Acronyms, Anyone?

These are some of the acronyms I’ve learned while doing ministry…
Much has been the result of learning along the way, more often than not, unexpectedly.
Much has been inspired by the passion of others, even Protestant pastors…

ABC
Always Be Closing.
When preparing or giving homilies - ABC.
When given an assignment - ABC.
Upon being welcomed in the parish - always have an exit strategy.
Not because I want to be out of the parish.
But because I want my stay to be fruitful.
I would consider myself a failure if I will leave any place and any person without so much as making a dent.
For now, my strategy is simple - learn, graduate, teach.
I need to learn the ropes first, to understand everything and thereby graduating and then teach others what I have learned.
And then, I need to invite others to undergo the same process - learn, graduate teach.
Some are able to learn, graduate and teach but when it comes to passing it on, they just get bogged down at the 1st level - teaching others to learn.
I hope we will not be satisfied with the status quo.
Any teacher will consider himself/herself a failure if his/her students will remain in school forever.
A teacher’s pride is when a student graduates.
A teacher’s honor is when a student becomes a teacher also.
ABC. Always Be Closing.
When saying hello, start saying goodbye. That’s my exit strategy.
If ever I get to heaven, that will be the only time I won’t ever think of having an exit strategy.

LDP
Life Development Process.
This current learning is something I still need to continue digesting...
Life is a natural process of development, of growing.
That is a law of nature.
A thing will only stop growing if there are hindrances to its growth.
A thing that stops growing will be on its way to dying.
That law applies to ministry as well.
There are so many well-meaning, committed people in the parish.
People who went through the natural process of growing - being a child, dealing with adolescence, finding one’s place in the sun, raising a family.
People who went through the process of education - enrolling, studying, graduating, working.
Then it should be the same with ministry - developing people to learn, to grow, to do, to give.
Life development is a law of nature.
It is the law of God.
We should, as best as we can, follow that law.

SALT
The second is much like the 1st law of development.
School for Advanced Leadership Training.
Leaders are made not born.
Even if they were born leaders, talent still has to be honed, perfected.
Talent without training will be at the least directionless.
At least skills can be learned.
Growth in life is a natural law.
So it is in the growth of a servant leader.
It is the law of God.
We should, as best as we can, follow that law.

WORD
Wonder. Observe. Reflect. Do.
A step by step guide to praying a Bible passage.
Try it. It works.

YuPpies to YuMmies.
Young Professionals to Young Missionaries.
I have been blessed to journey with young adults.
They never fail to amaze me with their exuberance and zest for life.
They never fail to amaze me when their boundless energy is channeled to serving the Lord and others.
God’s challenge - invite them to from being yuppies to yummies.
Young Professionals to Young Missionaries.

The Tiger and the Lamb

One day a tiger and a lamb had a conversation.

Tell me tiger, do you pray?
Yes, of course!
How many times do you pray in a day?
Well, at least 3 times a day. Sometimes I get to fulfill my goal but there are really days when it's really a struggle.
You pray! 3 times, you say! And you're still a grumpy tiger! Wow...
Look here, I may be a grumpy tiger even if I pray a lot, but imagine me without prayer, I'd be a monster!
So pray for me, that God may turn me to be a meek lamb, or even better, to become a kindly shepherd, or that at least, that the tiger may live peacefully with the lamb...

"Magalit Ka Pa Din!"

Feast of St. Martha

“Magalit Ka Pa Din!”

As we celebrate the feast of St Martha, I want to share with you a very important point. But allow me to digress a bit.

We are currently having a free education program in our parish for out of school youth who want to finish high school.
We have experienced an increasing number of enrollment as well as an increase in volunteer teachers.
We had however an ugly incident in which a student answered back to her teacher and since both cannot control their temper, things turned ugly.
Of course we have to intervene and point out that both are in the wrong.
After we were able to smooth things out, I had dinner with the teacher in the parish rectory.
I asked him, after that, do you have any resolution?
Yes father, he replied. Hindi na po ako magagalit.
Ha? Sabi ko. Wag! Magalit ka pa din!
Lito siyang tumingin sa akin.
Magalit? Eh nagkakagulo nga pag nagagalit ako!
Magalit ka pa din, regalo yan ng Diyos.
Pano magiging regalo ng Diyos to father?!? Mukhang malapit ng mamula at magalit ulit sya.
O, ayan, ginagamit mo na naman ang regalo ng Diyos!
Ganito kasi yan.
Di tama, di mali ang galit. Bigay sayo yan ng Diyos. Para gamitin mo.
Be angry for the right reasons and with the right reactions.
You have the right to be angry if the behaviors are not aligned with our vision as a parish/school.
Just make sure you will be able to point out to the student that you are angry towards her disrespect, not towards her person.
Just make sure that your response to her will bring out the best in both of you…
Anger is a gift. God gave you that for a reason.
Maybe that is what we Filipinos need - that seething anger towards corruption and poverty.
Pag pikon ka sa maling paraan - lagi kang talo.
Pag galit ka sa tamang paraan - panalo ang Diyos.

Now, let us move on to the student.
Let us say she is a good student. Only misguided.
She is spending her energy in disrespecting others.
Maybe you can ask her what is her goal in life.
And then allow her to list down things she will do everyday in order to attain her goal.
Then check with her every week.
She would then be a woman with a plan, a purpose, a vision.
And remind her - stick to the plan. Achieve her plan. Do not be envious of others and their plans.
What is important is that we accomplish God’s plan for us.

Once in a while we need to be reminded, like Martha, of the most important thing - choosing and fulfilling the plan he has for us.
And no matter what others say or do, it shall not be taken away from us.

“Ang Kaharian ng Diyos ay Katulad ng Isang Hita ng Manok…”

Pagkalimot.
Isa itong dahilan kung bakit tayo nagkakasala.
“Nakakalimot kasi kami…”
Yan ang isa sa mga maririnig na dahilan ng taong nagkamali…
Katulad ng mga Israelita ng iwanan ni Moises nung siya ay umakyat sa bundok ng Sinai.
Nakalimutan ng mga tao na ang totoong Diyos ang nagligtas at gumagabay sa kanila.
Kaya gumawa sila ng ginintuang baka, isang diyos diyosan.
Gumawa ng mali kasi kinalimutan ang mas mahalaga.
Kaya pag naalala ay nababagabag.
Nakakalimutan dahil di pa ganun kalalim ang ugat, katindi ang kapit, di pa nanuot sa kaloob-looban.
Kaya nga sabi ni Hesus, ang kaharian ng Diyos ay katulad ng butil ng mustasa.
Maliit ngunit pag lubusan ng lumago, di basta basta mabubuwal.
Kaya nga sabi ni Hesus, ang kaharian ng Diyos ay katulad ng libadura.
Mumunti ngunit pag umalsa na, malaki at malasa.
Kaya nga, naisip ko din, ang kaharian ng Diyos ay katulad ng isang hita ng manok.
Pag binabad ng mas matagal sa timpla, mas masarap.
Ganun din sana tayo.
Maging babad sa ating pagsisimba, pagninilay sa salita ng Diyos, paglilingkod sa kapwa.
Magkaugat at kumapit.
Upang hindi makalimot.
Upang hindi malimutan ang Diyos na lagi tayong nasa kanyang alaala.

"Pwede na Yan"

17th Sunday Ordinary Time
July 26, 2009


Sigurado ako, marami na sa inyo ang nakapanood na at marahil nagustuhan ang commercial tungkol kay Lola Techie.
Ang lolang magaling at mahilig mag-internet at makipagchat.

Isa sa mga taong kinikilala na naging instrumento sa pagbibigay sa halos karamihan ng pagkakataon ma-enjoy ang kagandahan ng internet, chat, email atbp ay si Bill Gates. Isang college drop-out na pinursige ang kanyang passion sa computers. Dahil dito, isa siya sa pinakamayaman sa buong mundo. Umabot ng $48 billion ang kanyang yaman noong 2003, at $58 billion noong 2008. At hindi pa dito kabilang ang kanyang $28 billion na ipinamigay sa charities na isinusulong ang education at health care. Isa sa mga sumuporta at nagbigay ng halos karamihan ng kanyang yaman sa Bill and Melinda Gates foundation ay ang pinakamayaman na tao sa buong mundo, si Warren Buffet, na ang isang binigay na dahilan sa pagbibigay ay para hindi maipahamak ang kanyang mga anak dahil sa sobrang yaman at sinabi nya na “bigyan lamang ang anak ng sapat para magawa nila ang gusto ngunit hindi sobra at wala na silang gagawin.”

Dahil sa mga pagbibigay at pagbabahagi nila, lalo silang hinangaan ng marami at marahil minahal ng mga taong natulungan.
Sabi nga ni Calvin Coolidge, isang dating presidente ng US, “ang tao ay hinahangaan at nirerespeto hindi dahil sa kanyang natanggap o nakalap na yaman. Siya ay hinahangaan dahil sa kanyang ibinigay.”

May isa akong nabasang kwento ng kagandahang loob, hindi siya gaanong kilala ngunit ang kanyang pagbibigay ay tunay na nagmumula sa puso. Siya ay si Elizabeth Elliot. Noong 1950’s sumama siya sa grupo ng mga misyonero na tumungong Ecuador upang turuan ang mga Quichua Indians. Kabilang sa grupo na ito ay isang binatang si Jim na nanliligaw na kay Elizabeth simula pa noong 1947. Habang sila ay nagmimisyon, sila ay nagkatuluyan at ikinasal. Pagkaraan ng 2 taon, nang mayroon na silang anak na babae na sampung buwan pa lamang, si Jim at 4 pang misyonero ay nagpasyang magmisyon sa Auca indians, isang tribu na kilala bilang mababangis. Ang pinakaunang record ng may pumunta sa kanila ay noong 1600 pa, isang pari ay 1600 at ito ay pinaslang. Simula noon, sinumang banyagang pumupunta sa kanila ay sinasaktan. Alam ni Elizabeth na mapanganib ang gagawin ng kayang asawa at mga kapwa misyonero pero matatag ang kayang loob - sila ay nangako na magmimisyon at inilaan nila ang kanilang buhay sa gawaing ito. Sinimulan nila ang kanilang pakay sa pamamagitan ng paghuhulog ng mga kagamitan at pagkain mula sa eroplano ng isang misyonerong piloto. Isinama na din nila ang kanilang mga letrato para pasimulang pagpapakilala. Pagkaraan ng ilang linggo, pumunta na sina Jim sa mga Auca. Tinanggap naman sila ng ilang miyembro ng Auca at sa pagraradyo araw araw ay naikwento nila sa kanilang mga asawa at kasamahan na nagkakaroon sila ng magandang pagkakataon makipag-ugnayan sa mga Auca. Ngunit pagkaraaan ng ilang araw, ay hindi na nakatawag ang mga misyonero. Nag-alala na sina Elizabeth. Natagpuan na lamang ang limang lalaking misyonero na lumulutang sa ilog at may mga tama ng sibat. Kung mahinahina ang loob ni Elizabeth ay bumalik na sana siya sa US sapagkat hindi ganun kadali iwanan ang isang komportableng buhay sa US at lalong hindi ganun kadali ang mawalan ng asawa. Subalit lumitaw ang kagandahang loob niya. Nanatili pa rin siya sa pagmimisyon. At mas nakakaantig sa damdamin, maraming mga misyonero ang hindi pa rin tumigil pumunta sa mga Auca hanggang sa sila ay naging matagumpay makisalamuha. Isa si Elizabeth sa mga nanguna pumunta, hindi upang maghiganti, kundi upang makipanirahan at maglingkod. Sa loob ng 2 taon, nagsilbi siya at marami ang magalak na tinanggap ang salita ng Diyos at sumampalataya - kasama na dito ang 2 sa 7 lalaki na pumatay sa kanyang asawa.

Sa ebanghelyo, pinahayag ni Hesus ang hamon maging mapagbigay. Sinubukan niya si Felipe at Andres at pareho ang sagot nila, puno ng pagtutol at kakulangan ng tiwala - “200 araw ng pasweldo ay kulang pa din, 5 tinapay at 2 isda, pano ito magkasya?”

At ang sagot ni Hesus? - “Pwede na yan.”

“Pwede na yan.”

Para daw makapagbigay ang isang tao, kailangan magiging kontento siya sa anumang meron siya. Maliit man o malaki. Ang taong kontento, kapag bumunot ng wallet at nandun na lamang ay P10, kaya pa ring magsabi, salamat sa Diyos, pwede na to! Kapag bumunot ng wallet at nandun ay P1 milyon, ang sasabihin pa din ay, salamat sa Diyos, pwede na to!

Ang taong hindi kontento ay hindi makapagbibigay - madamot sapagkat gusto pang makakuha ng mas marami. Ang taong di kontento, kapag bumunot ng wallet at nandun na lamang ay P10 ang unang sasabihin, Diyos ko, bakit ganito? Kulang pa to! Kapag bumunot ng wallet at nandun ay P1 milyon, ang sasabihin pa din ay, Diyos ko, bakit ganito? Kulang pa to!

Ipagdasal natin ang ating sarili at ang bawat isa na mabigyan tayo ng biyaya ng Diyos magkaroon ng pusong kontento, mapagbigay at mapagmahal…

"Suffer With"

(Personally, this is very unoriginal, everything was a result of copy and paste, except maybe the last part, but still, due to some requests, i'm posting it here, so here goes... thanks to all the sources...)

16th Sunday Ordinary Time
July 19, 2009

Allow me to share with you a touching story emailed to me.

In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school career, while other can be main-streamed into conventional schools.
At a Chush fund-raising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, "Where is the perfection in my son, Shay? Everything God does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other children do. My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do. Where is God's perfection?"
The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish and stilled by the piercing query. "I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection that he seeks is in the way people react to this child."
He then told the following story about his son Shay:
One afternoon, Shay and his father walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they will let me play?"
Shay's father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys would not want him on their team. But Shay's father understood that if his son was chosen to play it would give him a comfortable sense of belonging. Shay's father approached one of the boys in the field and asked if Shay could play.
The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, "We are losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning."
Shay's father was ecstatic as Shay smiled broadly. Shay was told to put on a glove and go out to play short center field. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again and now with two outs and the bases loaded with the potential winning run on base Shay was scheduled to be up. Would the team actually let Shay bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that it was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, let alone hit with it. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved up a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay should at least be able to make contact.
The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. One of Shay's team-mates came up to Shay and together they held the bat and faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay
and his team-mate swung at the ball and together they hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have ended the game. Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman.
Everyone started yelling, "Shay, run to first. Run to first."
Never in his life had Shay run to first. He scampered down the baseline wide-eyed and startled. By the time he reached first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman who would tag out Shay, who was still running. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second." Shay ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home.
As Shay reached second base, the opposing short stop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base and shouted, "Run to third." As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, "Shay run home."
Shay ran home, stepped on home plate and all 18 boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just hit a "grand slam" and won the game for his team.
"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "those 18 boys reached their level of God's perfection."

Compassion is feeling what its like to live inside somebody else’s skin (Buechner)

You know, there's a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit -- the ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes; to see the world through the eyes of those who are different from us. (Obama)

In the Gospel, we hear of Jesus not letting his compassion stay with God or in heaven. He commands: "Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate."
God saves because God is touched by suffering. God provides bread in the wilderness because God has ‘compassion’. The Greek word, splagchnizomai literally means ‘to be twisted up in the gut; to have one’s guts torn apart’. It designates an absolutely radical identification and empathy with the sufferer. The one who has compassion cannot rest until something is done to ease the suffering.

I hope and pray that it will be our community's firm belief that when God allows suffering in the world, the fullness of life that he seeks is in the way we respond to the least, the last and the lost.

I hope and pray that one day, all of us will reach the level of God's perfection.

Riffs

Slash, one of my favorite guitar players will be releasing his solo album soon. I am excited! I remember him, years ago, sharing in a guitar magazine about some of his guitar riffs that were still incomplete and never made it to any of his band songs. I guess in a way these reflections will qualify as that, some disjointed thoughts that I hope I will come around to enfleshing further...

The Gift of Community
To be a priest in the community is always rewarding. Not in the worldly sense but really in the true sense of the life of Christ - Loved though at times misunderstood. Crucified and yet life-giving. I have been welcomed in homes broken and yet with families continuing to share of themselves. I have been allowed to journey with lives lost and yet always seeking for something more than the world can offer. I have been engaged in meetings, plannings and dialogues that were often bloody but most of the time fruitful. This life of journeying may be often stressful but almost always fulfilling. This is the gift of the priesthood. This is the gift of the community. I am always grateful.

Mass of the Holy Spirit
I remember when we were children. I always look forward to summer. I guess every kid does. For me, one of the reasons was kite-flying. We had a big lot at the back of our house that is convenient for such childly pleasures. I started with making a very basic and small kite. I had someone to teach me, my elder brother. And of course, I have friends and classmates and neighbors whom kite-flying is a shared obsession. It is never fun when done alone. And I guess its never for the money. You can always bet that a kid will choose to fly a kite the whole day rather than be paid for an hour of cleaning the house. And its never about the money. You can buy a fully finished kite nowadays but where is the fun in that? Some have been able to make big, beautiful kites that others offer to buy - I guess some are born talented, and enterpreneurs. There are times when the strings break, which almost always subject the unfortunate one to jokes and ridicules which one will never hear the end of until another kite's string breaks. When my kite got caught in in the tree, I spent fruitless efforts trying to get it back to the point of giving up. Yet, when another day comes, there I was making a new kite, dreaming of new heights and trees to conquer. No child gives up kite flying because of a failed effort. It was always about the next kite, the next wind. No one can also predict when a bully comes around, with strings glued with broken glasses ready to break the strings of those foolhardy enough to come near. I have friends who fought with them, and they often pay the price. For us who believes in flower power, we always thought it best to stay away and enjoy but still often on the look-out. There are times when there will be no wind and no amount of running will make the kite take to flight. We have learned from those who have been around for some time how to read the weather or even call the wind by whistling. I never knew back then how to whistle and I have to learn and practice if I really want to go out and fly a kite. Soon, I dreamt of flying not just an ordinary kite but a big one. Like what one of my eccentric cousins made. A big one that it was said it can carry a man. He was often a legend in our circle of friends. He often says to us, its never easy to make such a big kite, what with the expenses, and with people shaking their heads saying it will never fly. And when they do launch it with people gathering around, they hold the big strings with hands covered with shirts to avoid being cut. I guess that's the price being paid by legends. I have never made the Kite. I know Ill come around to it. Someday...

Baliktad
Ang dahilan kung bakit minsan ang buhay ay nagkakandaloko ay dahil sa ginagawang baliktad ang mga bagay-bagay. Tulad ng kung ano dapat and gawing sekreto at hindi. May mga bagay na di dapat sinisekreto pero ayun, tinatago. tulad ng kasalanan. kaya nga tinatago kasi maili, nakakahiya. Kapag dinala sa labas, ibinunyag, ikinumpisal at inihingi ng tawad, tinatanggal natin ang pagkagapos at pagkaalipin sa kasalanan at nagiging malaya tayo. May mga bagay na dapat isekreto pero halos buong bayan ay pinapaalam. Tulad ng pagdadasal at pagtulong. Alin ba ang habol? Makaugnayan ang Diyos at matulungan ang kapwa? O ipaalam sa lahat na kausap natin ang Diyos at may natulungan tayo? Baliktad ang mundo natin dahil ginusto natin. Nasa atin ang susi.

Hospitality
May kultura tayong nakakatuwa at nakakatawa. Pag kumakain, palaging may matitirang isang pirasong ulam. Marahil dala ng ugali natin na pagpapaubaya sa mas nangangailangan. Kaya lang, madalas, eto ay nasasayang. Hospitality is sharing what you have and who you are. Not spending more than what we can afford to share. It is sharing with others in joy what we can. Katulad ni Abraham ng tinanggap niya ang tatlong lalaking bisita. Hindi nya hinayaang lumampas sila na hindi man lang maranasan ang kanyang kagandahang loob. At dahil dito, binigyan siya ng pangako at regalo mula sa Diyos na hindi niya lubos na inaasahan. And this is hospitality as well. To welcome God fully and trust confidently in His promise, in His covenant.

Sts. Peter and Paul
May mga bagay na di na natin mapili. Na tayo's ipanganak. Na tayo ay maging lalaki o babae, matangkad o mababa. May mga bagay din tayo kung saan tayo ay makakapagpili, kung ka=pamilya o kapuso. May mga talento tayo na maari natin i-develop, kumanta, sumayaw, pumalakpak. Ang mga eto ay biyaya ng Diyos. Binigay sa atin dahil sa may dahilan siya. Di dahil wala siyang magawa, dahil feel nya, dahil trip niya. May dahilan. Si San Pedro at San Pablo, dalawang taong ibang iba ang pag-uugali at kakayahan, pero parehong haligi ng pananampalataya. Dahil ginamit nila ang mga biyayang bigay sa kanila para kay Kristo. Sa iyo, anong mga biyayang bigay sayo ang naihandog mo na kay Kristo?

a million reasons
I was doing the treadmill stress test when the attending nurse asked me - "how long have you been a...you know..." and then, with a sheepish smile, made a grand gesture of the sign of the cross. 5 years, I said. Wow, she exclaimed. No regrets? I shook my head. You never thought of leaving? I don't exactly know what hit me but I said, I can think of a million reasons why I should leave the priesthood. And, I only have one reason for staying. And she gave me that questioning, inquisitive look. And I smiled, and made a grand gesture of the sign of the cross...