In Jesus' Name

To ask in Jesus' name is not a magic spell we cast on the Father,

blackmailing God to act according to our liking.

To pray in Jesus' name is what the disciples requested in [the] Gospel.

To pray like Jesus, to pray in His name,

is to pray according to His heart, His mind, His will.

Thanks to Fr. Joel Jason for this sharing!  I will keep this in mind and heart the next time I end my prayer "in Jesus' name".  Better yet, before I pray, to seek that my prayer become truly made "in Jesus' name": according to His heart, His mind, His will.

*Originally posted on Facebook

I was there

I was there.

In a rally this afternoon in Liwasang Bonifacio I decided to come. Most of those present were students. Speaker after speaker was ranting against the current government and how it has betrayed and continues to deceive and steal from the people. The main issue is, as most Filipinos should know by now, is the brazen misuse of public funds, specifically the Priority Development Assistance Fund.

I was there and took in the sight of young people: those who spoke to the crowd, the packets who listened, and the many who seemed to be there "just because". As I wrote on my response to the invitation why I was going, I am going because my faith in Christ impels me to stand up against corruption. And I will continue to take part in succeeding efforts, no matter how little, no matter how seemingly insignificant, in facing the scourge of corruption in our country and ushering God's Reign in how society is ruled.

But that aside, I stayed and listened and took in the cries, the angry speeches, the restless rants, and thought of how Pope Francis called on the youth of his country, Argentina, last month, to make themselves heard in their dioceses... "I want the noise to go out, I want the Church to go out onto the streets, I want us to resist everything worldly, everything static, everything comfortable, everything to do with clericalism, everything that might make us closed in on ourselves. The parishes, the schools, the institutions are made for going out ... if they don’t, they become an NGO, and the Church cannot be an NGO." And might I say, not a fake one, at that.

Coming back to work, to my community of fellow youth ministers, for our every Friday 17.00 prayer to end the week, I was deeply touched by what I heard again. We prayed the rosary and included a reflective reading of the Pope's homily for the Final Mass of World Youth Day 2013. Pope Francis spoke to the youth gathered about what "Go and make disciples of all nations" means. "Where does Jesus send us? There are no borders, no limits: he sends us to everyone. The Gospel is for everyone, not just for some. It is not only for those who seem closer to us, more receptive, more welcoming. It is for everyone. Do not be afraid to go and to bring Christ into every area of life, to the fringes of society, even to those who seem farthest away, most indifferent." These words made me think of those young people speaking at that rally; those who were listening, or even those who appeared to be listening; those who were busy with small talk and those who were behind the organization of the rally. Among them too were jeepney drivers, laborers, vendors of cheese corn and cigarettes, little kids playing, oblivious to the gravity of the issue at hand. To them too, the Gospel is for.

And for them too, challenged and inspired by this successor of Peter, I hope to say, I was there.

Because about them, among them, in them, Jesus Master too would say, "I am there."

Good to be here

Like Peter, and, by extension,
like the Virgin Mary, the other disciples,
confessors, martyrs, and many others in the great cloud of witnesses,
I dare proclaim:
"Lord, it is good for me to be here!"

And where is here?
In Your presence.
Whether it is in the glory of Tabor or the hope of the empty tomb,
in the joy of Bethlehem and Nazareth and Cana and Bethany and other towns,
in the bitter suffering of Calvary,
in the decisive journeys and affirming solitude around Galilee, Samaria and Judea,
it is always good to be where You are.

P.S. Lord, it was good to be with You among millions of people professing faith (whether with firmness, or perhaps doubt, or even some struggling) in You.  Now, let me remain in You always as I go make disciples in my home, in my relationships, in my ministry, in my life.  Amen.

And to you reading this: Happy feastday (in advance) of the Transfiguration!  Children of the Father that we are, let us ever heed His voice: "Listen to My Son."

*Originally posted on Facebook

"Man of Steel"

Halfway through the year, I bring with me realizations from viewing MAN OF STEEL (which was more than a week ago).

It seems much has been said about the Catholic and/or Christian elements in the film.  Which, to me, is obvious: Kansas, where Smallville is, is 86% Christian; thus, the portrayal of Clark as Christian.  If Kal-El landed on Thailand, he would probably have been Buddhist.

And here I sense a deeper code: Clark grew up, with the help of his foster parents and by extension his Smallville community, to be a Christian.  His visit to the church and dialogue with a clergyman, deliberately done before his great choice, were explicit signs that he took seriously his being Christian.

Do I? Do we?

*Originally posted on Facebook

Who am I?

I am a child of God,
loved into existence,
redeemed towards fullness,
embraced by heaven even while journeying on earth.

*Originally posted on Facebook

Declarations

Our declarations express what we believe, and shape what we become.  Because "from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks."

We are surrounded by declarations from all around: thank-yous and promises from elected officials, jokes over a heinous crime from a celebrity, a singer's "out-ing" of her sexual preference (probably not sexuality, as many media outfits identify), calls for help from a country between Europe and Asia, among many others.

But are we only the sum total of what we are able to express, whether through our words or through our emotions, efforts and exercise?  Are we to be defined, appreciated, related to only according to what we sense, to what we are able to say, to how we see things, to how we struggle between despair and hope?

I am grateful to my Nanay for her devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  She was among the first persons in my life who introduced me to what is beyond me, to that Who loved me into existence.  It is from the abundance of His heart, pierced and wounded so that when I am pierced and wounded I may know consolation, that words have come to define who I have come to believe I am.  Who am I, beyond my struggles and searching, my despairs and decisions, my musings and music and ministry, my loves and lusts and lukewarmness, my faith and my falls and my forwards?  Who am I beyond all these?  He tells me, with all the love in this world and beyond: I am HIS.

On this Year of Faith, I pray you hear Him too, tell you this.

*Originally posted on Facebook

By the well in Kabankalan

In the Philippines, youth ministers from all over the Philippines came to a city called Kabankalan, which was not far (well, depending on your perspective) from the place where the living Word was first proclaimed and earthly bread was transformed into Christ's body. They seemed tired from their journey in youth ministry and sat down "by the well". It was about noontime of the year, having held towards the end of May.

For the above verses, I thank John the Evangelist for the words in his chapter 4, verses 5-6. We youth ministers came from all regional coordinations of Catholic youth ministry in the Philippines, upon the invitation of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Youth, for the meeting of the National Youth Coordinating Council. Most Rev. Patricio Buzon, SDB, DD, together with his jolly and committed youth ministers, opened the doors of his diocese to us. The 28th to the 31st of May 2013 were days marked by great simplicity: in location (Kabankalan is not a big urban city in the likes of Manila, Cebu or even Bacolod, but it is, like Sychar that is sanctified by the Patriarchs Jacob and Joseph, made holy by the martyrdom of unsung heroes during the dictatorship), in arrangements (we were in simple rooms, served simple but filling meals), even in process (there was no mind-boggling input or complicated activity). We youth ministers came together and reminded ourselves, allowed ourselves to be reminded, of what is basic in this beautiful and challenging ministry: to be evangelized that we may be evangelizing.

The experience gave us the opportunity to come together to draw water, but it also allowed us to listen to our Lord say to us, "Give me a drink of water."

We received the life-giving water of the Lord in our fellowship (both in fun times and in difficult times--and truly, there was a "natural calamity" where those affected were consoled by the communion of others), in the challenge of "professionalizing" and "corporate-izing" youth ministry, in assessing the current situation of our young people, and in those moments of prayer which became sources of who we are and how we should serve.

But we too have fed the Lord. We fed Him through our humble efforts of listening, through our openness to be confronted with how more youth ministry can become not so much an effective strategy but a shining, attractive manifestation of Jesus' love today, through our giving of ourselves in our worship in silence or in song.

It is my prayer that each youth minister all over this archipelago may receive openly and courageously the water that Jesus is, allow ourselves to become springs of His life-giving presence to the Church and her young people. Then can we hope for our young people exclaim, "We believe now, not because of what you said, but because we ourselves have heard Him, and we know that he really is the Savior of the world!" [cf. Jn 4:42]