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Trinity Sunday

5/24/2016

In the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.
Dennis Jones Garcia, [cjm]

Today we celebrate the central mystery of the Christian faith and the Christian life: The Holy Trinity; Three Divine Persons in One God. The doctrine and theology of the Trinity is a mystery which defies all forms of mathematical and logical calculations. Professing belief in the Trinitarian God is central that our baptism and all our liturgies and prayers are proclaimed “In the name of the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit.”

The Trinity is a community in unity, a communion of love relationships.

Today’s gospel speaks of this unity. The witness of Jesus is a true witness to the power and will, the glory of the Father. The witness of the Advocate (Holy Spirit) that comes after Jesus will speak the same truth. Each and every one of them bears witness to the same word and truth. The revelation of the Father through and in Jesus is the same revelation that is continued by the Holy Spirit. Just as the Son reveals the Father, so the Holy Spirit reveals the Father and the Son. The Son and the Holy Spirit do not speak on their own but on what they “hear” or was revealed to them. Each affirms and confirms one another. They do not contradict one another. They are not separated by time, or space, because their project is the same. While we attribute to the Father the work of Creation, to the Son the work of Redemption, to the Holy Spirit the work of Sanctification, it is the undivided Trinity who is at work in all these activities. Each person of the Trinity shares the same glory and give glory to one another.

The Trinity is a communion of love relationships. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit eagerly give themselves to one another. Out of love, they freely communicate the divine life in a continuous and endless giving and sharing. They dwell in one another, not as static beings but in a dynamic and living process of total self-donation. Each loving Person of the Trinity is thoroughly “in” each other. In human terms, we can say that “each person sees through each other’s eyes, feel each other’s heart, wills in conjunction with the other’s will, and flows together with the other’s action.” The more I give myself away in love the more I become myself. Each person in the Trinity becomes truly the Self the Person is, by giving their life to the other Persons. This continuous act of self-donation simultaneously creates unity and differentiation. The Trinity is thus, a continuous and mutual exchange of compassionate love among each Person, for God is love.

What then is the implication of the Trinity in our lives?

We are all invited to share in the divine life of the Trinity. As we are all made in the image of the Trinitarian God, we are called to reflect that image by living in communion and in unity with one another, and by sharing and radiating love with one another. We need to die in our own individual selfishness so that we can give ourselves and build each other in love. We need to see our being as being “in” one another. And this means living our lives for the other, putting our gifts in and for the other, giving “life” to one another through compassionate living. This is the only way we can manifest the indwelling of the Trinity in our lives.

No man is an island. We are relational beings and the Trinity is the model for all our relationships. It is time for some reality check.

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Pentecost Sunday

5/14/2016

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by Fr. Mike Dupo, CJM

Today we are celebrating the great feast of Pentecost. This is the birth of our Church. The word Pentecost signifies fifty days after the Easter. It has Jewish roots, for them the Pentecost is the fiftieth day after the Passover but later on it became a harvest festival. Usually the Jews make a pilgrimage which is connected to the harvest festival. Then later on, it became the celebration of the promulgation and the revelation of the Law of Moses. For us Christians, Pentecost, we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit after Easter as the gift of the Risen Lord. We remember that ushers in for the Church a great harvest also. Instead of the promulgation and the revelation of the Law of Covenant we have the new covenant in the Spirit.

In the first reading from the Acts of Apostles, Luke gives us a detailed narration of the foundation of our celebration today: the coming down of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and disciples gathered in the Upper room. Upon receiving the Holy Spirit a radical change occurs among them. The gifts of the Holy Spirit transformed them. Before they were very much afraid to go out that’s why they locked themselves in the room. But after receiving the breath of God, the Holy Spirit which comes through Jesus Christ, they became courageous and able to proclaim the Good News. These simple and original Disciples of Christ could speak now in a foreign tongue that’s why the Jewish people who came from different nations gathered around Jerusalem at that time were amazed with them. How did this come about that these simple followers of Christ could speak our native tongue? A miracle indeed! The barriers separating the people through language have collapsed because of the Holy Spirit.

Another manifestation of the gift of the Holy Spirit is unity regardless of differences. Aside from understanding one another even they do not have the same language but they began to work together as a community for the common good of all. They have different ministries and apostolates but their services are being rendered to the One God. They belong to the One Body with many parts. Jesus is their head and all baptized Christians through the Spirit are parts of the Mystical Body.

As we celebrate this feast let us allow the Holy Spirit to work among us. We have to be open to many possibilities of seeing the horizon of dialogue among the different cultures, races, nations and beliefs. Let us always remember that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not only confined to a certain place, individual or group. The gifts are freely given for those who are willing to grow in faith in Jesus Christ.

(from the Collect of Pentecost)
O God, who by the mystery of today’s great feast
sanctify your whole Church in every people and nation,
pour out, we pray, the gifts of the Holy Spirit
across the face of the earth
and, with the divine grace that was at work
when the Gospel was first proclaimed,
fill now once more the hearts of believers.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

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THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD (Solemnity)

5/8/2016

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POWER DRESSING
Fr. Serg Kabamalan, CJM

Garbed in plain collarless shirt and denim pants, I was accosted and grilled sternly by the security guard regarding my business for coming before I was allowed to enter a prestigious business enclave in Makati City. That happened many years ago. I did not think much about it, but looking back I realized that I was treated like a suspected criminal or terrorist. It is interesting to note though how things changed on another occasion, just a few days later. I went back to the same place for a more formal meeting. I was in business attire instead of casual or sporty get up that I prefer. This time, the security guard smiled and was very courteous. He just let me in without any question. That was a stark change which I can only attribute to power dressing!

Indeed, in the traditional business world, the way one dresses up speaks a lot about one’s positioning in terms of control and authority. Dress up smartly, and carry it with confidence, you will surely get to the first base, i.e., get people’s attention and get them to listen. It is like saying, “I am somebody. I have something important to do and say. I make things happen. I influence things. So, listen to me!” In other words, one dresses up to get what he or she wants. In the realm of what is lasting, however, power dressing goes beyond the physical and the human, which is superficial, to say the least, and, at its best, only psychological. It means putting on the “armor of God” by drawing strength from God and from his mighty power to face headlong the challenges of standing by Christ (cf. Eph 6:10ff).

Today, as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, we hang on to the last words of Jesus before he went to take his rightful place beside the Father, “Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Jesus’ parting words used the metaphor of wearing clothes to underline the reality that the power that he will send through the Holy Spirit emanates from and belongs to God. It is power dressing in its best form. The disciples were to exercise this power on behalf of God, for God and for all that God calls. It is an encouragement and a promise that God is in control, and the disciples were to participate in the further unfolding of God’s power in the economy of salvation to be his witnesses from Jerusalem to all of Judea, onto Samaria, and to the ends of the world.

Indeed, the disciples were emboldened. For them to stay in the City of David was tantamount to risking provocation of the dominant, reactionary forces of the Jewish religious leaders, the very power block that sent Jesus to his passion and death. With great joy and seeming indifference to the unnerving clout of the establishment, they even continuously stayed in the Temple praising God after the Ascension. It was like staring at the enemy in the eye and not yielding an inch.

Remember though that the power from on high was yet to come. The promise was already sufficient to drive all their fears away and to allow them focus on God and his unfailing action. It prepared them to receive the clothing of God’s power, giving an added impetus to live their new identity in Christ. It was clear to them, however, that it is only a participation in the power of love, not meant to control, dominate and subdue but to liberate, save and empower others.

Today, as the country prepares to elect a new set of national and local leaders may this power from on high clothe everyone to enable every voter to choose the path of liberation, salvation and empowerment.

God, our Father, send forth your Spirit anew to clothe us with the power of your love that grounded in the reality of our weaknesses and limitations, we may wield the power to change the world by loving and life-giving actions through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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Trinity Sunday

Pentecost Sunday

THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD (Solemnity)

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