The Best Homily

Today is Tuesday, July 30 - Feast Day of Saint Peter Chrysologus, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church.

Fr. Benedict started his homily by introducing St. Peter Chrysologus whose name literally means "golden tongue" (or "golden speech"). He is known as The Doctor of Homilies because he delivered short (about five minutes only; it was said he was afraid to bore his audience) but inspired talks. 176 of his homilies are extant up to now.

But Fr. Benedict made it clear: "You don't become a saint by just being a good preacher. You become a saint if you live what you preach."

"People look up to you, you can't help it. As leaders of your organization, and as workers here at your Global Mission Center, people don't just expect you to go the extra mile, but to go the extra smile."

"You are giving the best homily by the way you live your life." I remember one similar quote: "Be careful how you live, you may be the only Bible some people will ever read."

Our very lives are expressions of our faith. And as members of Singles for Christ, having the privilege to bear the name of Christ, we have also a great responsibility to proclaim the truth about who He is and what He does. We are ambassadors of Christ, and we market Him by the way we live.

Fr. Benedict continued, "In our life, there is what we call the spontaneity of hope and fear, of good and evil." True enough, we are always confronted with choices and we are not only supposed to choose, we need to discern. "In the most difficult moments of our life, when we are at our weakest, then we realize that everything is possible because of God's grace. When we have to deal with the hardest people, we go back to the Responsorial Psalm: The Lord is kind and merciful... and so am I! And ultimately, know that in the end, we will all be judged."

Then, addressing the trainees and newbies, he ended, "But don't be afraid of the future (or the lack of it). You will certainly have it. Kung ano at sino ang meron ka ngayon, yan ang kinabukasan mo. I urge you to read the letters of St. Paul because he is a missionary just like you and me and we can really learn a lot about mission from him. Pero huwag kayong matakot. Walang dapat ikatakot dahil hindi tayo pababayaan ng Panginoon. Matatakot lang tayo kung hindi tayo naniniwalang may Diyos na labis na nagmamahal sa atin." (Read 1 John 4:18. "There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear.")

*****

Speaking of love, here is one homily of St. Peter Chrysologus that speaks about that four-letter word: http://littlebigwonders.blogspot.com/2013/07/love-desires-to-see-god.html

"Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything." -Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ

Comments

Understanding Lupang Hinirang

Every Filipino knows Lupang Hinirang (though some know it better as " Bayang Magiliw "). How can you not know it when it is the national anthem of the Philippines? But do we really mean the lyrics that we sing? Do we understand it in the first place? Photo Credit: http://diazi.ism-online.org This video has gone viral weeks ago. This afternoon, I shared it to my teammates, and one commented, "Yun pala yun . Ngayon ko lang naintindihan." He immediately downloaded it and converted to MP3. So for those who have not seen it, once again, here is Joey Ayala's version of Lupang Hinirang. And I agree, you would never want to sing it in another way. (But that's just me. :D) This rendition is simply beautiful. Truly Filipino. :) Of course that doesn't mean we need to revise our national anthem but maybe we can consider about correcting the way we sing it (read: proper pronunciation). Read more about the Philippine National Anthem here .

Jesus Week 2015: A Time To HEAL ♥

I had the best, most meaningful HOLY WEEK ever, so far (the best is yet to come!). :) Thanks to Joy who shared the Jesus Week poster on Facebook. It was God's personal invitation, and I couldn't thank Him enough for the grace that He also gave me to respond. Everything is grace. It was not just my personal decision to join. It was God's grace that allowed me to. So how did it go? Well, as what I have told my friends, it was amazingly beautiful! The experience was priceless! On Holy Monday, I posted Fr. Jerry Orbos' acronym for HOLY WEEK . I experienced all of that and more! :) I won't be able to share everything as there is just a lot of personal, intimate encounters with the Lord. But if I were to summarize, it was a time for me to HEAL. :) H alt . Indeed, I was able to stop and just rest in the Lord. Before leaving Manila, I have already told myself that this retreat will be all about Jesus ( Jesus Week nga e :D ). No emails, no texts, no calls. I

Thank You, Lord! :)

It has been a long and stressful day (the past three days have been lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng and stressssssssssssssssssssssssssssssful), but You are just so amazing, Lord that I couldn't sleep without telling You how grateful I am. :) Thank You, Lord for the miracle that You did yesterday. Break even and more. :) Thank You, Lord for the laughter and stories shared during the post-mission meeting with Team Thailand. :) Team Thailand - Princesses from SFC Metro Manila :) Thank You, Lord for Lawrence. He is just the (almost) perfect man. He has his flaws, but they are acceptable; he makes mistakes, but they are all forgivable. There are a lot of men but there can never be anyone else. He's really the one. And You know it very well. :) ♥ Nemo. Love. ♥ Thank You, Lord for giving me strength and endurance each day. :) Thank You, Lord for the short but restful sleeps. :) Thank You, Lord for every waking moment and every opportunity that You give

The Holy Spirit*

*Cluster 4 Household Topic Reflections from John 15:26-16:4 True friendship is strengthened in adversity. Jesus offers His disciples the best and truest of friends. Who is this promised friend? Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our Counselor and Advocate (also translated Paraclete or Helper). Counselor is a legal term for the one who will defend someone against an adversary and who guides that person during the ordeal of trial. The Holy Spirit is our Advocate and Helper who brings us safely through the challenges and adversities we must face in this life. As Jesus approaches the hour that He was to be glorified - through His death on the cross and His resurrection - He revealed more fully to His disciples the person and the role of the Holy Spirit. What does Jesus tell us about the Holy Spirit? First, the Holy Spirit is inseparably one with the Father and the Son. It is the Holy Spirit who gives life - the very life of God - and who kindles faith in hearts receptive

Interesting Facts Courtesy of Celebrity Bluff :)

I was writing a different post, but Celebrity Bluff is just so fun and informative, I had to stop from blogging to list down the fun facts that I learn from each round. :) Thought it would be nice to share them here as well. For future reference. :D Q: In 2012, what kind of animal was named after Beyonce? A: Horse Fly Q: What rare job in China will pay you US$50,000 a year? A: Fart Smeller Q: What alcoholic drink literally means "water of life"? A: Whisky Q: In which part of the body can you find the tragus? A: Ear Q: According to Merriam-Webster, what is the female equivalent of dude? A: Dudine Q: What is longer in the male turtles than in the females? A: Nails And the final question is... Q: According to Box Office Mojo what are the top four (4) movies of 2013 according to global profit? A: (1) Iron Man 3, (2) Despicable Me 2, (3) Fast and the Furious 6 (4) The Hunger Games: Catching Fire That's all

These Little Wonders

Search This Blog