Discipleship in a parish youth group.

An important principle to keep in mind is that disciples beget disciples. In other words, if we are really serious about fostering better marriages, holier priests, more devoted religious, and generally a more faithful and dedicated Church, then those of us who are already married, ordained, and consecrated, and who identify ourselves as Catholics must take a good, hard look at our own lives and evaluate how our discipleship measures up. How long has it been since we last experienced real conversion and transformation? How often do we repent of our sins? Do we really allow Jesus to rule our lives, or have we fallen into the ancient trap of Pelagianism, ultimately believing that we save ourselves? Do we really know Jesus? Do we allow him to really know us? These questions are important ones, for unless we as a Church can offer true models and exemplars of discipleship with our own lives, very few will seriously consider living the kind of life we live.

The inspiration to consider a vocation rarely comes from vocation literature; it comes from real people living out their vocations in the real world. In order to know what it means to be a good family, a good priest, a good religious, and a good Catholic, one needs to have living, breathing examples of each. I would have never considered the priesthood if I had not known some great priests as I was growing up; the seminarians I teach continue to tell the same story about their call. Disciples beget disciples—good marriages beget good marriages, good religious beget good religious, good priests beget good priests, and good Catholics beget good Catholics. When discipleship is modeled well, it becomes an invitation for others to become disciples themselves.

We need to reevaluate how our parish groups, ministries, and programs operate. We have to ask if these groups are truly fostering discipleship, or if they are simply social groups that happen to meet on parish grounds.

Let us take the example of a parish youth group to serve as a microcosm for our current situation. A youth group has a similar structure to most parish groups, in that most parish groups identify themselves in four ways: spiritual, service-oriented, social and catechetical. For a parish youth group to be what it is supposed to be, the first priority of the group must be to make disciples of young people who do not know Jesus, and to make stronger disciples of the ones who already know him. Such a suggestion seems quite basic and even simplistic at first glance, but this is precisely the point. Far too often we as a Church have failed with the most basic principle of discipleship while loading up on service projects and social activities, and the parish youth group becomes just one more line on a young person’s college résumé, without ever calling that young person to real conversion.

It is true that young people tend to stay out of trouble while socializing with peers from the parish, and that service projects help build character and allow young people to move beyond themselves, but without being disciples, such activities never allow for true transformation and human flourishing. Over and over again we as a Church have fallen into the subtle trap of settling for results that can be easily calculated, photographed, and documented in a parish bulletin or website, rather than getting down to the basics of discipleship. Granted, opportunities for socializing and service projects are goods that the Church offers young people, but young people can find these goods outside the Church as well, which is why youth groups that don’t get beyond social gatherings and service projects aren’t very good youth groups. A youth group that is primarily about the work of making disciples is another story indeed.

Youth groups that are filled with disciples and are about making new disciples are youth groups that allow their young people an opportunity to fall in love with Jesus. Again, I realize such a claim seems simplistic and perhaps a bit pious, but nonetheless it is true. Coming to know Jesus is foundational; not just knowing his ideas or teachings or his history, but really coming to know him. If a youth group is able to offer a young person an opportunity to know Jesus, to know transcendence, intimacy, depth, and a real sense of mystery and being part of a something greater than himself, it will be hard to find a space big enough to gather the young people together.

If youth ministers and, more specifically, priests take the time to teach their young people how to pray alone, in community, liturgically, before the Blessed Sacrament, with an icon or crucifix, in nature, with Scripture, or with a journal, disciples will emerge. Don’t be fooled; young people desire to learn to pray and to pray well, and they want their leaders to teach them.

Moreover, it’s all too common that those working with youth soft-step around difficult or controversial Church teachings in an attempt not to drive young people away. Gone are the days of young people defining themselves as liberal or conservative Catholics. The stakes are much higher today: either you believe in God or you don’t. As the Southern novelist Walker Percy said upon his Catholic conversion, these days it is either “Rome or Hollywood,” there is no more middle ground. As such, young people want to be challenged. They want to think and understand and wrestle with big ideas. So why not spend time teaching them about the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Paschal Mystery, the Liturgy, and the Last Things? It is no secret that the Church’s teachings on sexuality are counter-cultural, but this is precisely the draw for so many young people—that the human person is more than simply an object of pleasure, and that there is something beautiful about God’s creating us male and female, in his image and likeness, and that there is a divine plan for the way we express ourselves.

When young people come to know Jesus, they will develop a deeper appreciation for the Eucharist. And when young people finally find their identity in the Eucharist (and not a pizza party, bowling or laser tag), young people will naturally want to socialize and do service projects, because these activities will flow out of their discipleship. When their lives are formed by the self-giving love of Jesus in the Eucharist, they will want to make themselves a gift for others, and their service projects will take on new meaning as acts of justice. Once young people become disciples, they will want to come to Mass, to spend time at the parish, to serve those in need, to gather for recreation, and to read good books and articles about the faith, and to really help build the Kingdom of God. But none of this can ever happen without the most foundational, and often forgotten, principle of discipleship.

Take any parish group or any Church institution and apply the discipleship principle, and the story will be the same as it is with the youth group. No matter how well-crafted a mission statement is, or how well group facilitators have been trained, or how well-developed a program may be, no matter how much time and effort and money was put into a lesson plan, workshop, meeting, or retreat, it is all for naught without discipleship. We may get things done, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that things are being done for the sake of the kingdom.

The real sign of discipleship ultimately shows up in vocations. So why don’t vocations programs seem to work? Because vocation programs all too often presume their target audience to be disciples, and many are not yet there. The real remedy to our vocation problem isn’t a bigger and better vocation program. Rather, the remedy will be found at the most basic level of discipleship, the universal call to holiness: knowing Jesus. Once people come to know Jesus, repent of their sin, experience conversion, and become disciples, they will naturally draw others to follow him too, in whatever vocation they are called.

Disciples beget disciples. If more married couples, priests, religious and faithful begin to take discipleship seriously, there won’t be a vocation problem, because ultimately our vocation problem is a lack of discipleship. The solution to this problem is so fundamental that is often overlooked and misdiagnosed, but the remedy is as old as the Gospel itself. If we, as Christ’s Church, take the call to discipleship and evangelization more seriously, the vocation problem will be lessened. Let us continue to pray for reform and renewal and, ultimately, for the Holy Spirit’s pouring himself out on his holy Church, the Bride of Christ.

Pope Francis' Five Finger Prayer

Sobrang nagustuhan ko ang homily ni Fr. Richard Babao sa misa sa BPI Chapel kanina. Kaya hinanap ko ngayon yung tinutukoy niyang litrato. At heto nga, sobrang karaniwan pero lubos na nakakatulong na matandaan yung mga dapat nating ipagdasal. Lalo na sa ganitong panahon ng krisis at kawalang-katiyakan.

Kung may Limang Landas si Sto. Tomas de Aquino, may Limang Daliring Panalangin naman si Papa Francisco.

Salamat sa lamat.

Blogging-mood na ang pakiramdam ko simula pa nung isang araw at masayang-masaya ako na nakaabot ako ng 23 taon ng pag-iral at buhay. Nararamdaman kong sobra akong blessed na nabuhay ako ng 23 taon sa pagmamahal at pagkalinga ng maraming kaibigan at kapamilya. Nagpapasalamat ako sa Diyos sa hindi mabilang na biyayang ibinigay Niya sa akin, marami roon hindi ko naipagpapasalamat noon, at nakakapangliit man ay buong pakumbaba kong ipinagpapasalamat ang Kanyang dakilang kabutihan at pagmamahal.


Wala akong oras o kapasidad na pasalamatan ang lahat agad-agad, nawa'y ang mga mensaheng ito ay magsilbing ekspresyon ng aking walang hanggang pasasalamat sa bawat isa.



Sa Diyos


Salamat po sa pagkakataong mabuhay, sa pagbibigay Mo sa akin ng aking buhay, at sa pagmamahal Mo sa kung sino ako. Salamat sa pagpili Mo at paghahangad Mo sa akin, sa pag-ibig Mong kaytamis, kaylalim, perpekto at bukaspalad. Salamat sa pagbabahagi Mo ng buhay na puspos ng pag-ibig sa akin at ang mga adventure ko kasama Ka ay mananatili sa aking puso magpakailanman. Salamat sa pagtulong Mo sa akin habang patuloy ako sa aking discernment sa pipiliin kong bokasyon, at sa kaakibat nitong surpresang yaman ng mga relasyong dumarating. Salamat po sa lahat-lahat. Ikaw ang pinakadakila at pinakamagaling.



Kina Mama at Papa


Salamat sa pagdadala sa akin dito sa mundo. Sa inyong napakaraming sakripisyo, luha, at pag-ibig na naging halaga ng pagpapalaki ninyo sa akin. Alam niyo na kung gaano ko kayo kamahal. Patawarin niyo po ako sa aking mga pagkukulang. Ang bawat birthday ko ay nagpapaalala sa akin na walang hanggan ang aking utang na loob sa inyo. Masuwerte ako na kayo ang aking mga magulang, simple ngunit napakadakilang mga tao na ibinigay ang lahat at inibig ako ng lampas pa sa naiisip kong pagmamahal. Salamat sa pagpaparamdam sa akin na mahalaga ako at sa pagtitiwala ninyo sa akin. Mahaba pa ang listahan ng aking mga pasasalamat sa into at ayaw kong maging litanya iyon dito. Hangad ko lamang na magsilbing karangalan sa inyo ang buhay ko at maging masaya kayo lagi sa buhay dito sa mundo.



Sa aking mga kapatid at kamag-anak


Proud ako na kayo ang aking mga kapamilya. Sa tatlong kapatid kong babae na nakabahagi ko sa aming childhood, sa tawanan at iyakan; sa mga tito at tita na pumuspos sa akin ng pagmamahal at pagtuturo sa akin sa buhay; sa mga lolo at lola na nagbahagi sa akin ng kanilang kayamanan sa talino at eksperiyensya. At sa pinakamamahal kong pamangking si Kyllie na nagpakita sa akin kumbakit sa lahat ng tao ay mga bata ang higit na iniibig ni Hesus. Sa inyong lahat, salamat sa pagbabahagi ng buhay.



Sa mga brothers at sisters ko sa Mhafans


Paano ko malilimutan yung mga kapatid kong tumutulong at gumagabay sa akin na isabuhay ang isang buhay na puno ng discernment, tuwa at debosyon? Kayo ang mga kapatid kong hiniling sa Diyos na magkaroon ako. Hindi na mabubura ang lamat na itinatak ninyo sa aking buhay. Ang mga mukha ninyo ang pumupuno sa aking mga litrato at pinaganda ninyo ang kulay ng mga taon ko bilang kabataan. Nais kong magpasalamat nang higit sa lahat kina Sister Abigail, Bro Idris, Bro Matthew at Master Jerome sa pagtuturong muli sa aking puso na mas paigtingin pa ang debosyon sa pinakamawain, pinakamaalam at pinakamatamis na inang nakilala ko, ang Ina ng mga Walang Mag-ampon. Salamat sa lahat at sa patuloy na paglago sa buhay at bilang ng pinakamahalagang grupo sa aking buhay, ang Mhafans.



Sa mga naging benefactors at spiritual help


Nais ko ring pasalamatan yung kahit hindi ko nakilala yung iba ay patuloy na sumuporta sa akin, materyal at ispiritwal. Hindi ko kayo mapapangalanan dito ngunit nais ko pa ring ipabatid ang aking pasasalamat at pananalangin sa inyo. At sa mga nananalangin para sa akin, sa mga lalaki at babaeng nakilala ko sa daan ng buhay, maraming salamat.



Sa mga naging guro, kaklase at kaeskwela


Espesyal ang pasasalamat ko sa mga nakilala ko't nakasalamuha rito sa Marikina, mula sa pagkabata hanggang ngayon, tinuruan niyo akong magpakumbaba. Sa kaisa-isa kong kaklase noong kindergarten na naging kaibigan ko ngayon, sa mga kapwa Atenistang gumagawa na ngayon ng mga marka sa ating lipunan, sa mga nakasamang Sta. Elenian na nagbahagi ng saya noong high school, at sa lahat ng aking mga naging guro at propesor, salamat nang marami sa pagpapatingkad sa kulay ng aking buhay.



Sa mga kabataang nakilala ko


Sa aking mga naging estudyante at kaibigan, binigyan niyo ako ng kasiyahan at inspirasyon na magpatuloy. Salamat sa pagtitiwala at pagtawag sa akin bilang kuya. Salamat sa mga program officers, youth volunteers at participants ng Pathways; sa mga nakasamang delegado sa katatapos lang na local World Youth Day celebration na ginanap sa Don Bosco Makati; sa dedikadong mga Obreros de la Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados; sa mga talentado kong kasamahan sa BPI Chapel Choir; at sa mga katrabaho sa BPI. Maraming salamat sa pagbabahagi ng buhay at kasiyahan sa akin. Napakarami ninyo, sobrang dami ng mga pangalang nais kong pasalamatan.



Sa mga online friends at acquaintances


Ano kaya ang aking online social life kung wala kayo? Sa mga nakilalang kaibigan sa Facebook, Blogger, Twitter at Instagram, maraming salamat po.



Hindi ko hangad o intensyon na maglimot ng mga pangalan at tao, kaya gusto kong pasalamatan kayong lahat na makababasa nito. Salamat sa pagiging bahagi ng buhay ko. Sa pag-iiwan ng lamat (o marka) sa akin, salamat sa lamat. Lagi ko po kayong ipinagdarasal. Pagpalain po tayo nawa ng ating mahabaging Diyos, ngayon at magpakailanman.

The Word Today.

Luke 5:33-39

Some people asked him, “The disciples of John fast often and say long prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why is it that your disciples eat and drink?” Then Jesus said to them, “You can’t make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them. But later the bridegroom will be taken from them, and they will fast in those days.” Jesus also told them this parable: “No one tears a piece from a new coat to put it on an old one; otherwise the new will be torn, and the piece taken from the new will not match the old. No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed as well. But new wine must be put into fresh skins. Yet no one who has tasted old wine is eager to drink new wine, but says, ‘The old is good.’”

Jesus paints himself as the bridegroom in his response to the question asked of him in our Gospel passage today. While the bridegroom is present, the wedding guests do not need to fast. When one is with Christ, the bridegroom, there is no need for anything else but what pleases the bridegroom.

It is only when the wedding guests are separated from the bridegroom, when the bridegroom will be taken from them, that the guests need to fast and sacrifice. We can be separated from Christ by sin. In these occasions, we need to do all things within our power, including fasting and sacrifice, to remove the things which separate us from Christ, so that we may again be like wedding guests in the presence of the bridegroom.

Jesus was teaching things about God which the people of his time found to be different from the things they were previously taught. Countless rules and practices were taught as part of the worship of God. Matters of personal hygiene, like washing the hands before eating, prohibitions against eating fish without scales, and other matters like these became part of religious rituals and obligations. The teaching of Jesus was like a “new coat.” To tear a part of it would damage the new coat and would not match the old one. What Jesus taught was like new wine that would burst an old skin. But those who have learned and gotten used to the old teachings would say, “The old is good.” And they went to the extent of crucifying the one who taught the really important things about God.

Lord Jesus, give us the grace to walk with you always, and remove the things which may separate us from you.

Never war again. War never again.

Ang katahimikan ay nakabibingi rin minsan dahil kapag inalis mo ang ingay sa labas, mapapansin mo ang ingay sa loob mo. Gumagawa tayo ng maraming ingay. Tayong mga Pinoy ay kilala na masayahin, kaya't katambal nito ang matatawanin at may mataas na cheerfulness level. Ngunit meron ding ibang nibel ng ingay na ang wavelengths ay hindi kayang maabot ng ating mga tainga. May ingay sa pang-araw-araw na buhay, mga bagay na hindi naman kailangan at walang pakinabang pero ginagawa pa rin natin nang hindi alam kumbakit. May ingay ang paligid, yung mga prejudices at stereotypes na nakikibahagi tayo dahil iyon ang common o kalakaran. Marami pa ang mga ingay na labas sa atin. Kapag pinansin natin ang mga ito at hininaan ang kanilang volume, mas mapapansin na natin ang ingay sa loob natin.

Ang ingay sa loob natin ay mas mahirap kaharapin. Kapag ang isip ay masyadong abala sa ibang bagay, nawawala tayo sa pokus kung ano ang mahalaga. At kapag ang puso ay sumabog dulot ng kinimkim na mga damdamin at mga isyu at trauma na takot tayong harapin, makakaya kaya natin? Mas nangangailangan sa atin ang ingay sa loob natin upang payapain. Tunay na pokus at disiplina ang susi.

At ito marahil ang tunay na halaga ng paanyaya ni Papa Francisco sa atin na manalangin at magtika sa Sabado, Setyembre 7, para sa bansang Syria. (Sa bansang ito nagpahayag si Hesus ng Kanyang mga turo. Dito Niya itinatag ang Simbahan na ipinagkatiwala Niya kay San Pedro.) Iniimbitahan tayo ng Papa na itama ang ating pokus at disiplina, mahahalagang bagay na hindi pinahahalagahan ng mundo. Never war again. War never again.

Luke 4:22

“They were all well impressed with him and marveled at the eloquent words that he spoke” (Luke 4:22). Another translation of Luke 4:22 reads, “All bore witness about him and were astonished at the works of grace.”

When Jesus read the Scriptures in Nazareth, people were already watching him. What he said disturbed them and made them react violently toward him.

One thing we can say about Jesus is that he was very purposeful. He did things for a reason. He did not beat around the bush. He told people what was happening. He told the truth.

This made the people angry enough to want to push Jesus down a cliff. Jesus knew this would happen, but he did not retract. He said what he said and bravely faced the crowd.

John Hemer said, “Our own Catholic faith is tremendously challenging and stretching. It is continually reminding us that God is bigger than the little world we inhabit. Are we able to rise to the challenge?”

Sino ang humble?

Maganda yung homily ni Bishop Francis kanina sa OLA Parish Church para sa ika-22 Linggo sa Karaniwang Panahon (Taon K). Tungkol sa pagpapakumbaba bilang anyaya ni Kristo sa ating lahat. Hindi dapat magmalaki kung wala ka namang sinasabi. Hindi dapat magmataas kung wala ka namang binatbat. At pinakanagustuhan ko sa pasaring niya yung hindi dapat magpa-istar kung istariray naman.

Nagbigay siya ng halimbawa para ilarawan ang kahulugan ng humility o pagiging humble. Nagtanong siya kung sino sa tatlong estudyante ang humble.

A. Nakakuha ng 90 at nang tinanong ay sumagot na 80 ang nakuha niya
B. Nakakuha ng 80 at nang tinanong ay sumagot na 90 ang nakuha niya
C. Nakakuha ng 90 at nang tinanong ay sumagot na 90 ang nakuha niya

Hula kong sagot ay yung nauna. Ang sagot daw ayon kay Bishop Francis ay yung nakakuha ng 90 at nang tinanong ay sumagot na 90 ang nakuha niya. Napaisip tuloy ako. Kung ano ba ang tamang depinisyon ng humility. Sabi niya, humble ka kung ipinakikita mo yung katotohanan. You are humble when you hold on to truth. May punto siya. Kayabangan yung pagsasabi ng mataas na marka kahit mababa naman talaga. Parehong pagsisinungaling kapag mali ang sinabi mo at hindi yung tunay na marka. Humble ka kapag pinanghahawakan mo yung totoo.

Magaling yung ginamit na talinghaga ni Hesus sa Pariseo. Kung inimbita ka sa handaan, huwag yung kabiserang upuan ang kunin mo. Dun ka sa pinakaabang upuan. Kung sakaling dun ka naman talaga pauupuin ng nag-anyaya, mabuti sapagkat hindi ka na lilipat ng puwesto. At kung sakaling dun ka naman pala sa kabisera pauupuin ng nag-anyaya, mabuti sapagkat mas pararangalan ka. Dahil ang mataas ay ibababa samantalang ang mababa ay itataas.

Ang katotohanan ay simple lang. Ganun kasimple na kapag sinubukan mong ipaliwanag o bigyang pakahulugan ay lalo lamang nagiging komplikado. Kung pinanghahawakan mo yung totoo lamang, hindi ka makagagawa ng samot-saring sapot o kawing-kawing na sitwasyong di mo na maaaring labasan. Gaya ng nangyayari sa bansang Pilipinas ngayon. Nagsisilabasan ang noo'y hindi inilalantad. Sapagkat tunay nga ang ipinababatid sa atin ng Diyos - na lalabas ang katotohanan kahit ano pang gawin mo para lang mapagtakpan.

Dalangin ko ngayong buwang ito ng Setyembre na matutuhan ko ring panghawakan ang katotohanan. Na nawa'y dun lamang ako pumanig at hindi matukso na magmataas o magmapuri. Kasama ko rin sa panalangin si Bishop Francis, na ayon sa kanya ay ipinagpapasalamat niya ang kanyang ikaanim na taon bilang obispo. Yun sa tingin ko ang humble. Na alam mong hindi mo kakayanin kaya humihiling ka pa rin na ipagdasal ka. :)