Gifted to give

The Philippines is gearing up to celebrate 500 years of Christianity revolving around the theme “gifted to give,” taken from the gospel of Matthew 10:8. In this verse, if we look at it very closely, it says, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you received, freely give.” I am a believer of our Catholic faith and, although I may not be religious, I consider Christ as the biggest rockstar I have never seen but definitely know.

I never forget good homilies – the ones that are really meant to minister and not lecture. To minister after all comes from a place of love as priests represent the biggest author of it all – Jesus Christ. Well, at most, this is my opinion.

Going back to homilies, there was one that really touched the very depths of my soul and it was all about why Christ came down from heaven. He really put it simply. Jesus came to love, to heal and to give us hope. Period. Because he loves and, as the famous song goes... it doesn’t matter who we are, where we’re from or what we did... God’s love is unconditional. It is therefore from this love that we receive our healing, as a father never wants his children to be sick.

Fathers are represented by many in our communities – in our families or as leaders of a nation. A father will always do everything in his power to keep his children safe. To give freely speaks much about charity. While the devil came to steal, kill and destroy, God came to give us life. It is through the example of Christ that we give, and especially in a pandemic we are learning how giving is an essential contribution to society.

As we prepare to celebrate our faith, may we also hold close to our hearts our purpose and, if we are truly indeed gifted to give, then we must answer this call as one nation.