St. John of the Cross

Today we remember the life and works of St. John of the Cross, founder of the Discalced Carmelites.

St. John of the Cross was born as John de Yepes on June 24, 1542, at Fontiveros, Spain. He was the youngest child of Gonzalo de Yepes and Catherine Alvarez. His father was a descendant of a rich family in France but was disowned for marrying a weaver’s daughter.

John received his early education from a school in Medina del Campo. As a student, he was found to be attentive and diligent in his studies. At 14, his services were taken by the governor of the hospital of Medina to care for the hospital patients who were suffering from incurable illnesses. For seven years, John divided his time between waiting on the poorest of the poor and pursuing his education.

In 1563, at the age of 21, he entered the Carmelites at Medina, taking the name of John of the Cross, and was ordained priest at the age of 25. At his first Mass, he received the assurance that he would preserve his baptismal innocence. After his ordination, he was given permission to follow the original rule of Albert of Vercelli which imposed strict discipline and solitude.

1568, John together with St. Teresa of Avila opened the first monastery of the newly reformed Discalced Carmelites.

He became master of novices and the spiritual and confessor of the convent. He implemented reforms, including his belief that the order should return to its life of prayer. His reforms did not sit well with many Carmelites who accused him of rebellion.

He was put in prison and beaten three times a week by the monks. The cell was six feet by ten feet with only one tiny window up near the ceiling. While suffering in prison, he found happiness in God and in prayer. He started writing mystical poetry which he brought with him when he escaped from prison after 9 months.

St. John of the Cross joined his Creator on December 14, 1591, at Ubeda in Andalucia in Spain. He was beatified by Pope Clement X on January 25, 1675, and was declared saint by Pope Benedict XIII on December 27, 1726. He was proclaimed Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI on August 24, 1926.

Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/233922/st-john-cross

A Celebration of Simplicity

by Fr. Jboy Gonzales SJ8 December 2009 Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is indeed an extraordinary event. It tells us that God has ordained that Mary, who would be the Mother of Jesus, would be free from the stain of sin. Thus, Mary was given the grace of being conceived without sin because of her future role as the Mother of God. This grace is purely an unmerited gift of God.

The feast of the Immaculate Conception was established as a universal feast in 1476 by Pope Sixus IV, but it was defined as a dogma by Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1854 in the document, Ineffabilis Deus. This dogma is supported by Scripture --- the Gospel today --- when the Angel Gabriel addressed her as “full of grace” as well as the writings of Church Fathers such as Ireneaus of Lyons and Ambrose of Milan. The devotion of Our Lady of Lourdes made the dogma ever more significant. In the apparition to Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes, she identified herself as “the Immaculate Conception”.

In addition, what made this event extraordinary is the realization that God has chosen an ordinary woman -- not a beauty queen or a rich girl --- to be the Mother of God. But this one great event of her birth acquired more ‘flesh’ in her daily life. She has lived this holiness every single day. So that what was once extraordinary became part and parcel of ordinary life. She carried out this holiness, which reached its peak when she said yes to the will of God, despite the threat to her life (Women caught to be pregnant without a husband were stoned to death). Furthermore, she followed through her promise to remain holy forever.

I believe that celebrating the Immaculate Conception is a celebration of a possibility: that ordinary people like us can live holy lives. There is a growing cultural pessimism about human nature. There is a belief that we cannot be holy thus we just have to be resigned to this view of human nature. No matter how hard we try, we will eventually sin. To me, having to be holy begins with a trust that our nature is good; that we can live holy lives. Often we become what we believe: if we believe we are forever sinful, then we become indeed sinful. Eventually, we become pessimistic of human nature. Many of those who do not believe in the goodness of persons have made a generalization. Because of their traumas and hurts, they think all of us are the same as their oppressors. For example, we know of those who have become bitter. Because they have been hurt by their boyfriends, they think all men are the same. Or because they have witnessed graft and corruption in government, they think all those who work in government are all dishonest and unprincipled.

But many saints precisely offered their lives in full service of humanity because they believe that every single human being is basically good. They believe that what God said in Genesis was true: everything He created is good. And thus, we are all worthy of His grace. Catholic theology teaches us that when Jesus rose from the dead, everything became new. Christ’s redemption freed us from original sin. We became God’s children, not merely God’s creatures. Do we not carry the Spirit of God with us? We are God’s temple and therefore we are holy. And if we respond to the Spirit of God in us, we, ordinary human beings, can live holy lives. John Brown defined holiness as “thinking as God thinks, willing as God wills”.

To think as God thinks and will as God wills can be applied to ordinary lives. There is a holy studying; a holy taking a bath; a holy talking to a friend. When we love someone as God loves, then we put forth who we really are.

re-posted from:
www.faithofacenturion.blogspot.com

photo courtesy of Mr. Vincent Galileo L. Loiz
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14116086@N04/4087957851/

St. Francis Xavier, Missionary to the Far East

Francis Xavier (Francisco de Jassu y Javier, 1506-1552), was the first Jesuit missionary and the prototype who inspired many men to enter the Society of Jesus and evangelize far off nations. One of the original group of seven men who founded the Jesuits, he was sent to India before the new religious order received formal approval from the Church.

Xavier was born in his family's small castle in Navarre, in the north of Spain, and there received his early education. In September 1525 he went to Paris to begin university studies at the College of Sainte-Barbe where his roommate was Peter Faber (Pierre Favre) from the Savoy region of France. Four years later everything changed when an older student moved in, Ignatius Loyola (Iñigo Lopez de Loyola), a failed Basque courtier given to prayer. Loyola soon won Faber over to wanting to become a priest and work for the salvation of souls, but Xavier aspired to a worldly career and was not at all interested in being a priest. He earned his licentiate degree in the spring of 1530 and began teaching Aristotle at the College of Dormans-Beauvais; he remained living in the room with Favre and Loyola. When Faber went to visit his family in 1533, Ignatius finally broke through to Xavier who yielded to the grace God was offering him. Four other students also became close friends through their conversations with Ignatius who was became a spiritual guide and inspired the whole group with his desire to go to the Holy Land. Xavier joined his friends Aug. 15, 1534 in the chapel of Saint-Denis in Montmartre as they all pronounced private vows of poverty, chastity and going to the Holy Land to convert infidels.

Xavier and Loyola began studying theology in 1534. Two years later Xavier set out for Venice with the rest of the group except for Loyola who had returned to Spain earlier. Venice was the point of departure for ships going to the Holy Land. The companions spent two months waiting for a ship and working in hospitals, then went to Rome to ask papal permission for their pilgrimage and ordination of the non-priests among them. Xavier, Loyola and four others were ordained by the papal delegate in his private chapel on June 24, 1537. And they continued to wait for a ship, but because of Venice's impending war with the Turks none sailed for a whole year, something quite extraordinary. The companions then decided that Ignatius should go to Rome and place the group at the disposal of the pope. Meanwhile, they would go to various university centers and start preaching. Xavier and Nicholas Bobadilla went to Bologna.

Xavier went to Rome in April 1538 and began preaching in the French church of St. Louis. He also took part in the famous deliberations during Lent 1539 in which the companions agreed to form a new religious order. Before Pope Paul III granted his approval of the plan, he asked Ignatius to accede to King John III of Portugal's request to send two of the companions to the new colony in India. Ignatius chose Simon Rodrigues and Nicholas Bobadilla, but the latter got sick and could not go. Francis Xavier was the only one of the companions not already committed to a work so Ignatius asked him to go, even though they were the closest friends and the departure meant that they would never see each other again.

Xavier and Rodrigues left Rome March 15, 1540 and arrived in Lisbon by the end of June. The fleet had already left so the two priests had to remain in Lisbon until the following spring. They devoted themselves to preaching and caring for prisoners. The king was so taken by their work that he asked one of them to stay and start a school; Rodrigues was chosen, leaving Xavier to head off alone as the first Jesuit missionary. As Xavier boarded the ship Santiagio, the king's messenger gave him a letter in which the pope named him apostolic nuncio, which meant that he had authority over all Portuguese clergy in Goa. The ship set sail April 7, 1541, on Xavier's thirty-fifth birthday.

It took 13 months for Xavier to arrive in Goa, including a long wait in Mozambique for favorable winds. As soon as he arrived, the energetic Spaniard set about preaching to the Portuguese, visiting prisons and ministering to lepers. He also tried to learn Tamil, but had to rely on interpreters for his first mission to the Paravas, pearl fishers who lived on India's southeastern shore above Cape Comorin. They had converted to Christianity but been without a pastor, so Xavier reinstructed them in the faith, baptized those who were ready and prepared catechists to remain with them as he moved on from one village to the next. By the end of 1544 he reached the western shore of India at Travancore; in November and December of that year he is reported to have baptized 10,000 persons. He moved northward to Cochin, and then sailed to the Portuguese city of Malacca in Malaya; from there he headed for his goal, the Moluccas, or the Spice Islands where he landed on Feb. 14, 1546. He visited the Christian villages and baptized over 1,000 persons at nearby Seran. Then he did a reconnaissance trip to the islands Ternate and Moro, known for its headhunters. He returned to Malacca in July 1547 and arranged for two Jesuits to take his place.

When Xavier returned to Malacca, he learned about Japan from a Japanese nobleman named Anjiro who was interested in becoming a Christian. This revelation of a culturally advanced nation that had not yet heard of Christ captured the Spanish Jesuit's imagination. Before he could do anything about Japan, Xavier had to return to Goa to fulfill his responsibilities as mission superior and assign newly arrived Jesuits to their posts. He was not able to set sail for Japan with Anjiro and several Jesuits until April 1549. The party got back to Malacca easily enough but could find no ship's captain willing to take the risk of sailing into unknown waters. So Xavier hired a pirate to take them. They left June 24, 1549 and landed on August 15 at Kagoshima in southern Japan, Anjiro's home city.

At first the mission went very smoothly. The local prince gave permission to the foreigners to preach Christianity, but he himself would not convert. Xavier decided that the way to convert Japan was to begin with the emperor, but no one would tell him how to get to the Imperial City, Miyako (today's Tokyo). They spent a year in Kagoshima but only made 100 converts, so the Jesuits left for Hirado, a port used by the Portuguese on the upper coast of Kyushu. Another 100 Japanese became Christians but Xavier remained eager to see the emperor, so he moved to the country's second largest city, Yamaguchi. He preached in the streets but suffered a very unsuccessful meeting with the daimyo, so he left that city in December 1550 for Sakai.

Their fortune turned and they finally found a prince willing to take them to the Imperial City. Xavier and Brother John Fernandez were hired as domestic servants and arrived in January 1551, the first Catholic missionaries to see Asia's largest and most beautiful city. For 11 days they tried without success to secure an audience with the emperor, so they returned to Hirado. They went back, though, with the knowledge that the most powerful lord in Japan was not the emperor, but the daimyo of Yamaguchi, whom they had failed to convince in their first meeting. Xavier resolved to try again, appearing not as a poorly-clad European but as an individual worthy of the daimyo's attention.

The two Jesuits rented horses and a litter and dressed themselves in colorful silken robes. When they ceremoniously arrived in Yamaguchi, they were received at the daimyo's palace without any suspicion that they were the same barbarians who had been brushed away only months earlier. Xavier presented the daimyo with expensive gifts of clocks, music boxes, mirrors, crystals, cloth and wine as signs of friendship; and he presented impressive credentials: letters from King John III of Portugal and Pope Paul III. The daimyo granted the Jesuit's request to preach the Christian religion in the empire, and gave people the freedom to become Christians if they wanted to. He also gave the Jesuits a residence in the city, where many people visited. Within six months they had gained 500 converts.

Xavier thought it was time for him to move on so he brought Father Cosmas de Torres to replace him in Yamaguchi so he could return to India. Xavier set out in September 1551, and found a ship for Malacca. He hoped to return to Japan the following year, but the ship got caught in a typhoon that drove it 1,000 miles off course. On December 17, the vessel entered the Bay of Canton and anchored off Sancian Island. As Xavier looked towards nearby China, he felt that country calling him. The two Jesuits were able to board a ship that happened to be bound for Singapore, which they reached at the end of the month. There Xavier found a letter from Ignatius appointing him provincial of the "Indies and the countries beyond."

He was back in India in January 1552 and found another letter telling him to return to Rome to report on the mission; he decided that visit could wait until he had first gone to China. In April 1552 Xavier set out from India and entered the Bay of Canton in September. He landed on Sancian Island which was both a hideout for Chinese smugglers and a base for Portuguese traders. None of the smugglers was willing to risk taking the Jesuit missionary over to China; one who said he was, took Xavier's money and then disappeared. On November 21 he came down with a fever and could not leave his leafy hut on the island's shore. Seven days later he fell into a coma, but on December 1 regained consciousness and devoted himself to prayer during his waking hours. He died on the morning of December 3 and was buried on the island, but his remains were later taken to Malacca and then to Goa where they were interred in the church Bom Jesus.

He was canonized in 1622 and made patron of the Propagation of the Faith in 1910 and in 1927 was named patron of the missions.

St. Edmund Campion, Martyr of England

The most famous of the English martyrs, Edmund Campion (1540-1581) gave up a promising career at Oxford and an invitation to enter Queen Elizabeth's service in order to become a Catholic priest and minister to the abandoned Catholics who greatly desired the sacraments.

Campion was born in London of Catholic parents who later became Protestant. He attended St. John's College, Oxford, where he gained renown as a lecturer and a following of students who called themselves "Campionites." When he was 26 years old, he gave a speech of welcome in Latin to Queen Elizabeth on her visit to Oxford; he made such an impression on the queen that she and Lords Cecil and Leicester tried to recruit him for her service. He probably took the Oath of Supremacy, and was ordained a deacon for the Established Church. The more he studied to be a priest, the more convinced he became that the Catholic Church had the true faith. He moved to Dublin in 1569 in an effort to find a place to live as a Catholic, but the Irish capital showed an anti-Catholic feeling that drove him back to London. In June 1571 he left England for Douai, Belgium where the recently founded English College trained seminarians for England.

Campion finished his degree in 1573 and set out soon after for Rome with the intention of becoming a Jesuit. Within a month of his arrival in Rome, he was accepted into the Society. At that time there was neither an English province nor an English mission, so he was assigned to the Austrian province and went to Prague and Brno to make his novitiate. He remained in Prague after he took vows and was ordained there, expecting to spend the rest of his life teaching in that city. He wrote and directed plays for his students and won renown as an orator.

The English Jesuit's life changed course suddenly when the Superior General in Rome decided to open a mission in England. Father Campion was one of the first to be assigned to it. He stopped in Rome on his way back to England and joined Father Rober Persons and Brother Ralph Emerson. They turned north and joined other recruits for the new mission at Saint Omer in Flanders. English spies in Flanders learned of their impending departure and informed the English ports of entry, who awaited their arrival. Campion and Emerson left the Continent on the evening of June 24. Campion disguised himself as a "Mr. Edmonds," a jewelry merchant. Port authorities were suspicious, but Campion answered their questions adequately and they let the merchant enoint was that the mission was religious, not political; so well-written and powerful was it, that copies were made and widely distributed to confirm Catholics in their faith. Campion himself moved on to Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire. He would stay at a Catholic house for one or two nights or visit households where Catholics were employed. His pattern was to arrive during the day, preach and hear confessions during the evening, and then celebrate Mass in ter.

It had been eight years since Campion had left England. He briefly remained in London where he wrote a manifesto of the mission which has become known as "Campion's Brag." Its pthe morning before moving on to the next location. He continued to write and composed a book addressed to the academic world; entitled Rationes decem ("Ten Reasons"), the book gave arguments to prove the truth of Catholicism and the falsity of Protestantism. It was printed by the end of June 1581. Many of the 400 copies printed were left on the benches of Oxford's University Church of St. Mary. Campion was still well-enough known that the book was eagerly read.

Campion's freedom to minister to Catholics soon ended. In July he left London and stopped at the Yate family in Berkshire. The family's Catholic neighbors learned that the Jesuit priest had been there and pressed the Yates to invite him back. Mrs. Yate sent word to Campion who returned, unfortunately at a time when a professional priest-hunter was in the congregation pretending to be Catholic. After Mass the hunter slipped away to notify the authorities who quickly returned to the house but could not find any priests. The guards remained on the grounds, listening for sounds of unusual activity. They alertly heard a group of people leaving a meeting that Campion had addressed. The guards searched the house again, this time finding Campion and two other priests.

The three were taken to the Tower of London on July 22, where Campion was put in a cell so small he could neither stand upright nor lie down. After three days there he was brought to Leicester house, where he met Queen Elizabeth for a second time. She offered him the opportunity to renounce his Catholic faith and become a Protestant minister, with the offer of great advancement. He refused and was returned to his cell; five days later he was tortured on the rack. He had four conferences with Anglican divines, something he himself had requested in the book rationes decem, but the disputations were inconclusive, partly because the first one was held shortly after he had been tortured. The government determined that he should be executed, but they needed a stronger charge than the fact that he was a Catholic priest. On Nov. 14, the priests were led to Westminster Hall where charges were raised against them that they had formed a conspiracy against the life of the queen, had exhorted foreigners to invade the country and had entered England with the intent of fomenting rebellion to support the invaders. At his trial six days later, Campion was asked to raise his right hand and take an oath; he was unable to do so because of recent torture, so another one of the priests had to lift his arm for him. Campion attempted to defend all the priests by pointing out their motives were religious, not political; but they were found guilty of high treason and condemned to be hanged, drawn and quartered. The priests joined in singing the Te Deum when they heard the verdict.

Campion remained in chains for another 11 days, and then was dragged through the muddy streets of London to Tyburn. With him were Briant, and Father Ralph Sherwin, a diocesan priest. As Campion forgave those who had condemned him, the cart he was standing on was driven from under him and he was left hanging. The executioner then cut him down and tore out his heart and intestines before cutting his body into pieces. Briant had been tried a day after Campion, but was executed soon after the other Jesuit. He was cut down while still alive after being hung so that he could be disemboweled and his body cut into quarters.

source: http://www.sjweb.info/Jesuits/saintShow.cfm?SaintID=50

ST. JOHN BERCHMANS

FEAST DAY: NOVEMBER 26
Jesuit, Patron Saint of Altar Servers

St. John Berchmans was born the eldest son of a shoemaker in 1599 at Diest, Belgium. At a very young age he wanted to be a priest, and when thirteen he became a servant in the household of one of the cathedral canons at Malines. After his mother's death, his father and two brothers followed suit and entered religious life. In 1615 he entered the Jesuit college there, becoming a novice a year later. In 1618 he was sent to Rome for more study and was known for his diligence and piety, and his stress on perfection even in small things. That year his father was ordained and died six months later. John was so poor and humble that he walked from Antwerp to Rome. He died at the age of 22 on August 13. Many miracles were attributed to him after his death; he was canonized in 1888 and is the patron saint of altar boys.

Although he longed to work in the mission fields of China, he did not live long enough to permit it. After completing his course work, he was asked to defend the "entire field of philosophy" in a public disputation in July, just after his exit examinations. The following month he was asked to represent the Roman College in a debate with the Greek College. Although he distinguished himself in this disputation, he had studied so assiduously that he caught a cold in mid-summer, became very ill with with an undetermined illness accompanied by a fever, although some think it now to have been dysentery, and died a week later. He was buried in the church of Saint Ignatius at Rome, but his heart was later translated to the Jesuit church at Louvain.

Jon Abel's Story

An Inspiring story of a man who amidst the trials kept the faith in God and allowed Him to take charge.

Of Success and Magis

by Sch. Ambrosio F. Flores, SJ

In honor of St. Satnislaus Kostka, the Ateneo de Manila High School Community gathered at the HS Covered Courts last 13 November 2009. Scholastic Ambrosio Flores, SJ, Jesuit Regent, delivered this shared Homily.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I am certain that all of us here right now have been asked this question when we were kids. And I surmise that you would have rattled off standard answers like becoming a doctor, lawyer, engineer or even the president of the Philippines! What was intriguing for me then was that it was not enough for us to say, I want to be a doctor. We would often append the adjective successful like: I want to be a successful doctor, a successful lawyer, a successful engineer. Now that I am an adult, I ask myself why it was necessary to append the word successful. What does it mean to be successful? Today’s mass media dictate that to be successful means to have not just more but MOST: having the most expensive car, having the most extravagant house, having the most beautiful girlfriend, having the most number of awards, having the most stable and financially rewarding career, having the most trendy gadgets.

Today, let me propose an alternative definition. I learned this definition from a friend that became my personal definition of success. It eventually led me to become a companion of Jesus, a Jesuit. He said, success is becoming what you are designed to be.

Let me illustrate it. Success is becoming what you are designed to be. This microphone is only successful when it can amplify my voice across the covered courts. The Monobloc chair you are sitting on is only successful as a chair if it is used for sitting. That Clavinova piano is only successful when it can produce music as pianos should. Things are successful when they are used according to their designer’s intended plan.

Pushing it even further, we are successful when we become who we are designed to be. No, it is not just becoming what we said we wanted to be when we were kids. Well, it is a possibility but more primordial than achieving our childhood dream is becoming who we are called to be. This is also the theme of our first reading today. Be zealous, brethren to confirm your call and election. We can only be successful when we follow our inherent call as unique human beings, when we become who God designed us to be.

Since this call of being successful in life is not something that happens overnight but is a result of the many little decisions we make daily, let us narrow it down to our day to day activities. Here in the Ateneo, we are always pushed to succeed, to excel, to exhibit magis, to do more and be more! This is evidently translated as class banners, honor cards, Kostka awards and Eagle and staff awards for excellence. In some respect, this is not really different from the world’s demand of having the most, of being the most. Yet, there is something much deeper to magis than this. This is what I want to focus on.

We always aspire for the much coveted banners. There is nothing wrong with that. However, if we aspire for the banner even at the expense of the relationships in class, I believe something is amiss. If in the process of getting the banner, we become scheming tacticians and deceivers then something is wrong. What happens to you in the process of getting banners is much more important than the banners themselves. Success is becoming who our Creator designed you to be.

There is nothing wrong with making it to the honors list. In fact it is very commendable and edifying. However, if we got it through cheating, then something is really, really wrong. If we made it to the top of our class because we never helped a classmate since he is a potential competition, then you never deserved the academic honors from the Ateneo after all. What is more important is what happens to you as you proverbially burn the midnight candle, as you struggle to comprehend logarithmic functions, decipher quantum numbers or help your classmates understand the history of western Asia. Success is becoming who our Creator designed you to be.

There is nothing wrong with being a Kostka awardee. You should be really proud of it. However, if you got it by behaving and cooperating merely because the teachers are around, then the award is meaningless. If you bully your classmates, commit all possible violations that the prefects could ever imagine when no one is looking and then boast that you have outwitted the prefects, then you just cheapened the Kostka award. What is more important is what happens to you when you try to discipline yourself in class in order to be attentive, when you follow rules even when no teacher is looking, when you actively participate in class. Success is becoming who your Creator designed you to be.

There is nothing wrong with being given the Eagle and staff excellence awards. Ateneo expects excellence from us. However, if in the process of becoming excellent formators, we pull down our colleagues, damage our healthy working relationship or smear our co-workers reputation just to put ourselves in good light, then something is really, really wrong. Our work output, no matter how excellent it is, becomes futile if in the process we have become monsters out to destroy each other’s integrity and credibility. Success is becoming who our Creator designed us to be.

Now, you might ask me: how do we know our call? How do we know who we are designed to be? We have to go back to our roots, to our fundamental identity in order to know our call. This reminds me of a scene in the movie, The Lion King. After the tragic death of Simba’s father, Scar drove the young Simba away. He grew up to become a carefree lion in the jungle, away from his kingdom. One night, he was visited by the spirit of his father. Let us watch this brief video clip:

Simba: Father?
Mufasa’s spirit: Simba, you have forgotten me.
Simba: No. How could I?
Mufasa’s spirit: You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself,
Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the
Circle of Life.
Simba: How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be.
Mufasa: Remember who you are. You are my
son, and the one true king.



Look inside yourself. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life. Remember who you are. You are my son... Remember…remember….

The gospel today echoes that same line when Mary and Joseph, after finding Jesus with the elders, confronted him. And Jesus replied: “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be in my Father’s house?” Jesus knew who he was and to whom he rightfully belonged. No, not even tradition and filial love could deter him. He had to be where his Father wanted him to be.

And so, I pose that same question to you my friends: Who are you? Whose are you? When we know deep inside ourselves who we are and are deeply rooted in it, no amount of mass media enticements of having the most can ever enslave us or stop us from pursuing what really matters.

This was the experience of St. Stanislaus when he decided to leave family and country and walked miles just to join the Society of Jesus. No amount of anger from his father or threat from his brother or the unpredictability of the weather or the risk of crossing countries by foot could stop him from what he believed was his call, from becoming who God designed him to be.

It is in the same spirit that we, the AHS Jesuits will once more renovate our vows before God, with you as witnesses. It is our hope that in spite of our individual weaknesses and limitations and the many challenges we face and may continue to face, we may hold firm to God’s plan for us. We may always be reminded that our call is irrevocable. In spite of the lures of the world as we struggle for magis, we may be reminded of the perpetual vows we made years ago, and be strengthened in our commitment and zeal to confirm our call as companions of Christ, as men on mission, as Jesuits.

And it is in the same spirit that we, the AHS community are invited to ponder today: That in our pursuit for magis, may we not be carried away by the lures of the world to simply be the best, the brightest and the strongest. In our effort to aspire for more class banners, to make it to the honors’ list, to receive the Kostka award and the Eagle and staff excellence awards, may we always be rooted in our identity in God and in the process, be transformed into men and women that God has designed us to be. Whether or not we get the banners or the awards after the struggle, it will no longer matter as long as we know that in our struggle for magis we have gradually become the persons God, our Father and Creator designed us to be.

And so let me leave you with this question for reflection: In your search for the magis as student, teacher, staff, parent or administrator, what has become of thee, the person that God wanted you to be?

St. Stanislaus Kotska

Stanislaw Kostka, S.J. (28 October 1550 – 15 August 1568),
was a Polish novice of the Society of Jesus. In the Catholic Church, he is venerated as Saint Stanislaus Kostka.
He was born at Rostkowo, near Przasnysz, Poland, on 28 October 1550; died at Rome during the night of 14-15 August, 1568. He entered the Society of Jesus in Rome on his 17th birthday (28 October 1567), and is said to have foretold his death a few days before it occurred. St. Stanislaus Kostka is the patron of the Ateneo de Manila High School.

Novena Prayer to St. Stanislaus Kostka

St. Stanislaus, my most loving and tender patron,
I rejoice with you
at the extraordinary gift of your purity and charity
which kept your heart pure and innocent,
always at peace and united with God.

I humbly pray to you, please obtain for me
the strength to overcome all impure temptations
and inspire me with constant watchfulness
to guard my purity, for virtues so glorious in itself,
and acceptable to God.

At a very young age,
you have desired much to love
and serve the Lord with all your heart.
Help us dearest Saint, to be steadfast,
and to persevere in our love and service
to our Lord in everything that we do.
Help us too, to obtain the same love
you have for Mary, our mother.
I give thanks to her, because she granted your wish to be with her in heaven at the hour of your death.
Intercede with Mary for me, that my death,
if not as happy as yours, may be calm and peaceful,
under the protection of Mary, our advocate,
and of you, my special patron.

I humbly pray that you obtain for me such ardor of divine love
that it may consume every other earthly affliction,
and kindle in me the fire of His love alone.
Let us now pause to silently present our own petitions to God through the intercession of St. Kostka.

Our Father | Hail Mary | Glory be…

LET US PRAY

O God, among the wonders of Your wisdom, You have given the grace of mature holiness even to those of tender age, like St. Stanislaus Kostka. We ask You to grant that, after the example of St. Stanislaus, we may be able to persevere and love you with childlike faith, purity and charity. Amen.

v. Pray for us, St. Stanislaus

r. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Thank You God!

A Prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude!

Rise, Renew and Rebuild

In this time when our brothers and sisters are in need after being affected by the typhoon Ondoy, we offer this prayer of consolation.

Lord,

Make me an instrument of your wellness:

where there is distress, calm;

where there is grief, support;

where there is ignorance,

knowledge and understanding;

where there is alienation,

optimism and peace.

Grant I may not seek to be elevated as to facilitate;

to be followed as to serve;

to be in control,

as to love...

for it is in giving of ourselves

that we facilitate healing.

It is in active listening

that we comfort,

and in dying

that we may find eternal life.

Prayer if St. Francis of Assisi

(Paraphrased by Dr. Bennett Kilpack)

4L 2010 Retreat Reflections

retreat

my brain was like a dirty whiteboard, dull and gray
cluttered with stresses and attentions, i needed to pray.
that is why it is cool to come here for the '3 day'
but it was hard to keep quiet because there was so much to say.
to my class mates who are all going away
but we had our sharing so it was ok.
we brought up old memories and demons we have to slay
together as a unit, we did pray
God help us appreciate and love one another everyday.

Sa bawat pagsubok
at mga pangamba
'Wag kang mag-alala
Nandiyan namn sila.

Robert Steven Villanueva, L2010

Ingay
Panginoon, sa katahimikan, ika'y napakinggan
Bagamat ito ay isang malaking kabalintunan
Naipakitang totoo at napatunayan
At doon sa katahimikan
Sigaw ng aming puso, sana iyong maramdam
at kung kami ay nag-iingayan,
Sa sigaw mo naman
Sana 'di namin makalimutan
At sa iyong tinig, kami ay mabuhayan

ni Miguel Nabar, L2010

Greater and Happier Things Will Come Soon

Yesterday, I got so surprised

To have seen and heard

a TV program present Christmas Carols

sung so early in September.

My sister said, it’s because we’re in the first ‘ber’ month.

And in the Philippines,

we know that Christmas starts early.

September ushers hope,

Hope that greater, happier things will come soon

Especially in December

When we all gather again as families

And spend together the most festive season of all.

This month our school carries the theme,

“Building the nation through compassionate

and humble service to those in need

in imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary”

As Ateneans,

We look up to Mary as our perfect model.

She is the source of our hope.

Hope that happier things are about to happen in our lives.

Now that’s a thought that should console us

Actually, If we look around us,

We can see that God’s goodness abound

And that happier things will certainly take place.

A pile of newspapers for the ACIL Dyaryo Drive,

Stuff for our KFD booth.

Projects returned with a matching high grade.

A cleaner classroom.

A teacher listening with us.

Classmates praying for us.

Look around.

Look deeper.

Goodness abound.

***

Even as we look beyond our classroom walls

There are hopeful signs that God is at work.

God comes to meet us like the morning rising,

Slowly, though definitely;

Quiet yet clearly.

In our world.

Changes are taking place

In different nations throughout the world.

New leaders are being elected or raised

To replace old but formerly popular governments.

Clamors for environmental action,

Political unity and economic cooperation

Among different peoples

Are getting stronger and more urgent.

In our country:

Amidst the scrambling for seats of power in government,

There are still people who choose to relinquish opportunities

Or to let go of invested wealth and vested interests for the sake of common good.

The hearts of our people are moved by

the remembrance of individuals

Who have used prayer and faith,

Instead of sheer power and manipulation

To effectively improve the quality of our lives.

In our school:

There are programs and systems

that have been in place and have reached

12 and 35 years of service.

This school year, we celebrate the 12^th year

of the CSIP and the 35^th year Anniversary of

the Tulong Dunong Program.

Quietly, we hope to have a whole generation of Ateneans who have learned from our classroom lessons and their outreach experiences to care for the least in our society; Clearly, through a big family of TD scholars whom we have raised and are striving to live successful lives, we hopefully help them help their own families.

Changes in our liturgical practices

Like the added installation of women lay ministers

Who will assist the community

With the sacred duty of giving Holy Communion,

Allow us to see that life in the Ateneo is always,

new, unfolding and moved by God’s spirit

of justice and love.

Through our men and women lay ministers,

We remember that the call of Christ

to serve his Church is not meant only for

priests but for all.

Let us now pause to pray:

Dearest Mary, help us see that your Son, our Savior,

is at work in our midst.

Help us become like you, a living sign of hope,

That happier things are soon to come,

Hail Mary…

Full of grace the Lord is with you,

Blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit of you womb Jesus!

Holy Mary…

Mother of God,

Pray for us sinners now,

and the hour of our death.

Amen.

Homily for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

By Fr. James Gascon, SJ
Delivered
A story is told that in heaven, it was decided that every newly arrived soul should sing a song outside the gate. One’s song would determine whether he or she was worthy to enter the gate or not. Archangel Raphael posted this instruction at the entrance of Paradise.
It happened that the soul of a great patriot, who died fighting against a corrupt government, arrived in heaven. He stood outside its gates and read the instruction. The patriot took a deep breath and begun to sing…
“To dream the impossible dream;
To fight the unbeatable foe;
To bear with unbearable sorrow…”

After the song, the gate of heaven opened and the patriot entered Paradise. Then the gate was locked.

Then came a woman philanthropist. After reading the instructions, she began to sing…

“Climb every mountain, ford every stream,
follow every rainbow, ‘til you find your dream.
A dream that would need all the love you can give…

Again, after her song, the gate of heaven opened. Joyfully, the woman philanthropist entered Paradise and the gate was locked again.

Two souls, who were both hardened criminals on earth, arrived and read the instruction posted at the entrance. After reading it, both of them shook their heads in disappointment. “How are we to enter heaven?” the first criminal asked his companion. “While on earth, the only songs we sang were vulgar and obscene ones. Our songs would reflect our earthly life, heaven’s gate will surely not open for us!” And both of them went away heartbroken.

Then, a lady came. She was a simple mother. She read the instruction, not without much difficulty. She knew not many songs. There was only one she knew. And then she began singing…

“Ang puso ko’y nagpupuri, nagpupuri sa Panginoon.
Nagalak ang aking espiritu, sa ‘king taga-pagligtas.”

Sapagkat nilingap niya, kababaan ng kanyang alipin.
Mapalad ang pangalan ko sa lahat ng mga bansa.”

Once more, after her song, the gate of heaven opened. Gratefully, the Lady entered Paradise. But from then on the gate of heaven was never locked again. And since then, every soul was assured entrance into paradise in her stead. Thus, countless got the chance to enter the gate of Paradise despite their unworthiness. The Lady’s name was Mary.

Can you be an Atenean without a special devotion to Mary? Can you call yourself an Atenean without a rosary in your pocket? Can the days of October pass by without you proudly wearing the medal and blue ribbon on your chest? Can you end a game at the UAAP without singing a hymn to our Lady, win or lose? Here in the Ateneo our special devotion to Mary defines who we are. She is our model, our inspiration, and our mother.

In Mary we find a model. Holy Mother Church teaches us that Mary was the first Christian, the first follower of our Lord. She listened to him because she knew him. She followed him because she loved him. She served him because she believed in him. Mary showed us the way to know, to love and to serve Jesus, and thus she is our model. We only look up to her and we find Jesus her son.
Mary is also our inspiration. Despite her lowliness, she was able to do the will of God. By recognizing the power and compassion of the almighty, she was able to say her Fiat: Let it be done according to your will. From her lowliness she was exulted by God and prepared to be the mother of the Lord. We too can say yes to God if we take our inspiration in Mary. And our experience has shown us that like Mary, we can say yes to God if we recognize his compassion and care for us.
Finally, she is our mother. In the same way that she took care of her son, she takes care of us by interceding for us. How many times have we run to her when we were engulfed in fear and uncertainty? We have the boldness to approach her because we know that she is our mother. And as our mother, she will never refuse us. We are confident children of our Lady.
And today, our Lady’s birthday, we celebrate this Eucharist to honor her. We gather as a community to sing hymns for her, to pray together with her, to honor her as our patron and most of all to thank God for giving us Mary to be our mother. These are the reasons why on her birthday, we give thanks. Gratitude is our response. It is also our gift to her. We thank Mary for her life. We thank her for her openness and for her yes. We thank her for how she raised Jesus to be so full of compassion and a friend to sinners and the poor. We are grateful to her for after she entered the gate of heaven, it remained open welcoming everyone despite all unworthiness.
So today, Mother Mary, our inspiration and model, on your birthday, as sons and daughters of Ignatius, we pray his prayer: Dear Mary, place me with your Son. Let me know him, love him, follow him and serve him more closely. Stand guard over my heart and let the gift of peace remain there especially when the challenges of life confront me and uncertainty haunt me. And when my final hour comes, pray for me and be with me—now and forever. Amen. Hail Holy Mary, my Queen. Pray for us your children.

“Ang puso ko’y nagpupuri, nagpupuri sa Panginoon!

By Fr. James Gascon, SJ
President/CEO
Center for Family Ministries (CeFaM)

Delivered at the Ateneo de Manila High School Covered Courts
Septmeber 08, 2009

A story is told that in heaven, it was decided that every newly arrived soul should sing a song outside the gate. One’s song would determine whether he or she was worthy to enter the gate or not. Archangel Raphael posted this instruction at the entrance of Paradise.
It happened that the soul of a great patriot, who died fighting against a corrupt government, arrived in heaven. He stood outside its gates and read the instruction.

The patriot took a deep breath and begun to sing…

“To dream the impossible dream;
To fight the unbeatable foe;
To bear with unbearable sorrow…”

After the song, the gate of heaven opened and the patriot entered Paradise. Then the gate was locked.

Then came a woman philanthropist. After reading the instructions, she began to sing…

“Climb every mountain, ford every stream,
follow every rainbow, ‘til you find your dream.
A dream that would need all the love you can give…

Again, after her song, the gate of heaven opened. Joyfully, the woman philanthropist entered Paradise and the gate was locked again.

Two souls, who were both hardened criminals on earth, arrived and read the instruction posted at the entrance. After reading it, both of them shook their heads in disappointment. “How are we to enter heaven?” the first criminal asked his companion. “While on earth, the only songs we sang were vulgar and obscene ones. Our songs would reflect our earthly life, heaven’s gate will surely not open for us!” And both of them went away heartbroken.

Then, a lady came. She was a simple mother. She read the instruction, not without much difficulty. She knew not many songs. There was only one she knew. And then she began singing…

“Ang puso ko’y nagpupuri, nagpupuri sa Panginoon.
Nagalak ang aking espiritu, sa ‘king taga-pagligtas.”

Sapagkat nilingap niya, kababaan ng kanyang alipin.
Mapalad ang pangalan ko sa lahat ng mga bansa.”

Once more, after her song, the gate of heaven opened. Gratefully, the Lady entered Paradise. But from then on the gate of heaven was never locked again. And since then, every soul was assured entrance into paradise in her stead. Thus, countless got the chance to enter the gate of Paradise despite their unworthiness. The Lady’s name was Mary.

Can you be an Atenean without a special devotion to Mary? Can you call yourself an Atenean without a rosary in your pocket? Can the days of October pass by without you proudly wearing the medal and blue ribbon on your chest? Can you end a game at the UAAP without singing a hymn to our Lady, win or lose? Here in the Ateneo our special devotion to Mary defines who we are. She is our model, our inspiration, and our mother.

In Mary we find a model. Holy Mother Church teaches us that Mary was the first Christian, the first follower of our Lord. She listened to him because she knew him. She followed him because she loved him. She served him because she believed in him. Mary showed us the way to know, to love and to serve Jesus, and thus she is our model. We only look up to her and we find Jesus her son.
Mary is also our inspiration. Despite her lowliness, she was able to do the will of God. By recognizing the power and compassion of the almighty, she was able to say her Fiat: Let it be done according to your will. From her lowliness she was exulted by God and prepared to be the mother of the Lord. We too can say yes to God if we take our inspiration in Mary. And our experience has shown us that like Mary, we can say yes to God if we recognize his compassion and care for us.
Finally, she is our mother. In the same way that she took care of her son, she takes care of us by interceding for us. How many times have we run to her when we were engulfed in fear and uncertainty? We have the boldness to approach her because we know that she is our mother. And as our mother, she will never refuse us. We are confident children of our Lady.
And today, our Lady’s birthday, we celebrate this Eucharist to honor her. We gather as a community to sing hymns for her, to pray together with her, to honor her as our patron and most of all to thank God for giving us Mary to be our mother. These are the reasons why on her birthday, we give thanks. Gratitude is our response. It is also our gift to her. We thank Mary for her life. We thank her for her openness and for her yes. We thank her for how she raised Jesus to be so full of compassion and a friend to sinners and the poor. We are grateful to her for after she entered the gate of heaven, it remained open welcoming everyone despite all unworthiness.
So today, Mother Mary, our inspiration and model, on your birthday, as sons and daughters of Ignatius, we pray his prayer: Dear Mary, place me with your Son. Let me know him, love him, follow him and serve him more closely. Stand guard over my heart and let the gift of peace remain there especially when the challenges of life confront me and uncertainty haunt me. And when my final hour comes, pray for me and be with me—now and forever. Amen. Hail Holy Mary, my Queen. Pray for us your children.

Faith in God's Plan

The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
September 8

“We know that all things work for the good for those who love God,
who are called according to His purpose.” –Romans 8:28

Today, we celebrate the birth of a child, who, nine months ago (December 8), was immaculately conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, by her father, St. Joachim.

When this child was born, her parents probably did not know the great miracles that their little girl was destined for. All they saw was the miracle of life before them. And like all loving parents, they must have struggled to give this child a good home and tried their very best to form her to become a good person and to live a life of faith, without knowing the kind of future that awaits her. They simply trusted that God has a good plan for their child.

For who would have known the wonders that awaited this child?

A child, who from the very beginning, was chosen by God to be “full of grace”, whose enmity toward Satan was spoken of as far back as Genesis, and described in a vision of a woman crowned with stars with the moon under her feet in the Book of Revelation. A child, who would eventually be known as “blessed among all women”, the one whom God has chosen to bear His only Son, to bring life to the world.

This child is, of course, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is her nativity that we are honoring today.

As the mother of our Lord, Mary has always been greatly revered and given a special place in the life of the Church. In fact, the feast of her birth has been celebrated in the Church since the 7th or 8th century. And this feast is one among the only three birthdays honored in the Liturgical Year, the other two being Christ’s Himself (December 25) and his precursor, John the Baptist’s (June 24).

However, as always, this feast is not an end in itself, but rather, points to and anticipates the coming of our true end and destiny, in Mary’s Divine son, Jesus Christ. As the song goes, “Mariang Ina ko…kay Kristong kuya ko, akayin mo ako”.

As we celebrate the feast of the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we also celebrate important events in our school: the installation of our Women Eucharistic ministers, the launch of the Katipunan Fund Drive (KFD) and the 35th year anniversary of the Tulong Dunong (TD) Program (1975-2010).

Who would have known the important roles that women would play in the life of the Church? Or how far the simple acts and generosity of our students would reach? Or how a scholarship program, which began 35 years ago through the efforts of the late Fr. James O’ Brien, SJ, would continue to flourish and bear much fruit even after so many years?

In the end, only God does—He who has called us His children, who has written our names in the palm of His hand. As cliché as it sounds, God knows what is truly best for us. The real challenge then is for us to have faith in God’s plan, that just like the life of Mary, “all things [do] work for the good for those who love God, and who are called for His purpose.”

Let us pray: God, Our Father, we ask for the grace of faithfulness, that we may truly fulfill Your plans for us and accomplish the purpose for which You have made us. We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Mary, Our Mother, Pray for us.

Sources:
“Doing Our Best Each Day” in Inviting God In by Joyce Rupp,
http://www.wf-f.org/BirthofMary.html, http://www.fisheaters.com

Within the Mass, the following female faculty, professionals and staff will be commissioned as Special Ministers of Holy Communion.

1. Ms. Ester M. Abito (Science)
2. Ms. Eloisa B. Albert (Science)
3. Ms. Suzanne Darlene U. Alvarez (Campus Ministry)
4. Ms. Zenaida V. Badillo (School Nurse)
5. Ms. Estela E. Banasihan (Aralin Panlipunan)
6. Ms. Mercy N. de Guia (Head Moderator)
7. Ms. Dolly G. Ducepec (CLE Subject Area)
8. Ms. Marilyn M. Lee (Office of the SAC)
9. Ms. Josie A. Loveranes (Testing and Research Office)
10. Ms. Karen Patricia N. Ong (English)
11. Ms. Ma. Margarita M. Pavia (Math)
12. Ms. Genalyn S. Sanvictores (CLE)
13. Ms. Amelia C. Solmerin (CLE)

The tree is weird.
I don't know how it can be physically formed like that.
I'ts like God.
He reaches out in ways that I can't understand.
And I'm like the swing,
hanging on for understanding and hoping
I don't fall to the ground
-The Class of 4N

All You need is one reason...

One reason to believe...
One reason to doubt...
One reason to pray...
One reason to play...
One reason to talk...

One reason to walk [away]...
One reason to act...
One reason to laugh...
One reason to smile...
One reason to frown...

But one reason isn't enough

It isn't enough, it isn't enough...
That's why we LOVE.

-Joseph Barcelon, 4N

Sa Hangin

Sa paligid hinahanap;
Sa mundong nakakalat,
Pero siya'y nasa harap:
Ang sagot sumiwalat.

-Juan Batalla

A skeptic of the grandest scale
A believer filled with self- doubt

In a respite form the daily grind
I've come to realize both mundane and supernatural

That indeed, in darkness do we really see the light of God
In presence and openness do we really feel loved
In silence do we find the wisdom we desire
And only in prayer do we realize the true meaning of our lives.

-Aldo Atienza

Naka-usap ang dilang
Apoy ang pinagmulan
'Di masunog ng salitang
Nanggaling sa kawalan
-Riv Bustamante

Pulos suliranin tnagan ng isipan,
Sa isang bakasyong ngayo'y napagbigyan.

Dangan nakita ko handang kagandahan,
Disi'y 'di natanto Febong kabanalan.
-Jus Tongson


Sa gitna ng digmann,
Sundalo'y natigilan.

Tawag ay pinakinggan,
Muli sa Diyos manahan.
-Raphael Gabriel Syjuco

Homilya Para sa Kapistahan ng Pag-aakyat Kay Maria Sa Langit

ni Padre Pat Falguera, SJ

Aba Ginoong Maria, napupuno ka ng grasya.
Ang Panginoong Diyos ay sumasaiyo.
Bukod kang pinagpala sa babaeng lahat
at pinagpala rin naman ang iyong Anak na si Hesus.
Santa Maria, Ina ng Diyos.
Ipanalangin mo kaming makasalanan.
Ngayon at kung kami’y mamamatay.
Amen.

Sa aking palagay, malamang ito ang isa sa mga unang panalangin itunuro sa atin ng ating mga magulang. Isang panalangin ipinasa sa ating mga lolo at lola, ng kanilang mga lola at lolo. Ilang beses ko na rin kasing nasaksihan ito sa parokya. Kung paano itinuturo ng isang ina o isang ama, ang panalanging ito sa kanyang anak. Bago umalis ng bahay at pumasok sa paaralan. Bago kumain ng hapunan matapos maglaro. Bago matulog matapos gawin ang assignment.

Malamang, unang nagisnan din natin ang panalanging ito mula sa mga madre at mga katekista. Sa unang pagtanggap natin ng mga sakramento ng simbahan. Sa binyag. Sa unang kumpisal. Sa ating first communion. At tila nga nakagisnan na rin natin ang panalanging ito sa iba’t ibang panahon ng ating simbahan. Tuwing Oktubre. Tuwing Pasko at Bagong Taon. Tuwing Biyernes Santo at Linggo ng Muling Pagkabuhay.

Madalas nga, hindi tayo malay na isinasambit na pala natin ang panalanging ito sa samu’t saring ritwal nating mga Pinoy. Bilang panghele sa anak. Habang nagbabantay sa ospital. Habang nakasakay sa FX papuntang opisina. Madalas, nananalangin tayo sa ating Mahal na Ina, kung may hinihiling tayo. Bago tayo mag abroad para magtrabaho ay dinadalaw natin siya sa Antipolo. Bago tayo mag job interview ay nagno-nobena tayo sa Baclaran. Bago tayo mag board exam ay dumadayo pa tayo sa Manaoag.

Napapansin ko nga, madalas may mga rosaryong nakatago sa ating mga bulsa. Lalo nga itong patagong nakalihim sa bulsa ng mga kalalakihan o lantaran na ring nakasabit sa mga motorbike. Ginagamit man natin itong agimat o panlaban sa masama. Ito ang ating dala dala, construction worker man tayo sa site o sales lady sa isang department store. At inilalabas mula sa taguan at idinadasal habang nakatirik ang dyip sa trapik. O di naman kaya’y kung tayo ay pauwi na, sakay ang MRT.

At madalas kung tayo nagkaka-krisis bilang pamilya o sambayanan, ito ang panalanging paulit ulit nating binabanggit. Nakakailang Aba Ginoong Maria kaya ang isang ina habang hinihintay ang results ng kanyang biopsy test? Nakakailang Aba Ginoong Maria kaya ang isang tatay habang isinusugod ang anak na naaksidente at duguan? At nakakailang Aba Ginong Maria kaya ang isang binata habang hinihintay nya ang sagot ng kasintahang nililgawan?

At kung titingnan natin ang kasaysayan ng ating bansa, ilang daang Aba Ginoong Maria kaya ang isinamo ng mga katipunero para makamit ang kalayaan? Ilang daang Aba Ginoong Maria kaya ang ipinalangin ng mga gerilya sa gitna ng digmaan? At ilang libong Aba Ginoong Maria kaya ang isinamo sa EDSA noong 1986 at 2001 sa gitna ng di katiyakan at pag-aalinlangan.

Kung ito ang panalanging ating unang natutunan, tila ito rin ang huling panalangin ating isinasambit sa bingit ng kamatayan. Magdadalawang linggo na noong ating nabalitaan kung paano yumao si Pangulong Cory Aquino. Sa ikalimang misterio ng hapis, huling huminga raw ang ating mahal na Pangulo. At sa mga sumunod na araw, ating nasaksihan kung paano inihatid ng panalanging ito si Tita Cory mula simbahan hanggang sa kanyang huling hantungan.

Bakit kaya malapit sa ating mga puso ang panalanging ito? Sa aking palagay, may tatlong dahilan kung bakit nakagisnan at nakaukit na sa ating mga puso ang panalangin ni Maria. Unang dahilan: dahil sa biyaya at pangako. Ikalawang dahilan: dahil sa galak at pasasalamat. At ikatlong dahilan: dahil sa pagsamo at pagapapaubaya.

Ang unang dahilan, dahil sa biyaya at pangako.

Sa unang pagbasa, narinig natin ang tila isang pangako: Isang babaeng malapit nang manganak ng isang sanggol na itinakdang maghahari sa lahat ng bansa. At sa ebanghelyong ating narinig, ipinamalas naman ang biyaya ng pagdalaw ni Maria sa kanyang pinsang si Isabel. At tila itong biyaya at pangako ay napaloob din sa panalangin para sa ating Mahal na Ina:

Aba Ginoong Maria, napupuno ka ng grasya.
Ang Panginoong Diyos ay sumasaiyo.

Madalas, kapag nagbitiw tayo ng salita na gagawin natin ang isang bagay, ito ay nagiging pangako. Ngunit madalas, mahirap isakatupuran ang isang pangakong binitiwan. Hindi na tayo lalayo pa para mamulat na napakadaling biguin ang mga pangako. Napakadaling ipangako ng kamara ang Comprehensive Agrarian Reform ngunit bakit hanggang ngayon napakahirap pa rin ipamigay ang lupa sa mga magsasaka ng Sumilao? Napakadaling ipangako ng isang pangulo na maganda ang larangan ng ekonomiya ngunit bakit hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin maayos ang mga tirahan ng mga maralita sa Payatas?

Ngunit sa kabila ng mga kabiguan na dulot ng mga pangakong hindi naisakatuparan, nariyan ang biyaya. Dito nag-iiba ang pangako ng Diyos at pangako ng tao. Kung sa tao, may hidwaan ang salita at gawa; sa Diyos, iisa lamang ang salita at ang gawa. Kung ganito nga ang pangako ng Diyos, bakit tila, walang nagiging epekto ang salita ng Diyos? Sa aking palagay, dito papasok ang biyaya. Ito ang biyayang madalaas ipinagkakaloob sa mga mahihirap. Kaya’t sa gitna ng kahirapan at pag-aalinlangan, hindi nating maiwasan manalangin sa ating Mahal na Ina. Na sa pangako ng sanggol sa kanyang sinapupunan, makamit din sana natin ang biyaya na dalawin nya tayo para magkaroon ng malalim na kahulugan ang ating mga buhay.

Ang pangalawang dahilan naman kung bakit malapit sa ating mga puso ang panalanging ito: dahil sa galak at pasasalamat.

Sa ikalawang pagbasa naman, narinig natin ang galak ni San Pablo sa pagpapahayag ng salita ng Diyos na may muling pagkabuhay sa bingit ng kamatayan. At sa ebanghelyong narinig natin, nasaksihan natin ang pasasalamat ni Maria pagkatapos mapuspos si Isabel ng Espiritu Santo. Itong galak at pasasalamat ay mababanaagan din natin sa ikalawang bahagi ng panalangin alay kay Maria:

Bukod kang pinagpala sa babaeng lahat
at pinagpala rin naman ang iyong Anak na si Hesus.

May iba’t ibang larangan ng galak. May galak na katuwaan lamang ng barkada habang nag-iinuman. May galak na dulot ng pag-awit ng alma mater song pagkatapos ipanalo ang isang laro sa UAAP. At may galak na dama ng isang ina pagkaluwal ng kanyang sanggol. Ngunit sa aking palagay, ang pinakamalalim na galak ay yaong galak na may kalakip na kapayapaan. Isang galak na nakabalot sa katahimikan. At sa kabila ng galak na ito ay ang malalim na pasasalamat.

Naisip ko tuloy, ito ata ang dahilan kung bakit tayong mga Pinoy ay patuloy na nakakaraos sa gitna ng kahirapan at paghihikaos. Marami kasi tayong pwedeng pasalamatan. Sa gitna ng gulo sa larangan ng pultiko, nakakalimutan natin na napakaganda ng ating bayan. Masaksihan man natin ang paglubog ng araw sa Caramoan o Camiguin o di kaya’y ang bukang liwayway sa Sagada o Malaybalay. Sa di pagkakasundo ng muslim at kristiyano, nakakalimutan natin ang napakagandang kultura ng Penafrancia sa Bicol at ng Ramadan sa Zamboanga. Sa tingin ko, kung patuloy tayong makapagpasalamat matikman ang tamis ng mangga at malanghap ang amoy ng kabihasnan sa Bulacan, makakamit natin ang tahimik at malalim na kagalakan. Hindi ito naiiiba sa pagtuklas katulad ni San Pablo sa salita ng Diyos at ang pagpuspos ng Espiritu kay Isabel.

At ang huling dahilan kung bakit malapit sa ating mga puso ang panalanging ito, dahil sa pagsamo at pagpapaubaya.

Sa ebanghelyo narinig natin ang pagsamo ni Maria sa kanyang Panginoon: “Dinadakila ng aking kaluluwa ang Panginoon, at nagagalak ang aking tagapagligtas..” Ngunit kalakip nitong pagsamo ni Maria ang kanyang pagpapaubaya na maganap nawa sa kanya ang kalooban ng Diyos. Itong pagsamo at pagpapaubaya ang bumubuo ng huling bahagi ng pagsamo natin sa ating Mahal na Ina:

Santa Maria, Ina ng Diyos.
Ipanalangin mo kaming makasalanan.
Ngayon at kung kami’y mamamatay.
Amen.

Ayon kay San Ignacio, ang mainam na pananaw sa biyaya ay ang pananaw ng isang pulubing nanlilimos ng biyaya. Tila ganito rin ang pagsamo. Pagsamo dahil hindi tayo karapat dapat. Pagsamo kahit tayo ay makasalanan. May iba’t ibang larangan din ng pagsamo. May pagsamo na galing sa isang bata na gustong makipaglaro sa kapitbahay. May pagsamo mula sa kasintahan na hwag muna ibaba ang telepono at ituloy ang kwentuhan. May pagsamo ng isang magulang gustong makapag aral sa Ateneo ang anak. Ngunit kung ang pagsamo ay walang kapalit na kawalan, tila sumasablay ito.

Kaya naman kalakip ng pagsamo ay ang pagpapaubaya na hindi nagiging pabaya. Katulad ng pagsamo ng isang inang nagdadalang tao at ipinapaubaya ang kalusugan ng magiging anak. Katulad ng pagsamo ng isang bilanggong wala namang kasalanan at ipinapaubaya ang kanyang kalayaan. Katulad ng pagsamo natin na ang darating na halalan ay magiging daan ng tunay na pagbabago. Ngunit kailangan nga tayong magpaubaya na kailangangan nating magkaisa at sama sama tayong lahat para buoin at hilumin an gating bayan. Kaya naman tila mahirap talaga magpaubaya. Ngunit may malalim na karunungan na dulot ng pagpapaubaya. At ito nga ang naging karanasan ng Ating Mahal na Ina. Dinakila siya dahil siya ay nagpaubaya. Sa kabila ng kanyang pagsamo na matupad ang pangarap ng Diyos sa tao, nagawa ni Mariang magpaubaya.

Sa tatlong dahilang ito ng biyaya at pangako, ng galak at pasasalamat, at ng pagsamo at pagpapaubaya, nawa’y unti unti tayong namumulat na ang panalangin ng Aba Ginoong Maria ay daan para makamit ang langit at makatawid sa buhay na walang hanggan.

Sa dakilang kapistahan ng Pag-akyat sa Langit sa Mahal na Birheng Maria, tila nababanaagan natin kung paano nakamit ni Maria ang kalangitan. Isang kalangitan na hindi lang natin maaakyat kapag tayo ay sumakabilang buhay na. Ngunit isang kalangitan na matutuklasan natin dito at matutuklasan natin ngayon. Isang mithiin ng kalagitan na ipinamamana sa atin ngayon ng ating Panginoon. At ang landas patungo dito ay nasa halimbawa ni Maria. Sapagkat ang pangako pala ay hahantong sa pasasalamat; at ang pasasalamat naman ay hahantong sa pagpapaubaya. Kalakip ng pagpapaubaya ay ang biyaya; Kalakip ng biyaya ang galak; at kalakakip ng galak ay ang pagsamo na may taglay na pangako.

At habang patuloy nating dinarasal ang Aba Ginoong Maria, mamumulat tayo na lalalim ang ating pananampalataya, pag-asa at pagmamahal. Sa gitna ng biyaya at pangako, namamayani pala ang pananampalataya. Sa gitna ng galak at pasasalamat, matatagpuan pala ang pag-asa. At sa gitna ng pagsamo at pagpapaubaya, magwawagi pala ang pagmamahal. Kaya naman, hanggang may isang batang nagdadasal ng Aba Ginoong Maria nang buong pananampalataya, malalampasan natin ang disyerto at makakamit natin ang lupang pangako. Naniniwala akong hanggang may isang binatang nakaluhod at nagdarasal ng Aba Ginoong Maria, may pag-asa pa rin ang ating bayan. At hanggang may isang lolo na nagdarasal ng Aba Ginoong Maria sa tabi ng kanyang irog, limampung taon na ang nakararaan, mamamayani pa rin ang pagmamahal natin sa kapuwa at sa bayan.

Kaya marahil sa kasaysayan ng ating mga pamilya at sa kasaysayan ng bayan, tugmang tugma ang panalanging ito. Sa panahon man ng kagipitan at di katiyakan, nariyan ang ating Mahal na Ina. Akmang akma ang panalanging ito, maging isa man tayong sundalo isinabak sa Mindanao, o isang pulis na gustong manatiling tapat kahit corrupt na ang hepe ng kanyang himpilan. Tugmang tugma ang panalanging ito, maging estudyante man tayo ng Ateneo, taas noong inaawit pa rin ito sa gitna ng pagkatalo o di kaya’y isang sastre sa Sapang Palay, tuwang tuwa na nakapasa ang kanyang anak sa UP. At masasamahan tayo ng panalanging ito sa gitna ng kadiliman at kahirapan. Sa simbahan na matatagpuan sa tagpi tagping barung barong sa Navotas na malapit nang ma-demolish. O di kaya’y sa mga nagsisilakihang mga simbahan sa Rome at Milan, punung puno ng ating mga kababayang sabik umuwi dahil malayo sa mga pinanggalingan. Mapapasaatin ang panalanging ito sa gitna ng paghahanap natin ng kasagutan sa napakasalimuot na suliranin ng ating bayan. Sa gitna ng mga tanong na tila walang kasagutan.

Batid kong lahat tayo dito ngayon ay mga ipinapanalanging mga biyaya at pangako. Batid kong lahat tayo dito ngayon ay may nais ipaabot na galak at pasasalamat. At batid kong lahat tayo dito ngayon ay may itinatagong mga pagsamo at pagpapapaubaya. Kaya’t sa gitna ng katahimikan at sa gabay ng ating mahal na Ina, taglay ang pananampalataya, pag-asa at pagmamahal, manalangin tayo ngayon:


Aba Ginoong Maria, napupuno ka ng grasya.
Ang Panginoong Diyos ay sumasaiyo.
Bukod kang pinagpala sa babaeng lahat
at pinagpala rin naman ang iyong Anak na si Hesus.
Santa Maria, Ina ng Diyos.
Ipanalangin mo kaming makasalanan.
Ngayon at kung kami’y mamamatay.
Amen.