Be not afraid

Jesus gives His love for all mankind. Ecumenical and interfaith. This is what my faith tells me. The very person of Christ reaches out to all. And even those who consciously do not recognize Him in their institutional religions are sons and daughters of the one universal God, provided their lives are lives of authentic love and justice. This is how loving and merciful God is to one and all. Indeed, as our Pope Francis says, God is the God of mercy and compassion.

This then, is what our Second Reading for today’s Mass says: “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all who call upon him. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (Rom. 10:12-13). God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Three persons in the one and the same God and Creator of the whole universe.

Through God’s love and mercy, He comes down to be One among us, to be our loving Lord and role model in how to live our human lives of love and justice that move toward peace. Again, in faith I repeat, the ever-loving God is ecumenical and interfaith. In other words, the same Creator-God of all mankind.

In this context, let me just refer to the 51st International Eucharistic Congress that we recently celebrated in Cebu for a whole week, Jan. 24-31, 2016. The final Eucharistic celebration had no less than 1.5 million attendees. And although it was organized and celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church, you cannot but realize that the human and spiritual meaning of it all in actual life can be nothing less than ecumenical and interfaith. Universal love, mercy, and compassion are the focus of it all, underneath the Roman Catholic externals. Connected with this are the experiences of Filipino hospitality, resilience, and religiosity here and in different parts of the world. The Most Rev. Robert Barron, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles and one of the delegates to the congress, expressed this in his talk: “In God’s often strange providence, He takes a particular church, a particular people and use them as a means to invigorate and evangelize the rest of the Catholic world. . . and you are playing that role now, the church of the Philippines.” In different parts of the world where there are Filipinos, they are mostly the ones that go to the church for Sunday Mass and are active in parish organizations, except in places where there are many native Catholics, like in India.

The Papal Legate Cardinal Charles Bo stated: “Christianity, they say, are in a twilight zone . . . Take heart, my brothers and sisters. The Philippines can take the twilight zone into an exciting dawn.” Pope Francis himself said in his televised message at the end of the Congress: “I was able to witness firsthand the deep faith and resilience of the people.” He came to the Philippines last year to visit the victims of Super Typhoon “Yolanda.” “It brought immense devastation to the Philippines. Yet it also brought in its wake an immense outpouring of solidarity, generosity and goodness. People seek rebuilding not just homes but also lives.”

On the other hand, there are still quite a number of Filipinos who are willing victims of the devil. Sad to say, quite a number of them are in positions of public service. According to our dedicated Ombudsman, Conchita Morales, there are still a big number of corrupt government officials and public servants. How striking this is, especially in connection with today’s Gospel reading. But there is still hope, indeed, for among those in public service are officials of moral integrity and deep concern for their country and countrymen.

Let me single out a Filipino Mayor of a poor and over-populated town. He is a man of moral integrity, and one who genuinely loves, not only his family, but also his country and his countrymen.  A close friend of his who lives and works in the USA contacted him and excitedly invited him to migrate, because there is a very high-paying job opening there that will raise his social and financial lifestyle to a much higher level than where he is now. The mayor shared this with his wife and children, and they were all excited for him to accept the opportunity. He prayed over it, and went through a process of discernment with a spiritual guide. His final decision was to stay and continue with his tough job and poor lifestyle. Strikingly enough, he was very inspired by the message of Jesus in today’s Gospel reading: “One does not live on bread alone” (Lk.4:4).

As the months went by, this mayor’s life became more and more difficult, not only the work itself but his financial condition. One day, out of nowhere, a wealthy businessman came and asked for the privilege to violate a legal rule for business reasons. He then handed an envelope to the mayor. It was full of money! The mayor immediately gave back the envelope and asked him to leave right away. This was definitely a temptation from the devil.

We read in today’s Gospel how Jesus allowed Himself to be tempted three times, and even more, and how he drove the devil away each time. This is to teach us, his beloved disciples, to do the same. Our mayor described above is God’s gift to his family and townmates. May each one of us also accept God’s loving mission to be a gift to our families, our country, and our countrymen.