By Your Cross...

Yesterday morning, we had our parish recollection. I was sharing on the victory of the Cross as the victory of Jesus over sin and death. One of the participants asked, “Father, if Christ triumphed at the cross, then why does evil seem to triumph?”

The question is for sure very real – did Christ really triumph over sin and death?

If we look at the cross, and we find Jesus crucified, what appears to us is a scandalous death of an innocent man, condemned to death unjustly, killed at the cross while being mocked – all these, after he had offered his life for the people, healing their sick, expelling demons, feeding the hungry, even raising a couple of dead people back to life, announcing daily a message of hope in a loving God.

But this precisely is the triumph of the Cross of Jesus – that amidst the evils of this world – all consequences of selfishness, self-centeredness – Christ shows the triumph of selflessness, of sacrifice for others, the triumph of love.

Not even the powers of the Roman conquerors or the influence of the religious leaders of his time, indeed, not even death and the evil one could ever hinder Jesus from showing love – love in all its glory. Not even the ugliness of the cross could obscure the beauty of love.

To the once lover...

When we love, we give something of ourselves – indeed even all of ourselves. The mystery however is that the love we give completes us more than it completes the beloved. When our love is unreciprocated, or even scorned, it may feel like we lost something. But is that not the price of loving – giving? And the more we love, even if it may be unreciprocated or even scorned, we may be hurt and feel wanting – but we grow in the capacity of loving. That may be the wisdom of Alfred Lord Tennyson's lyrics - “It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.” The reward of loving is loving itself.

Earthen Vessels

We hold this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.
We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained;
perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.
For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
(2 Cor 4: 1-11)

As a Presbyterium (Community of Priests) of the Archdiocese, we had our Lenten Recollection last March 10. Fr. Tony Calautit led our reflection on the Spirituality of the Earthen Vessel. The above passage was our guide.

True enough, we, priests are like earthen vessels - we are made of humble matter, gathered, kneaded and molded by the Great Potter, to hold treasures of untold value. Formation, intensive and rigorous may be adequate but never enough. We are and shall remain earthen vessels - vulnerable, weak, sinful.

Our venerable seminary confessor once said, "when God called you, he called all of you - your strengths, your weaknesses, your idealisms, your vulnerabilities, your saved nature, and your fallen nature - all of who you are, your total humanity - unique goodness and even your weakness."

First in the Spirituality of the Earthen Vessel then is humility - to accept our vulnerability, frailty and sinfulness, and rely not on our own efforts but to cooperate with the grace of God - so that the power of God may be at work in us.

But to keep me from being puffed up with pride because of the many wonderful things I saw, I was given a painful physical ailment, which acts as Satan's messenger to beat me and keep me from being proud. Three times I prayed to the Lord about this and asked him to take it away. But his answer was:

"My grace is all you need,
for my power is greatest when you are weak."

I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ's power over me. I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor 12: 7-10)

A bus, a Church, 100+ couples, and more

My sister, who dropped by my office this morning told me how amused she was at the bus parked in front of the Cathedral - it was marked, "JUST MARRIED".

I checked it out myself, and got amused too. It was a whole bus for a wedding car.

I found out that there was ongoing in the Cathedral, a Mass Wedding. It was sponsored by the Cathedral Parish, the City Government and the Balikatan sa Vigan as part of the Women's Month Celebrations of the City of Vigan.

More than a hundred couples sealed their marriage before God. They sealed their commitment to love each other, be for each other, "to be one heart and one soul, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health" until death do them part.

I think this is one noteworthy way of celebrating women.

Marriage is not just a social institution. It is not just a practical legality. It is not just a canonical requirement. Marriage is for life and love, commitment and communion. Marriage is for women as it is for men, for children, for family, for the Church, for society, for humanity.