The Ilocos Times

WHEN Christ complained against the Pharisees about their hypocrisy with these words: “Now you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but your inside is full of rapine and iniquity,” (Lk 11,39) we are strongly reminded of the danger of hypocrisy that can easily enter into our lives. We should be ready to protect ourselves from it, but learn also how to differentiate it from our need for discretion in our lives. That’s because hypocrisy and discretion can appear to have certain things in common. Some hiding is involved in both conditions. But the former certainly is an anomaly while the latter is a necessity in our life. The former goes against sincerity, truthfulness and consistency. The latter seeks to protect the truth that can easily be misunderstood by those who are not yet prepared to accept it. Of course, the only way for us to be able to differentiate between the two is for us to be truly united with God. Yes, only with him can we have the power to a...

From time to time, we see Christ showing anger over certain issues. This only validates the fact that anger is not necessarily bad, since it is part of our human nature and definitely also of the supernatural character of our life. We just have to be very careful about it, seeing to it that our anger is righteous anger, and not just the anger of a brute animal. When Christ got mad over some leading Jews of his time, (Lk 10,13-16) that was because despite the many good things Christ showed them, they persisted in their own self-righteous ways and even went to the extent not only of not believing in Christ but also of finally condemning him to death. We too should feel the anger of Christ, since we cannot deny that despite everything that Christ has done for us, we continue to be erratic in our ways, falling into all kinds of anomalies and sins. By feeling Christ’s anger, we should also feel the need for us to have another round of repentance and conversion. Let’s just be frank ab...

THIS happens when we allow ourselves not to be guided by faith. No matter how intelligent and smart we are, if we are not guided by our Christian faith, it would just be a matter of time before we become the worst beast on earth, inflicting all kinds of evils far worse than what other animals can cause. We are reminded of this scary fact of life by that gospel episode where Herod started to get disturbed by what he heard about Christ. (cfr. Lk 9,7-9) “He was greatly perplexed because some were saying, ‘John has been raised from the dead’; others were saying, ‘Elijah has appeared’; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” We, of course, know how this drama would unfold. It led to the worst evil that can be committed—the killing of the very son of God who became man to save us! The animals can only do so much harm on us. But we, when we are not guided by faith, can do a lot worse things—genocide, all kinds of evil conspiracies, etc.—until we ourselves reach that poin...

SINCE we are patterned after Christ, we should also have the same heart as that of Christ which is full of compassion. This was shown, for example, in that episode where a big crowd followed him in a desert place and was moved with compassion and healed their sick when he saw them. (cfr. Mt 14,13-21) We actually have a thirst for loving, though we must also realize that that thirst can only be completely quenched by the infinite love of God as shown to us by Christ. That is why in the Book of Proverbs we read these words from God: “Give me, my child, your heart, and let your eyes guard my ways.” (Prov 23,26). When we struggle to give our heart to the Lord, we would actually be expanding our capacity to love others, because our loving would go beyond its purely human and natural ways and would enter into the spiritual and supernatural ways of God. It’s a love that is given gratuitously, without measure, and continues to be given despite being rejected. For this supernatural kind ...

WE are reminded of this duty in the second reading of the Mass of the 23 rd   Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. It’s from the Letter of St. James (2,1-5) There, St. James talks about the discrimination one practices when he treats a rich man with a lot of favor and privilege while asking the poor man to sit by the footstool. Of course, to fulfill this duty is not easy, given our wounded human condition. But we can always do something about it. And the first thing to remember is that irrespective of our differences and conflicts, we are all brothers and sisters, all children of God. We are meant to love and care for one another. This does not mean that we have to treat everybody in the same way. That we are all equal in the eyes of God does not mean that we have to treat everyone in the same way. What is meant is that we should love everyone, but according to how one is. Like, the way you deal with an elderly person would be different from the way we deal with a youngster, or...

THAT gospel parable about a king who gave a wedding feast for his son (cfr. Mt 22,1-14) reminds us that we should be ready when God calls us to himself. In that parable, the king was frustrated because all those whom he invited refused to come. And so, he ordered his servants to call whoever they would meet in the highways and byways. Still, he expected that those who would come would at least be properly dressed. This means that we should truly be prepared for the eventual call and invitation that God would give us so we can be with him as he wants us to be. In this regard, we have to know how to “govern” our life such that at any time we would be ready for this eventuality. Yes, some art of good governance over our life should be learned. We just cannot be at the mercy of chance and fortune. We need to know and be constantly aware of the real and constant purpose of our life, and arrange our life in such a way that that purpose is always pursued. Just like in any serious busin...

“SOME Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?’” (Mt 19,3) This is t he opening passage of the gospel of the Mass on Friday of the 19 th Week in Ordinary Time. It brings out the question of marriage and divorce that now is being hotly discussed in many parts of the country. Some proponents of divorce claim that we seem to be backward since we are practically the only country that does not have a divorce law yet. It’s an argument that does not really need any serious attention. Truth is, we should be very proud that we do not have a divorce law, since divorce is from beginning to end an anomaly. Divorce clearly goes against the very nature of marriage that is validly entered into by a couple. It breaks something that is supposed to be lifelong, regardless of the things that can take place in it. As the couple vowed on their wedding day, they committed themselves to be wedded to each other “for bette...

IT’S a skill we all need to learn. And given the current conditions of the world where many people are trapped in their earthly and temporal affairs, this skill is urgently needed. Converting the perishable condition of our earthly life into the imperishable quality of our definitive life hopefully in heaven is actually expected, nay, commanded of us by Christ himself.   “Labor not for the meat which perishes, but for that which endures unto life everlasting, which the Son of man will give you,” Christ told the crowd who followed him. (Jn 6,27) Converting the perishable to the imperishable can happen if we see and understand things in a theological way, that is, with faith, hope and charity. We need to realize that our thinking would not work in its most proper way if it is not enlightened and guided by faith, hope and charity. It would be like saying that we can simply be on our own. It’s tantamount to saying that we don’t need God from whom we come and to whom we belong. O...

THAT gospel parable about the sower and the seed (cfr. Mt 13,1-9) somehow reminds us that we have to be the good ground that would readily receive the seed of God and make it grow to its fullness. Only then can we aspire to transform the world the way God wants it transformed in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Let’s remember that only in Christ is the mystery of God’s will for us known. Only in Christ would we be able to “recapitulate all things, those of heaven and those of earth.” (Eph 1,9-10). That is to say, that only in Christ would all things be gathered together in unity under God, things that have been scattered and divided because of our sins. We need to return to God. And we have to bring the whole of the world to God also because everything comes from God and belongs to God. In Christ, we have been given the way and the means so that God may be “all in all things.” (1 Cor 15,28) That is why God took on human flesh in Christ. By becoming one of us, Christ has transformed...

By Noralyn   O. Dudt THE "GOSPEL according to John"   is indeed a priceless document.   "But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through believing you may   have life in   his name" (20:31) There in Ephesus about 2,000 years ago   lived a lonely old man, the first and the last of the apostles, the great apostle to the church. His brother James was dead. Peter, the leading apostle to the Jews, was dead. Paul, the intrepid apostle to the gentile world, was dead. Thomas, Andrew, Philip, Nathaniel,   all the apostles, were dead—all except John. John   had lived through an extraordinary time. In his days, the Son of God had become the Son of man. He had been incarnated (became flesh) at Bethlehem, baptized in the river Jordan, tempted and proved sinless in the wilderness.   He had healed the sick, cleansed the leper, raised the dead. He has made the blind see, the deaf hear, the d...

By Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo What were the sufferings of Christ in His Passion and Death?   The answer is He suffered everything.   Literally everything.   All areas of human suffering we can think of is covered.   St. Thomas Aquinas gives us three.   First, on the part of men:   Christ endured suffering from Gentiles and from Jews, from men and women, from rulers, servants and mobs.   He also suffered from friends and acquaintances, such as the betrayal of Judas and the denial of Peter.   Second, in honor and reputation.   Friends abandoned Him.   Blasphemies were hurled at Him, mockeries and insults.   He was despoiled of His garments and was mocked as a king with a crown of thorns.   Third, He suffered everything in his body.   In his head He suffered the crown of piercing thorns; in His hands and feet from the fastening of the nails; on His face from the blows and spittle; and from the lashes over His entire body. ...

WE need to be clear about this. Our Christian faith is not optional in our life. It is neither relevant only to some affairs and concerns in our life. It should be the main guide in all our affairs, be they in matters of the sciences and technologies, of politics and business, of our professions, and of course, of religion and our spiritual life. We are somehow reminded of this point in that gospel episode of the apostle Thomas who was kind of castigated by Christ for not believing that Christ had truly risen unless he would see Christ and the marks of the nails in his hands and feet, and of his pierced side. (cfr. Jn 20,24-29) “Put your finger here and see my hands,” Christ told Thomas when he appeared again to his disciples. “Bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe,” he continued. To which Thomas could only say, “My Lord and my God!” That was when Christ told Thomas, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those w...

WITH Christ telling his disciples not to give what is holy to dogs, or throw one’s pearls before swine, (cfr. Mt 7,6) we are somehow reminded that in our worldly affairs, no matter how technical they are or physically straining and dirty, we should never forget that God is always there, and that they are meant to be done or attended to with God and for God always. In other words, we should avoid being swallowed up by the mundanity of these affairs as if God has nothing to do with them. We should avoid being so absorbed by them that we would not have God in our mind and heart. This definitely would require of us a certain discipline that would put God at the center and peak of our human activities. For this, we have to learn how to be recollected amid the hustle and bustle of our daily activities. Yes, we have to learn this skill. It’s actually a fundamental and indispensable skill. Without it, there’s no other way but for us to get confused and lost in our worldly and temporal a...

CHRIST was quite clear about this point. In the gospel of St. Matthew which is the gospel reading for the Mass on Friday of the 10th Week in Ordinary Time, Christ said: “You have heard that it was said to them of old—Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Mt 5,27-28) To be able to live this real chastity as articulated by Christ, we really need to fully give our mind and heart to Christ, something that can only take place when aside from our earnest effort to live this virtue, we would first of all ask for God’s grace. We need to submit our animal self, i.e., our flesh, to the law of the spirit that is properly animated by the spirit of Christ. We should not just allow our flesh to work simply by its biological and corporeal laws that are surely erratic in their ways due to our wounded condition. We need to “educate” it, giving it its proper formation, so to sp...

“BEHOLD, the hour cometh, and it is now come, that you shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.” (Jn 16,32) These words of Christ should remind us of what to expect when we truly follow him. We can expect to be misunderstood and abandoned, and yet we should never feel alone because, as Christ said of himself which can also be said of us if we follow him, we can never be alone, because the Father will always be with us. We just have to train our human faculties—our intelligence and will, our emotions, memory and imagination, etc.—to align themselves to this truth of our faith. Let’s remember that we are not meant to be guided only by our natural powers. Given the way God wants us to be, we should be guided by God’s supernatural powers—the faith he shares with us, and the many graces and blessings he gives us. When we feel alone, we have to convince ourselves that we are not with God, and thus, should ...

( Second of a three-part series ) Pentecost—the Holy Spirit descending on the disciples By Noralyn Dudt THESE TWO fisherfolks Peter the speaker, and John the thinker who were arraigned in the Court of the Sanhedrin made quite an impression upon the Council.  Peter spoke so boldly that the Council remarked,  "they had been with Jesus." People with the Spirit make that impression. That is the impression which the filling of the Spirit creates. Peter and John would have been described as  plebeian in ancient Rome. They were "unschooled" as the members of the Sanhedrin noted with astonishment. But they had boldness of speech  --  a boldness that  suggests clear and daring statement; a clear enunciation of certain truths so that there could be no mistaking of the meaning; and almost blunt and defiant enunciation that arrested attention, and compelled men to listen. There is an utter absence of apology or hesitation. Prophets and apostles faced men and said: ...