Faith or Revelation?

Which comes first? is it FAITH or REVELATION?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Nec9gfzZh4

When we stick to the traditional concept it is Revelation that comes first prior to our Faith.

But we to have to remember that man has its values such as; life preservations or even love and so on.

through this what we human values that is innate to us humans, God made an entry point to connect us for He agrees to play in human condition. According to Kant, we human being as limited as we are, we cannot know Him for he is Divine (Human beings can on know the phenomenon, not the nomenon) and so, He made the initiative to be known. Thus, upon agreeing to play in human condition we have the link to Him. For example: Saint Augustine's searching for truth for so many years is what we call man's innate values and through that human condition he arrived to God as the truth. in line to this, Faith is prior to revelation. But this Faith is not yet Religious Faith but what we call anthropological Faith. This anthropological Faith coined by Luis Segundo, a Theologian. By citing an example: We experience thirst precisely because it is our nature to be thirsty, not that we see water. This just one of the example on how our human nature having link to the Divine.

 

Pope to the Family

Family is the church future! This is what the Pope had been uttered during his Family Encounter in the Mall of Asia(SM) as his message to all Filipino family.

St. Pope John Paul II

 

 

 

John Paul II presided at 138 beatification ceremonies and proclaimed 1,310 blesseds. He held 48 canonization ceremonies to make 469 new saints during his pontificate.

John Paul II held eight consistories in which he created 201 cardinals. He also convened six plenary meetings of the College of Cardinals. No other Pope has encountered so many individuals as John Paul II: To date, more than 16,700,000 pilgrims have participated in his more than 1,000 General Audiences held on Wednesdays. That doesn’t count all of the special audiences and religious ceremonies he has held, such as the 8 million pilgrims he welcomed during the Great Jubilee of the year 2000alone, nor the millions of faithful he met during his pastoral visits in Italy and throughout the world.

 

VIRTUAL COMMUNITY

Is it for Real?

 

 

 

Community is compose of individuals that live together in a certain place and time that shares common interests or even common goal, having common rights and privileges. For example, the community in general, we have this common right to life, to be protected .etc. Moreover, a community has this physical presence (tangible) to each other so that they could be a true and real community. On the other hand, virtual reality is quite different from what we describe as community in our own thoughts. Some say that virtual reality is just an illusion, not real for it exists only in mind. Yes! Perhaps the validity of what they say is acknowledgeable in the sense that it doesn’t have a sensible part.

 

“Though I cannot be there physically on your special day, but I guarantee that my heart is there” I often hear these words that somehow got my attention to reflect on. How mysterious these words that could consul somebody’s heart when they felt that they were taken for granted by someone who really matters for them: by uttering these words of promise. This is a kind of promise which is the Lord Jesus Christ gave to His disciples before going back to the Heavenly Father (before the Ascension). I don’t want to talk much on Biblical account, but I want to focus on the idea that to be real is not just to be tangible. On the other hand, virtual world is obviously not tangible, but it affects people’s lives: it brought great impact physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. How many people around the world whom found their hopes in virtual world? Many lives have change and thoughts have been widen upon adapting this virtual world. This effects of virtual reality to people could be a positive or negative sense but the choice is ours to decide. After all, we are human person, we have this freewill how to deal with this kind of world we want to lane on. It is in us on how we see things considering our innate morality is concern that this virtual world could offer. Thus, it’s up to us on how we conceive things around us, we can see things in the real world that could affect us and also we consider things in the virtual world that might give us more realistic impact in our own life. It is our own who can decide how real things are whether it comes from virtual world or the real one.

He's here!

Lolo Kiko is HERE!

According to the Bible, “And He said, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14). In this verse, we, Christians believe that God is with us. Even if we cannot see Him with our own eyes but we keep in our minds, our hearts and our souls that God is always exists everywhere. It is not literally mean that God’s presence is when we can touch, we share laughter, and we can hug. Beyond on that, we feel His presence through our spiritual essence.

            With the coming of our Pope, I wish that I will meet the Pope personally. But even if I can’t see him personally, I am grateful that Pope Francis will visit us for all Filipinos, most especially to the Yolanda victim in Tacloban. Through his presence, he inspires us and give us hope to become strong whatever challenges we encounter. He shows his mercy and compassion for the Filipinos. Because of him, many Filipinos are trying to move on and start a new beginning of their life after those traumatic experiences they had. Moreover, the Pope’s visit is for all of us Filipinos, not only for the Christians but also for the non- Christians. He is our shepherd that wants his flock not to get lost because he love us so much. Like Jesus Christ, Pope Francis showed compassion to the people, especially the poor and the oppressed. This man has his own way of sharing God’s love and compassion.Through him, our faith will be much more strengthen and it arouses our aspirations in life to be like Christ. With your simple smile, you lessen the sadness and grief of those people.

            I pray for your safety here in our country. I thank you for the love you give to the Filipinos.

 

 

Gaudium Presbyterorum

 

            Priesthood is something living beyond their human nature mysteriously. According to Archbishop Fulton Sheen, “a priest is mysterious, because he lives in two worlds. He is at his best when he leads a “double life”, at once both human and divine.”[1] The fact is he remain a human person even after having been ordained and he has no escape in different challenges brought by being human: the struggle continues even until the last part of his priestly life. For example, upon having been ordained his life becomes the life of everyone and he will become part of the entire church, he becomes universal. Through consecration, the priest “receives a spiritual ‘power’ as a gift which Jesus Christ, through his Spirit, guides the Church”.[2] This implies their whole being automatically rendered towards the faithful especially their time: that they will take most of their free time. The parishioners will demand most of their free time and they cannot help it but to spend time with them in listening their stories: their ups and downs and even their private life which will be exposed unto them. It will create boredom or even a deep wound within their human limitations for nothing remain in them, even their most convenient time will be spent.

Priests in their ministry will be overshadowed with problems and desperations with other people and they might forget their own self as human beings also. I could really attest how hectic their schedule in the parish. At weekdays they will celebrate mass twice and after that they will attend meetings and entertain some important matters in the parish. Weekends come when masses to celebrate will be about seven to eight utmost and finally at ten (10) in the evening he can take rest. There are many things to do when you’re a priest. “At times, it feels to us as if we “don’t have a life.”[3]

            Upon having all this experiences and difficulties of being a priest, I could ask, what is really to be a priest? In the Old Testament “priests are God’s chosen people in the tribe of Levi to offer sacrifices on behalf of the people of Israel and God was their inheritance.”[4] In addition, the New Testament identifies priests as missionaries to the ends of the earth (cf. Acts 1:8). Moreover, in Pope John Paul II’s message in Pastores Davo Vobis, the missionary function of the priest, he states that “priesthood is really for service and for mission to bring the Gospel in to the whole corner of the world.”[5] In line with this, priests will forget his own for he is Christ representatives sent for a mission. If this is so, there will be a great challenge on how to reconcile priests’ human nature and his bond to his mission. Now the difficulty emerged for we cannot deny his human nature. With all this, having deep concern brought about by misconceptions with the clergy men made by media and by having the first-hand experiences how heroic the life of a priest, Fr. Rossetti conducted a survey from September 2003 to January 2005. There were 1,172 priests and it showed that 42.9 percent agreed with the statement given: “I fell overwhelmed with the amount of work I have to do.”[6] And he said that’s a lot of them who fell like that according to his survey. Moreover, sometimes in 2009, again Fr. Rossetti conducted a survey and he found out that 90 to 92.4 of the priests agreed or strongly agreed that they are happy priests, and 80 to 88.9 percent say that their morale is good.[7] This shows that there’s something in the priesthood that in spite of their condition of acting both sides (being human and at the same time alter Christus) and being sent for a mission they could be happy. But again the fact is undeniable. In this manner, Pope John Paul II reminded all priests that they must have the mind and heart of missionaries -- in order to have a fruitful mission. On the other hand, Cardinal Schonborn says that priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus.[8] Upon pondering these words, I may arrive at the conclusion that being a priest is something to be proud of for Christ Himself chose him to be His representative to bring His people back to Him[9] (Salus animarum suprema lex). Upon having this reality, we must have this feeling of being “lucky” for Christ Himself give His Grace to all His priests.

            However, having this God’s Grace in order for an ordained ministers will be like Christ, his human nature continues to visit and remind him always in his imperfection that would create different confusions which more likely, what we call “loneliness”. According to Father Robert E. Lauder in his book entitled, “Loneliness is for Loving” that loneliness is part of the human condition. This is one of the problems that arises when priests is left alone. But it is a matter of authentic responds to the call and on how you love your vocation. “If priests are truly in love with God and His people…why should they not take the risk and knowing well their human limitations?[10]

            On the other hand, by sharing His priesthood to mankind (by way of Baptism and through the Sacrament of Holy Order), we shared His presence within the priests as “Sacerdos alter Christus”.[11] As St. Ignatius of Antioch, the Bishop is “typos tuo Patros” he is like the living image of God the Father.[12] So, priests have so many reasons to be happy in the ministry for they bring God’s image in them. Thus in his book “The Joy of Priesthood”, Fr. Rossetti implied that joy sprouts amidst different issues and struggles of being a priest which are always entangled in his human nature. He said that joy starts in the “center” of our hearts, bearing witness that the spirit resides within. He added that in our times of sorrow, the joy that the spirit brought will remain and present in our hearts.[13]

            Henceforth, Pope Francis urged us all (Priests, Religious and all the Faithful who had been in Pastoral works) to be pure and to fight all temptations faced by pastoral workers.[14] Through this, we can achieve the joy in the ministry despite the weaknesses we have as human beings. And the best incentive for sharing the Gospel comes from contemplating it with love[15]…. Pope Francis serves as our great model in conquering the human weaknesses in doing ministry. Indeed, according to the book, “Pope Francis: Why He Leads the Way He Leads” of Chris Lowney, he stated that “we can conquer our being flawed and weak through accepting such to be so and eventually find courage not just to be yourself, but the best version of yourself.” Thus, he gives us so much reason to be happy in sharing the joy in the Gospel.

 

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[1] Sheen, Fulton J. Those Mysterious Priests. Nagasandra, Banglalore: St.Paul Press Training School,2012

 

[2] Congregation for the Clergy, Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests (Libreria Editrice Vaticana)p.8

 

[3] Ibid. Those Mysterious Priests

[4] Cf. Numbers 1:48

[5] Pastores Davo Vobis

[6] cf. The Joy of Priesthood

 

[7] Why Priests are Happy by: Fr. Stephen J. Rossetti

 

[8] The Joy of Being a Priest. by: Christoph Cardinal Schonborn

 

[9] Code of Canon Law, 1752

[10] Ibid. “loneliness is for Loving”p100

 

[11] Priestly Spirituality-Treasures and Experiences by:Franz-Josef Eilers

 

[12] Cf.CCC 1549

[13] Cf. The Joy of Priesthood

[14] Cf. Evangelii Gaudium 76

[15] Cf. Evangelii Gaudium

Joy in the Priesthood

Priests: Joys and Sorrows of the Ordained Ministry

To become a priest is not so much difficult but how to live as a priest is. In the same manner, the human aspect of priests remains even after having been ordained so we cannot expect that he is immune from all temptations. In spite of all his struggles in life, we must always remember that he has enough grace from God to make him strong and live the priestly life. He can resist the urges of the flesh that continue to reside in his very nature as a human being. He has a lot of reasons to be happy in his ministry for Christ chose him (Priest) to be His representative. For this reason alone we cannot deny that there is happiness in the priesthood. 

 

Pope Francis is indeed a living example for us on what it means to be happy in the priesthood. He has shown how he has gone through the challenges in his ministry yet became victorious against the things that have threatened his priestly calling. Now as seminarian in this new age that full of challenges have enough reason to be brave and not to be afraid to continue in responding God's call for the Grace of God is good enough for us to resist temptations. Go go go go go go go seminarians!