Today's Gospel reading is about the good and bad fruit. While reflecting on the Gospel and on my own life, I realized that it is so difficult for me to discern if people are as good as they say. Sometimes, we are distracted by the "trappings" of a person. We are amazed by their charisma, their physical features, their ability to speak well in public, and their educational background. 

Jesus teaches us where to look in these cases. We should look at the fruits of their lives... the results of their actions. Actions speak louder than words. 

This is not about judging others. Rather, it is about knowing who we can bring us closer to God.

Check out: http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/mp3/PAYG_120627.mp3 for your daily reflection today.

REPOSTED from FR. VIC BALTAZAR, SJ

June 27. The story that our first reading for today (2 Kings 22,8-13; 23,1-3) recounts can very well be entitled "An Old Testament Retreat Experience." While putting order in the temple, to seek out metals for smelting, the high priest Hilkiah accidentally found the book of the law. The high priest gave the book to the scribe Shaphan, who brought it and read it out to the King. When the king heard the Word of the Lord read out, he recognized it and immediately tore his garments. He arranged to gather the people so that the Word of the Lord from the book of the Law may be proclaimed and heard again by all and the spirit of the covenant may be renewed in the hearts of all and in the life of the community.

In a sense our ordinary lives show resonances with what our first reading narrates. We live borrowed lives and in some of us, committed lives. Lives which have been dedicated and covenanted to God, as conduits of God's love to others, and servants of Christ's mission. Yet the dust of every day life, the routines we follow, the desires and obsessions we pursue, the career paths and life directions we trek, all of these can make our promises to God buried in the pile of our life's junk, kept in the dark, hidden and lost to forgetfulness.

Yet God sends grace-filled occasions that cause us to remember, and remembering in Scripture is an essential gift that spells life and redemption as forgetfulness can mean damnation and loss. These experiences of "retreat" renew the spirit of covenant in us and recovers for us the presence of God who remains in us whether or not we notice or acknowledge God. In such retreats at least three important things happen: First we see the disorder in our lives, the very situation that has led to or caused our forgetfulness, the ways by which we have allowed ourselves to lose our hearts to ambiguous or outrightly corrupt desires, the ways we have allowed ourselves to become slaves of instincts and passions that pleasure us but ultimately make us lose control of life. Second, The Word of God finds anew in us a heartfelt hearing. There are readings and there are readings of God's Word. But a heartfelt hearing allows the Word to be heard and received, find resonances or dissonances in us, reflected upon and ruminated, and move us to a response where God's Word becomes us--transforms our valuing for people and things, makes an impact in our choices and our very ways of choosing: God's Word takes flesh in our lives and persons. 

A third event in these retreats is fruit-bearing. And Jesus in our Gospel today reminds how quite central this event is if we want to discern the validity and authenticity of our retreat experience. "By their fruit you will know them." For people may have the most dramatic, tearful prayer experience, even with God's Word read (why, even Satan quoted Scriptures to Jesus in the desert temptations!) but real encounters with God are always grace-filled and transforming. The fifty-fifth chapter of Isaiah says God's Word does not return to God without having accomplished the fruit it was sent for. So if a retreat experience does not culminate in good fruit, some disconnect must have happened somewhere. We lacked disposition? We were deaf to the Word? We allowed ourselves to hear God's Word but amidst many other noises that block our good hearing of it or distort our understanding of it? We did hear the Word but refused to listen and act on it? Many times a retreat experience is able to plant the seeds of God's Word in our hearts, but the grace sown needs nurturing and constant lived embrace so that it may grow into real virtues and good habits and show robust and abundant fruit in due time.

In the many moments of our forgetfulness in the days of our lives, may God cause us to stumble upon God's Book of the Law and may the Word of God find a new hearing in our lives and renew us from our core. God Bless! 

I had already experienced the LSS last year, given by The Shepherd's Flock. And as the APY ExeCom planned "The Hunger Games" Team building and recollection, I knew that Raymart would incorporate the teachings of the Holy Spirit into the program. But I did not expect the things that happened today.

We started with the Team Building activities. There were 12 stations that Ces and I prepared. Each was connected to the 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The stations tested both the mental and physical aspects of our members. I felt that this was a success. We all had fun and we were able to bond with each other. It gave me an opportunity to see who had leadership potential in the group. And it allowed us to translate the 12 Promises to the members, in a language they could understand

When we moved back into Hall 1 of Layforce, people were tired and sleepy from the morning activities. I had to elbow my seat mates to wake them up during the talks. But the discussions by Pope and Raymart on God's love, On Forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and Faith, were topics which I had heard of before. These may seem so simple, even repetitive (subjects we discussed back in Grade School and even in College Theology) but they took on a new meaning for me today.

 I was amazed about how they wove the story of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus into God's love and onto the discussion of the Holy Spirit. The image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a God who gives His heart (to the last drop of blood and water) and the God that accepts us all no matter what, just allowed me to deepen my understanding of God's abounding love for me.

 I was also amazed to see how they explained the Holy Spirit's role in the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit is not separate from God the Father and Son. The Holy Spirit is a result of the love of God the Father for God the Son and God the Son's love for the Father. And in relation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is the blood and water which flowed from the side of Jesus when His heart was pierced with a lance. 

I realized that there is no conflict between our devotion and of believing in the Holy Spirit. In the Age of the Holy Spirit, this is the time for renewal. The Paraclete gives strength to our wavering faith and gives life to our ministry. It does not matter if we are a Charismatic group or a Sacramental organization. All that mattered was that we "told the world of His love" and that we allowed our Hearts to become like His.

(Published in my FB Notes last 10 September 2011)



5 years ago, I saw a flyer for the Life in the Spirit Seminar (LSS) posted in Church. I don’t know why that particular flyer made me nervous. It made me so nervous that I consulted Mama Edith about it, and she told me that I should have gone to the seminar.

But due to different meetings, the fact that I felt shy about going alone (and other excuses that I made along), 5 years passed by.

Now, 2011, I got to know Gjian and Raymart from The Shepherd’s Flock (TSF), because they became a part of the Apostleship of Prayer Youth’s (APY) Executive Committee. They kept on talking about the LSS and I was finally convinced that I needed to and wanted to go. Unfortunately, I was not able to make it to the July/April session because of a meeting or some other thing.

BUT, through the grace of God and the intercession of Mama Mary, 2 days after Mama Mary’s birthday, I committed to coming. Wanting to make sure I had company during the seminar, I invited Ken, Ivy, Pierre, Val, and Ian to come.

Sabi ko, this is it! Kahit na-delay pa ako dahil naglinis ako ng banyo at nagpa-photocopy pa ng piyesa, I was going to make it. Of course, Nelly’s intermittent and personalized text reminders, helped place LSS in my priority list.

Today, I came and conquered. Today, I re-learned and re-understood basic tenets of our faith. Bro. Buddy spoke about how God loves us and how God saved us. Bro. Bong’s talk was on Faith, Repentance, and Forgiveness. These are the basic tenets taught to us in Grade School, more often in the form of memorized items and acronyms that were just words. But today I felt and found out what they meant for me. It also helped that my Shepherd, Sis. Ludz allowed us to process our learnings in our kawan.

Today, I encountered the Power of God, manifested through the Holy Spirit. As Bro. Albert spoke about the Holy Spirit and the Gift we were going to receive, I felt a splitting headache. It made listening more difficult. But I decided to persevere and to surrender the pain to Him.

I felt excited and apprehensive as we closed our eyes and began to pray. While singing “Come Holy Spirit”, I felt myself mumbling strange words. In the darkness, I saw the Sacred Heart of Jesus beckoning to me (how fitting, kasi siya yung lagi kong kaharap kapag Sunday.) I told Him, “Lord I believe in You, Ikaw na ang bahala sa akin.”

A hand suddenly touched me, to anoint me. I felt a bolt of electricity jolt me. It was hot, as if fire was enveloping me. My lips were vibrating and I was saying words that I could not understand.

I stood up and I felt people surround me. They were praying over me and I felt them touch me. My knees buckled and I was swaying from side to side. I tried to resist the force. But I felt myself falling. Next thing I knew, I was on the floor and I was speaking in tongues. My tongue felt as if it was going to fly out of my month. I felt so light. And tears were falling down my face. My tears were triggered by the beautiful music that I heard, it was as if angels were singing.

-------

Empowered and recharged. It was as if all my problems had been lightened because I was no longer alone. I felt enveloped in warmth and love. My headache was gone. And as Bro. Dennis spoke to us about how to let these gifts bear fruit (Pray, Study the Word, Belong to a Community, and Serve), I felt so joyful and so excited. I felt that I was ready to go and serve again.

Akala ko si Super Man lang ang pwedeng magkaroon ng kapangyarihan. Ako rin pala pwedeng maging Super Joan. Nakalimutan ko na Siya ang pinaka-bukal ng lahat. At dahil sa kabutihan Niya, pinili niya ako. Oo ako ay makasalanan at hindi ako perpekto.  Pero dahil sa pag-ibig Niya, ako ay nagiging buo.

I will follow Your call, Lord. All that I have is Yours. Use me to direct others to You.

My wish is that you too follow the call. Magpaligaw (courtship) ka at magpaligaw (lose yourself) kayLord. And you too will discover your super powers.

Holy Week means different things to different people. Some of my friends see it as the longest vacation they’ll get for the summer; so they schedule their beach trips during this time. Others believe this is the best time to catch up on some sleep or some DVDs. But since I am active in church, a lot of the people I know celebrate it through service and through the Catholic traditions we Filipinos love.

I have been lucky enough to belong to provinces (Capiz and Pampangga.) These are where I go home to during the Holy Week. But I have also experienced staying home in Manila. (Manila has less people during this week because everyone seems to be out of town, so staying home isn’t so bad.)

Seeing that we are celebrating Holy Week today, I wanted to share a few ideas on how we can reflect on the Passion and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ. In today’s age of the internet and of gadgets, is there a way to celebrate Holy Week meaningfully?

Celebrating Catholic traditions

You can go to Visita Iglesia on Maundy Thursday. Pray and reflect over the Stations of the Cross as you tour different churches in Metro Manila or Luzon. This is a great way to study about the history of our faith, learn about architecture, and reflect on our Lord’s Passion and Death.

Prepare handouts for everyone so that you can all take turns in leading the prayer. I suggest that you also prepare background music for the in-betweens.  You can check out music from the Jesuit Music Ministry or Hillsong. Remember, this is not just an ordinary road trip. So keep the atmosphere prayerful and solemn throughout the duration of the trip.

You can also go to your local church to attend the Triduum service for Holy Week. View the Mass of our Lord’s Supper and the ceremony of Washing of the Feet on Maundy Thursday. Priests and lay people re-enact how Jesus showed the world what true servant leadership is and how Jesus humbled himself for us all.

On Good Friday, there are services for the Seven Last Words. A lot of churches invite speakers to share their reflections on this event. In our parish, the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we even include song and dance performances to enhance the atmosphere of reflection. Afterwards, the Veneration of the Cross usually takes place until midnight of that night.

The longest mass in church is celebrated during the evening of Holy Saturday. The Easter Vigil is often overshadowed by the Misa del  Gallo (Christmas Eve mass.)  But this is an important service we should go to as we celebrate our Lord’s Resurrection.

The Easter Vigil celebrates how Jesus became the Light of the World when he died for all of us.  The service begins with all lights turned-off. Seven accounts from the Bible are read.  The Gloria and Alleluia are sung once again after the 40 days of Lent. This is also the service when baptism can take place and where adult catechumens are welcomed into the church. It’s a ceremony worth attending.

Truly Pinoy Holy Week Ceremonies

If you are lucky enough to have a province to go home to, I suggest that you take this time to travel back. Provinces in the Philippines have different traditions when it comes to celebrating the Holy Week. Besides the reading of the Pasyon, there are also processions and services you can join. 

Today, here in Pampangga, I witnessed the bloodletting and the crucifixion of several devotees. These people usually have a panata (pact with God) to undergo the same suffering Christ went through, in exchange for granted prayers or as an act of penitence for the sinful life lived. Having this view of God who requires blood sacrifice is probably rooted to the Pre-Spanish rituals of Filipinos. (Warning: Graphic Photos posted below.) 

Using Technology to strengthen the Faith

If you can’t get out of work or of the house, you can also turn to television or to the computer, to celebrate Holy Week. Stations like TV Maria have Holy Week specials, where you can listen to the Word of God from the comfort of your home.

If you live in a condo and don’t own a television set, you can switch on your internet to view programs via live streaming. Read blogs to nourish your sould. Or you can check out rappler.com’s Holy Week special.  They have articles written by Jesuits, Music Videos, and even a Virtual Stations of the Cross.

So remember, you can spend Holy Week any way you choose. But you can make it more meaningful and use the time to truly reflect by joining Catholic traditions, witnessing Pinoy ceremonies or using modern technology to strengthen your faith.

Have a blessed Holy Week!

Bubbly