025
EDSA People Power Anniversary
Your Father Soc here in the Archdiocese of Lingayen Dagupan was the first Rector of the EDSA Shrine built in 1989 to thank God for the historic People Power Revolution in 1986. That church was built under the patronage of Mary Queen of Peace. EDSA People Power is about the Catholic faith seeking justice for victims of human rights abuses. It was the Catholic faith proclaiming Veritas (which in English means truth) because dissent was being suppressed and the truth was being hidden. It was the Catholic faith fighting corruption in government and challenging those in authority who were using taxes to enrich themselves.
Under the government of President Ferdinand Marcos, there was a curtain of peace and progress but behind the scenes were human abuses, suppression of dissent and massive corruption.
Not my words, try Google search and you will read this:
He is widely regarded as the most controversial figure in Filipino history, Marcos’s regime was infamous for corruption, extravagance, and brutality.
Again try Google search and you will read these:
The Marcos family stole US$5 billion–$10 billion from the Central Bank of the Philippines. The Marcos family enjoyed a decadent lifestyle, taking billions of dollars from the Philippines between 1965 and 1986.
Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos held the Guinness World Record for the largest-ever theft from a government for decades.
In February 1986, we your grandparents stood for four days at EDSA in Quezon City between Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame. We prayed the rosary, gave food to the soldiers who were dispatched to disperse us. We sang Bayan Ko and slept on the street. On February 25, 1986 the dictator and thief Ferdinand Marcos fled to Hawaii in exile. We ousted the dictator without violence and bloodshed.
The whole world admired us Filipinos then. It was a moment of glory. The Filipino greatness was hailed by the world. It was faith seeking justice. It was faith making peace.
What can I teach you now as we celebrate EDSA People Power?
No matter what they say and how you feel, know that there is greatness in your heart. The soul of our Filipino nation is great and noble and heroic.
The years of Marcos from 1965 to 1986 were not paradise years for the Philippines. They were years of massive corruption and stealing, suppression of opposition and torture of those who were vocal against the regime. Resist those who want to change that historical chapter and want to mislead and deceive you.
The EDSA People Power was not about a political group ousting another political group. It was rather the Catholic faith of peace and love bringing a social revolution without bloodshed.
EDSA People Power was the response of our people against the massive election cheating of Ferdinand Marcos in the elections of 1986. It was not Tama na, kami naman! It was rather Sobra na. Tama na. Palitan na. We did it peacefully. Be proud of this. The world admired us.
What should you do my dear students?
Believe in the power of God to change for the better. A world at prayer is a world at peace.
Be involved and be engaged in matters that affect the nation and the world. For us Christians, it is a sin to live only for yourself. Be men and women for others.
Do not tolerate wrongdoing. Resist what is wrong. Choose right even if no one is watching. That is integrity.
Do not believe those who say the Church should keep quiet about political matters. Politics without God; politicians disregarding Ten Commandments; politicians stealing our government funds; politicians exempting themselves from the law—they are evil. We must remove that kind of politics from the nation.
Father Soc loves you. I will not lie to you. I will not mislead you. I was there. I saw the corruption and torture and killing and illegal arrests. That is what really happened. EDSA People Power was the answer of our God loving people to evil men and evil deeds. We must celebrate. This day is the holiday of nameless millions of Filipino heroes of 1986. Do not forget.
Mabuhay ang EDSA People Power.
+Most Rev. Socrates B. Villegas
Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan
My brothers and sisters in Christ in the Church of Lingayen Dagupan:
Why this commentary on the national budget?
In Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI laid out the proper part of the Church in respect to the ordering of human society.
The Church’s social teaching argues on the basis of reason and natural law, namely, on the basis of what is in accord with the nature of every human being.
It recognizes that it is not the Church’s responsibility to make this teaching prevail in political life. Rather, the Church wishes to help form consciences in political life and to stimulate greater insight into the authentic requirements of justice as well as greater readiness to act accordingly, even when this might involve conflict with situations of personal interest.
Building a just social and civil order, wherein each person receives what is his or her due, is an essential task which every generation must take up anew.
As a political task, this cannot be the Church’s immediate responsibility.
Yet, since it is also a most important human responsibility, the Church is duty-bound to offer, through the purification of reason and through ethical formation, her own specific contribution towards understanding the requirements of justice and achieving them politically. (n. 25)
Our country starts a new fiscal year – and with it, a new budget passed by the Legislature as the National Appropriations Act. It is my understanding that the function of Congress is to legislatethe national budget into law, and the role of the Executive is to implement it. The Constitution grants the President the power to veto either the budget as a whole or such line items as he may find repugnant to sound public policy and to the welfare of all.
As your Archbishop, I admonish you to study diligently, judge critically and act with vigilance on the moral concern of the 2025 national budget. It is a grave social matter.
FIRST, the Bi-Cameral Conference Committee, tasked with formulating a compromise between the bills passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate, seems to have over-reached its power and, in the view of some experts in constitutional law, has in fact acted as a third chamber of Congress, more powerful than either the Lower and the Upper Houses, because it is the version it drafts that is eventually passed into law.
The reason that this is a moral concern is that the budget is an issue of what Catholic social teaching calls “distributive justice”– the fair, reasonable, equitable distribution of the nation’s resources, as well as its burdens. And to be truly the result of a democratic process, what is passed into law must be drafted by the common consensus of the people’s elected representatives scrutinizing, debating and voting as the people’s representatives – rather than by a select group that is not fairly representative of the general population.
Democratic consensus, the Second Vatican Council teaches, is a moral necessity insofar as justice is the aim of governance. In Gaudium et Spes, the Council taught:
Economic development must remain under man’s determination and must not be left to the judgment of a few men or groups possessing too much economic power or of the political community alone or of certain more powerful nations.
It is necessary, on the contrary, that at every level the largest possible number of people and, when it is a question of international relations, all nations have an active share in directing that development.
There is need as well of the coordination and fitting and harmonious combination of the spontaneous efforts of individuals and of free groups with the undertakings of public authorities. (GS, 65)
Regretfully, the Bi-Cameral Conference Committee is perceived by many to have acted as clique of interested individuals who were not representative of popular concerns and interests.
SECOND, I am troubled by the fact that PhilHealth was not allocated any amount. I have sought enlightenment from those in the know on this matter, and, while it seems that those insured – who, under the concept of “universal health care” ought to include every Filipino – will still be able to enjoy the benefits this system of health insurance guarantees, still, Congress would have done well to increase both the extent as well as the coverage of benefits. I have been told that one of the reasons for this development was PhilHealth’s poor “absorptive capacity” – which simply means that it did not spend enough! This is appalling because there are so many who suffer and die without the benefit of competent medical care and effective medicines because of poverty – and yet, a government agency tasked with ensuring that health services are available especially to those who cannot afford, has been sluggish in expending resources for those in greatest need.
No matter the promising signs of economic growth of which the government boasts, there can be no true progress when such an important dimension of public life as health is not justly addressed. St. Pope Paul VI in Populorum Progressio taught:
The development We speak of here cannot be restricted to economic growth alone. To be authentic, it must be well rounded; it must foster the development of each man and of the whole man.
As an eminent specialist on this question has rightly said: “We cannot allow economics to be separated from human realities, nor development from the civilization in which it takes place.
What counts for us is man—each individual man, each human group, and humanity as a whole.” (PP,14)
THIRD, it is dismaying that the budget for the Department of Public Works and Highways, an agency of government that, in the past, was repeatedly excoriated for incidences of graft and corruption, is higher than the allocation for education – despite the clear Constitutional provision that education ought to enjoy the highest budgetary priority.
True, in the National Expenditure Program (NEP), education was assigned a higher allocation by the Executive Branch, but legislators introduced into the final form of the budgetappropriations for projects which, I can only surmise, serve principally to curry favor from voters, especially as we face mid-term elections!
FOURTH, we must ask why Congress, through the Bi-Cameral Conference Committee, cut deeply into the allocations for social services and economic services – including agrarian reform and agriculture. Farmers are a beleaguered lot in our country. Their fortunes are bound to the uncertainties of weather and climate, as well as to man-made burdens such as the uncontrolled importation of agricultural goods that cause the prices of farm-products to hit rock-bottom!
While we are witnesses, even now, to the prodigal spending of politicians seeking re-election, our farmers must sink deeper into debt in order to produce what little they can from the soil, to sell them to middlemen who pay for them at the lowest prices possible and sell them at the highest prices they can command. This is the structural injustice about which the Church cannot be silent.
St. Pope John Paul II, on the 100th anniversary of Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, issued an encyclical of his own, CentesimusAnnus, in which he urged government to exercise a more active – in fact, forceful part in vindicating the rights of the downtrodden.
The State has the further right to intervene when particular monopolies create delays or obstacles to development. In addition to the tasks of harmonizing and guiding development, in exceptional circumstances the State can also exercise a substitute function, when social sectors or business systems are too weak or are just getting under way, and are not equal to the task at hand.
Such supplementary interventions, which are justified by urgent reasons touching the common good, must be as brief as possible, so as to avoid removing permanently from society and business systems the functions which are properly theirs, and so as to avoid enlarging excessively the sphere of State intervention to the detriment of both economic and civil freedom. (n. 48)
Political squabbles only distract government from what it should be doing to better the lot of those who already suffer. The visitations of various calamities this year have further impoverished our people. Before the writing on the wall spells out condemnation, government must act, act decisively and act justly.
But, as this is the Jubilee of Hope, our hope is in God. “It is better to trust in God than to trust in princes”…this is the wisdom of Sacred Scripture, and it is the foundation of our hope.
But since we are called upon to cooperate with God’s plans for the world, I call upon our leaders, in the name of God, to do what is right and just, beneficial and promising for our people.
In the name of God, do what is right and just!
Sa ngalan ng Diyos, bayan muna bago ang sarili!
In the name of God resist the culture of corruption and graft!
From the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, Dagupan City, January 15, 2025
Sunday is the Lord’s Day. Today is September 8, Sunday. It is also Mary’s day. When we have a choice between the Lord’s Day and Mary’s day, the Lord’s day takes priority. That is why the Mass is not the Mass for the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the Mass celebrating the 234th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The love of Mary and the message of Mary, and the love of God and the message of God, are not contradictory. In fact, they are complimentary.
Let us look at the apparitions of Mary for the past 2000 years. Most popular would be Fatima, Lourdes, the Miraculous Medal apparition at Rue d’Bac, and then Our Lady of Guadalupe. Not as popular are the apparitions in Banneux, Our Lady, Queen of the Poor. One thing is certain though, every time Mary appeared in human history, Mary always carried three messages.
First, Mary always spoke about turning away from sin. That was revealed in Fatima. She requested that in Lourdes and even in Banneux. Juan Diego spoke of that in Guadalupe. The message is the same in Rue d’Bac. Mary always tells people, “Turn away from sin. Convert. Have a change of heart.”
The second common message of Mary in all the apparitions is that Mary always invites people to pray. That is why we have the Fatima ejaculation after every mystery. Mary also taught people to pray at Lourdes. At Fatima, at Rue d’Bac, in Guadalupe, at Banneux, Mary always taught people, “Pray and return to my Son.”
The third component of Mary’s message is “Return to Jesus, my Son. Be united with one another and be united with Jesus, my Son.” Everywhere Mary appeared, these three messages are always echoed and re-echoed over and over again. So that you will remember it more easily, there are three C’s. The first C is conversion. The second C is contemplation. The third C is communion. Mary always wants us to be united with Jesus. Mary always wants us to be united with one another.
With all due respect to Mary, she was not original. All her messages were not original because all her messages were only repetitions. They were borrowed messages from the message of Jesus Himself, because if Mary would have a message separate from the message of Jesus, she would no longer be truly mother of Jesus. Mary is venerated in the Church because everything she does is what Jesus would do. Everything she says is what Jesus wants to say. Mary is only a shadow of her Son, Jesus Christ.
The Gospel for today is a clear proof that the conversion, contemplation, and communion message of all the Marian apparitions are in the message of Jesus Christ. What is the first C? Conversion. Here we have in the Gospel the Lord giving us a mandate. Correct one another; invite one another to change. Invite one another to rise up from sin. Correct one another. “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.” In other words, it is not only Mary who must be an instrument of conversion. Every Christian must be a reminder of conversion also.
What is the second C? Contemplation, which is prayer. The Lord says to us in the Gospel for today that “When two or three are gathered in my name, I will be there and whatever you ask for will be granted to you by My Heavenly Father.” Mary encourages us to pray because Jesus taught us how to pray. If Jesus did not teach us how to pray, Mary would have no business telling us what to do or what to pray. Mary tells us to pray because that is the business of Jesus, her Son.
What is the third C? Communion. The Lord said, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven. I will be there in the midst of them.” Today is Mary’s birthday. Today is the Lord’s day. The message of the Lord is the message of Mary, and the message of Mary is the message of the Lord. There is no distinction. The Lord is primary. The Lord is almighty and Mary is only the handmaid of the Lord. Whatever the Lord says, Mary echoes all the time. It was Jesus who said, “I came so that all may be one.” It was Jesus who said, “Turn away from sin, the kingdom of God is at hand.” It was Jesus who taught us how to pray that beautiful prayer that we now call, “Our Father—The Lord’s Prayer.” It is Mary’s day and Mary points to Jesus, her Son. Jesus, her Son, with Mary, point to God the Father, inviting us to convert, to contemplate and to live in communion. If only we can live every day of our lives in the spirit of conversion, contemplation, and communion, we would not only be good children of Mary, we will also be good sons and daughters of the Father and good brothers and sisters to all.
Pastoral Letter for the Archdiocese of Lingayen Dagupan to be read as homily for all Masses for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 15 and 16, 2024
Beloved people of God in the Church of Lingayen Dagupan:
The threat is no longer imagined. It is no longer mere conjecture. There is evidence of insidious attempts by a foreign power that governs by an ideology that recognizes no God and keeps all religion and the practice of faith under the heavy heel of its totalitarian boot to “trample our sacred shores.”
China is a Threat
The network of agents it maintains and is capable of deploying, including those involved in espionage and even subversive activity, will not be denied by anyone who makes it his business to keep himself abreast of disturbing news reports. The People’s Republic of China shows neither fear nor does it exhibit hesitation in inching menacingly close to the Philippines. Lately, its provocative actions against the Philippine Coast Guard vessels at the Escoda Shoal place it well within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone. Not only are our maritime zones usurped and our fishermen evicted from their fishing grounds. Our marine environment is relentlessly wrecked as China endeavors to convert features into islands and militarized platforms.
Even closer to home, the possibility that the government has been infiltrated by persons on Beijing’s payroll or fellow Filipinos who have received favors in various forms from it puts the very sovereignty and independence of our country on the line. The investigations conducted both by the House of Representatives and the Senate have made clear that due to the lackadaisical, if not criminal, conduct of many government personnel, it is not impossible for foreigners with malicious intent to acquire documentation allowing them not only entry but residence in the Philippines, perhaps even to pass themselves off as natural-born Filipino citizens and thus qualify for public office.
Grave Moral Concerns
These are political, military and security issues, but there should be no doubt that profoundly moral issues are involved.
First: There is the moral issue of the interests of Filipinos in securing themselves and their future through the resources that the Creator has made available to them and that the laws of humankind recognize to be theirs. It is certainly a moral issue that many fisher folk have been deprived of the abundance that once allowed them at least a decent existence, and that has now forced them to rummage through the leftovers of Chinese poachers and encroachers.
Second: There is the moral issue of safeguarding a way of life that upholds the right of persons to believe and to practice their faith without any interference from the State, and the right of the Filipino nation to be shielded from the onslaught of agents of an atheistic ideology. There is the moral issue of jealously guarding that independence by which we have laid down for ourselves a system of law that recognizes fundamental rights and will not sacrifice them at the altar of any political or ideological party.
Third: There is the moral issue underscored by Pope Francis’ Encyclical, Laudato Si’, that calls the attention of all Catholics, in fact, of all humanity, to our responsibility for “our common home” and to defend nature against destructive forces – particularly greed and arrogance.
Our Faith Moves Us to Respond
The Church must respond – and she must respond as Church. This means that we will find the confidence to take a firm stand because of our conviction that if God is with us, no power can ever prevail against us!
By Prayer
We recall that at the height of Soviet power, when it seemed invincible and it had won over close to a third of the world’s population to its ideology, we were assured by Our Lady of Fatima that if we armed ourselves with the Rosary, “Russia would be converted” – and the Blessed Mother did keep her promise. This is not superstition, because it is through meditating on the mysteries of our Salvation, as we move through the beads of the Rosary, that we are configured into the mind and heart of God who has revealed himself in his Son Jesus whose saving work it is on which we meditate.
Even the EDSA people power of 1986 was preceded by the Marian Year of 1985 when we prayed and fasted and lived in solidarity with the poor.
Let us do it again! The rosary is simple and small and powerful like the mustard seed in the Gospel.
I then ask all the Catholic faithful in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan to join in – and invite others to do likewise – a Rosary Campaign from June 27 to the Solemnity of the Assumption on August 15.
I also appeal to our Catholic faithful to fast whenever they can and to do penance, above all by approaching the Sacrament of Penance, but also by performing other acts of penance and supererogation, with particular intensity, within this same period.
I invite Catholics throughout the country and especially in the Ecclesiastical Province of Lingayen-Dagupan to join us.
By Action
But I also make a call to faith-inspired action:
Dear lawmakers: Be resolute in your investigations and forthright in your report to the nation, and bring to light the extent to which our government and national and local institutions have been infiltrated by agents and lackeys of the People’s Republic of China.
Dear prosecutors and judges: Be loyal to your oaths of office as administrators of justice to see to the prosecution and punishment of all who have made a mockery of legal and administrative processes to enable foreign elements to prejudice our national security and our interests as a nation.
Dear heroic and brave uniformed men and women who patrol our waters, escort our fishermen, assert our claims and defend our territory and its waters. May you receive all the support that the government can give you and that our people are able to. Take courage. Defend our seas and our people. Be the heroes we need now!
Even as I laud the courageous fishermen who joined the recent flotilla – no matter how humble the vessels may have been – in asserting the sovereign rights of the Philippines over the disputed waters, I call on every Filipino, particularly those in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan to stand proud and tall and not to cower in fear lest our sacred rights be trampled on.
Stop the POGOs! It is time to end the regime of Philippine Off-Shore Gaming Operators. Whatever benefits that allow them to operate may have been promised are overshadowed completely by the threat they carry with them – and in fact, the dreadful harm of their presence. The recent raids that revealed the extent of the evil at these POGO hubs – including incidences of human trafficking and torture and money laundering – make it a moral imperative that no longer should they be granted the protection of the law and that they, in fact, should be outlawed.
May God be honored by all that we do for our country, our people and their future; for our faith and our Church, for the freedom to believe and the freedom to worship as we believe!
May the power of the rosary preserve our nation’s faith and freedom! May the power of the rosary crush the serpent’s head! May the power of the rosary drive away Satan’s power from our shores!
“Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer me.
Amen.”
From the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, Dagupan City, June 16, 2024, Worldwide Celebration of Fathers’ Day
I am sure you know at least one person who has left the Church due to a hurtful experience within it. This individual, once identifying as Catholic, has abandoned their religion because of disappointment with a priest or with people in the Church. Perhaps they encountered a priest who was unfaithful to his vow of celibacy or was affected by the political stance of a clergy member. Alternatively, they may have become annoyed with their parish priest’s persistent and insistent fundraising tactics, causing them to stop attending Mass altogether.
These people are frustrated by the Church. They have been hurt, and many, if not all, continue to suffer from this pain. They refuse to go to Confession because they no longer believe in priests and will not receive Holy Communion, thinking that all who participate are hypocrites. These are the people who the Church has hurt.
These individuals are represented by Thomas, who was scandalized by the suffering of the Lord. Thomas was hurt and frustrated, in severe pain, and chose to distance himself. In Tagalog, we would call his attitude “nagtampo-malakas na tampo.” He thought he had put all his trust in Jesus, believing him to be the liberator of Israel. However, Thomas felt betrayed after witnessing Jesus’ death and experienced immense emotional pain.
Thomas symbolizes the segment of the Church that is frustrated by its representatives. How did Thomas help himself? How was he healed of this deep hurt? He asked to touch Jesus’ wounds, stating that if he could verify Jesus was alive, he would believe and be healed of his pain and frustrations. The Lord allowed Thomas to do so, and upon touching Jesus’ wounds, Thomas believed.
Now, two thousand years later, there are still people like Thomas— not doubting, but extremely frustrated with the behavior of those within the Church. This includes priests, bishops, cardinals, daily Mass attendees, communicants, active laypeople, and religious sisters.
We have hurt our fellow Christians and frustrated them with our scandalous lives. How can we bring back those who have strayed from the Church or those who no longer go to Confession? They are still hurting, and it is because of us.
What can we do for them? Just as the Lord allowed Thomas to touch His wounds, we must reach out to our former Catholic brethren and let them see our own wounds. Unfortunately, we may not have enough visible wounds to show, so they do not believe in us. We, within the Church, have not experienced enough pain through the love of service and forgiveness.
In one short paragraph, Jesus astonished the people around Him for two significant reasons. Firstly, they were astounded by His preaching. Secondly, they were astounded by His healing.
Why were they astonished by His preaching? Because He spoke only the truth. Truth possesses its own power. It requires no sugar coating. It needs no techniques. When truth is conveyed as truth, it invariably carries a liberating power. When our words fail to astound others, could it be because we speak from fear or seek favors? Truth is fearless and does not pursue favors. Truth is truth, and that is its inherent value.
The second reason why people were astonished at Jesus is that He healed. He healed out of compassion. He healed from love. He was love incarnate. People were astonished because He was willing to go to great lengths to heal a man with an unclean spirit.
These are the two reasons why people were astonished by Jesus. He spoke the truth and lived with love. Truth and love, when united, possess infinite power. Truth and love, together, can liberate many. Yet, the first to be liberated, when truth and love converge, is ourselves.
In one short paragraph, Jesus astonished the people around Him for two significant reasons. Firstly, they were astounded by His preaching. Secondly, they were astounded by His healing.
Why were they astonished by His preaching? Because He spoke only the truth. Truth possesses its own power. It requires no sugar coating. It needs no techniques. When truth is conveyed as truth, it invariably carries a liberating power. When our words fail to astound others, could it be because we speak from fear or seek favors? Truth is fearless and does not pursue favors. Truth is truth, and that is its inherent value.
The second reason why people were astonished at Jesus is that He healed. He healed out of compassion. He healed from love. He was love incarnate. People were astonished because He was willing to go to great lengths to heal a man with an unclean spirit.
These are the two reasons why people were astonished by Jesus. He spoke the truth and lived with love. Truth and love, when united, possess infinite power. Truth and love, together, can liberate many. Yet, the first to be liberated, when truth and love converge, is ourselves.
By nature, we like miracles. When we hear about a miracle or read about it, we rush to the miracle site because we want to experience the supernatural through those miracles. Human beings probably like miracles a lot, but God does not like miracles. That is why miracles happen very rarely. God does not like them. God does not like miracles to be an everyday reality in our lives. What God wants is not miracles but faith. God enjoys receiving faith from us. It is not that God is stingy with miracles. It is this—for people who have no faith, they will be able to explain it and say it is not a miracle. Meanwhile, for people who have faith, there is no need for a miracle because they believe anyway. God is a God who does not like miracles. God is a God who likes faith. The stronger our faith, the more pleasing it is in the sight of God. When we have a problem, when we are face to face with a difficulty, when we are afflicted with sickness, do not ask the Lord for a miracle. Rather, ask the Lord to increase our faith so that our problem may have healing, so that our pains may be bearable. With faith, everything changes its color. God does not like miracles. God likes faith.
GOD DOES NOT LIKE MIRACLES
MK. 6:53-56
LOVE LIKE JESUS
The story of Zechariah is our story as well. Zechariah received a blessing. We all have been blessed at one point or another in the past. After Zechariah received the blessing, his response was doubt. His response was fear. His response was disbelief. Isn’t that what we often do after we are blessed by God? We cannot believe that God can be so good to us. We cannot believe it and we become afraid. We ask questions like, “What will God ask from me later on?” And then what follows is the third phase. We go into dryness. Zechariah became deaf and mute.
He could not talk. He could not understand. He could not hear. He went into a period of dryness. He was left by himself. He was sort of isolated by God from others. That is why to speak with him, they had to use signs.
The story of Zechariah did not end with dryness. It ended with his conviction that God had truly blessed him. And even if it was counter-cultural, even if it was contrary to the custom, he said, “No, his name is John because God told me so.” That is called conversion. The story of Zechariah is our story too. First we are blessed, then we refuse, then we go into dryness, and finally, we understand. And having understood, we are converted. And having been converted, we enter into a new phase in our life which is peace.
Where are we right now? If we know that we are being blessed by God, let us not enter into doubt. Let us not disbelieve but trust. If we know that we are in a period of dryness right now because we have not believed God or we have doubted His love for us, let us be converted and say “Lord, I am sorry.” Believe me, when we enter into that realm of conversion, we will find the peace that we have been longing for.
We will be able to speak again of the glories of God.
Once in a while, we come across children who have plenty of toys and children’s books, and yet go to their parents and say, “I am bored.” We see college students shifting from one course to another, not knowing what career path to take, and then they say life is boring.
This attitude translates even to relationships, to marriage, and even friendships. We are at a party and deep in our hearts we want to say, “I am lonely.” What causes this feeling? What causes this feeling of boredom, this feeling of loneliness, this feeling of doing many things and yet not doing anything? We can relate to how Herod feels in the Gospel. The First reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes answers the question for us. Why do we feel lonely in spite of the crowd? Why do we feel bored in spite of the toys and the books and the games? Why do we feel that we are alone even if physically, there are so many people around us?
It is said in the First reading that two things are necessary. First, we must know who we are. Second, we must know where we are going. When we do not know who we are, we get bored! When life has no direction and we do not know where life is leading us, we also fall into the trap of loneliness. Herod was restless. He had all the power. He had all the money. He had a huge kingdom, and yet there was restlessness in his heart because he did not know who he really was. He did not know where his kingship was leading him. It is good to ask ourselves these questions: “Who am I now? Where am I? What moves me? What urges me on?” If we cannot answer these questions, we can fall into the endless cycle of loneliness, monotony, and boredom, again and again.
The blind man could not see. That is a fact. Yet, he warns to me that even if he could sense or see with his being, he could not see with his eyes, but he could sense with his heart. That is why he immediately felt the disgust of the crowd. That is why he immediately felt the accepting attitude of Jesus. When God takes away our physical sight, experience teaches us that our other senses are sharpened. Such was the case of the blind man. He could not see with his eyes, but he could sense and see with the heart.
On the other hand, the crowd around Jesus, the Apostles following the Lord, could see, but they did not like to look. They were playing blind. They did not even like to set their eyes on the blind man asking for help. That is the sad reality. You and I sometimes catch ourselves with a street child, begging for food and money, and we say to ourselves, “Oh, these beggars are run by syndicates.” We rationalize that their parents abuse them, so we end up not giving them money.
But whoever told us that we are going to be diminished? Whoever said that the poor will be spoiled if we just glance at them with kindness in our eyes or give them a simple look of concern, charity, and compassion.
Who are the people we do not like to see? Who are the people we play blind to? There are so many people we put in this category. Let me tell you that talking with them, looking at them, and seeing with the heart has never caused anybody to be spoiled or destroyed. God gave us eyes so that we can see. God gave us a heart so that we can see better. Let us use them all the time.
