family

joseph clem (jc)

joseph hans

joseph satri (joesat)

Support Group

january 31, 2010. we gathered, prayed, ate, and shared stories... those present during the gathering were fr romy, fr steve, fr gaudi (the farthest, 6 hours travel from his place to west point), fr burt, fr henry, fr jun, and myself...

Ministry

I usually deliver my homilies with 3 points (and usually employ techniques for easy recall...) The 3 points below is an example as I talk about ministry.

Jesus' ministry has different characteristics but I want to focus on three -- CLAIMING, "CONTINUING COMPLETION", and COMPASSION.

Jesus, first and foremost, claims us as His own -- as God's people. With Jesus, we become sons and daughters of God. With Jesus, that which unites us is emphasized even before dealing with what distinguishes us from each other. With Jesus, boundaries and borders are removed (except the border between good and evil). The question that I usually ask myself is do I claim Jesus to be my God and Savior -- in all aspects of my life...

Jesus is the completion of the expression of God's love for the created world. In His ministry, Jesus brings about wholeness to "broken realities." Jesus is the total expression of the fidelity of God to creation. The questions I ask myself are: do I participate in this continuing ministry or allow the Spirit to work in me?; and do I ever tell Jesus: "You complete me!"?

Jesus' ministry is basically a ministry of compassion -- an expression of God's great love in a manner that is responsive to the needs and signs of the times. Do I desire to experience this great compassion of God and after experiencing this love share it with others?

(...just trying to heed the call of the pope -- for priests to blog and make use of the media to proclaim the Gospel...)

just random thoughts... musings on a gloomy day...

1. priest-friends tell me i'm not sent to a certain place to please everybody (and i agree) but i always add to this remark but i'm not sent there either to offend anybody... just to do the will of God to the best of my ability...

2. people sometimes ask why i celebrate mass so intently and my simple answer is always either "i'm praying too" or "it's my prayer too."

3. i always remind myself that JESUS is the Boss, the "Be-All" of all the things i do...

4. i sometimes get too emotional -- aaaahhhh, what a "cry baby"...

5. true and strong men know how to cry, i know, because i do...

6. i can always learn from my experiences -- pleasant or unpleasant they may appear...

7. and i can always listen to the wisdom of those advanced in age...

until the next post...

Baptismal Anniversary

January 15! I celebrate today my baptismal anniversary. I do celebrate this event just to remind me of my baptismal promises and to challenge myself to be faithful to them.

I'm reposting this picture because it contains the poem that reminds me of my baptism.

enVISIONing

As I prepare for the parish council's recollection-workshop, I have these words attributed to Archbishop Oscar Romero as a guide:

It helps now and then to step back and take a long view.

The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,

it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of
saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession
brings perfection, no pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives include everything.

This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one
day will grow. We water the seeds already planted
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects
far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of
liberation in realizing this.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,
a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's
grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the
difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not
messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own. -- Archbishop Oscar Romero (martyred on March 24th 1980)

I think this is a very sober reminder on how to look also at my ministry as I participate in the mission of the Church.

Attitudes on the Epiphany

Attraction. Just like the Magi, some people are vigilant and open to the different manifestations of God in their lives. Even though these manifestations of God are beyond and/or below their expectations of when, where, and how God would appear, they are able to recognize God because they allowed themselves to be led by the Scriptures and the signs.

Aversion. Just like Herod (the personification of Jerusalem during the time of the birth of the Lord), some people do not want to be led by God. They want to be in control and to dominate that is why they will pretend to be led by the Scriptures and the signs to further take hold of where they are, of who they think they are, and of how they live their lives.

Apathy. The most dangerous attitude in "relation" to God. These are the people who do not want to have any relation with God. Or as personified by the chief priests and the scribes, who knew very well the Scriptures but they just ignored their "expertise" so that they will not experience "discomfort". It can also be "hidden" in a very subtle temptation which just says: we are the "gods" of our own lives and we don't want to serve -- "non serviam".