life worth living

Salamat po sainyong pagdalo at pagbati.
May isa akong kaibigang pari, kapag dumarating ang kanyang anibersaryo/kaarawan, may isa siyang ginagawang kakaiba at nakakatuwa - kumakanta siya. Ayokong takutin kayo kaya ang aking ginawa ay nagresearch na lang para sa aking homily.
Marami palang mga tradisyon ang ibat ibang mga bansa pagdating sa kaarawan.
In Canada, in Quebec, the birthday person receives a punch for each year they are alive and then one for good luck.
In Germany, when men reach the age of 30 and they still don't have a girlfriend that they have to sweep the stairs of the city hall. All there friends will throw rubble on the stairs and when you're finished  they'll throw some more rubble there. This way every girl can see that this man reached the age of 30 and still doesn't have a girlfriend (and that he can clean a house very well!).
In Vietnam, everyones birthday is celebrated on new years day.  Not only is Tet the beginning of a New Year, it is also everyone's birthday. The Vietnamese do not know or acknowledge the exact day they were born. A baby turns one on Tet no matter when he/she was born that year. Children say they were born in the year of the symbol of the lunar calendar for that year.
In Hungary, when gifts are opened, everyone pulls on the earlobes of the birthday person and says a little rhyme. The rhyme is translated into English as follows "God bless you, live so long so your ears reach your ankles".
Sa Pilipinas, madami din tayong tradisyon, mga nakakasanayan at pauso. Pamisa. Txt greetings. Pagbati sa facebook.
Ngayon, simpleng almusal. Pot luck. Di natin tatapatan ang pangulo ng Pilipinas na kayang gumasta ng $20,000.00.
Ngayon, Biblia para sa Bawat Pamilya. Subukan natin mabigyan ang mga pamilya ng biblia (sa halagang P50 bawat biblia, mula sa Phil Bible Society).
Iba ibang nasyonalidad, iba ibang tradisyon, iba ibang pamamaraan ng pagdiriwang kasama ang mga kapamilya at mga kaibigan sa pagpapasalamat sa biyaya ng buhay. Sa likod kasi ng mga tradisyon ay ang iisang pagbati, panalangin at pagtanaw ng utang na loob sapagkat may bagong araw, may bagong hamon na naman upang mahalin ang Diyos at ang kapwa.
May mga naniwala ng mag announce ako na holiday ngayon kasi birthday ko. Mataas pa din pala ang credibility ko. Sa totoo, inaalaala natin ang dakilang sakripisyo ni Ninoy Aquino ngayon. At sana patuloy nating sasabihin, the Filipino is worth dying for. Hindi, the Filipino is worth dining for.
At bilang isang Katoliko, inaalala natin si Pope Pius X na ang naging motto ay “To Renew All Things in Christ,” bilang isang alagad ni Kristo na nananampalatayang ang buhay ay biyaya ng Diyos, patuloy pa din nating sasabihin, life is worth living for.
And how should we live life?
In the 1st reading, Ruth invites us to sing her song with our hearts, hands and feet, for our neighbors. Wherever you go, I shall go, wherever you die, I shall die, your people shall be my people.
In the Psalm, we exclaim, praise the Lord my soul!
In the Gospel, Jesus ties it up by teaching us:
Love the Lord your God with all your mind, will all your soul, with all your heart.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
That is a life worth living.
Muli, Maraming salamat po sa inyong pagdalo, pagbati at pakikiisa sa panalangin.