Meditations on Our Daily Life As Catholic Christians

By Father Allan S. Fenix
 

Father Allan S. Fenix has been a Diocesan priest and pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, Camarines Sur, Philippines.  He has recently been reassigned to Hsinchu, Taiwan, and is currently  in training to be a missionary there.  Father Allan is an avid shortwave radio enthusiast and a greatly cherished friend of Radio New Jerusalem.  It is our honor and privilege to bring you his thoughts and observations on life and our daily walk with Jesus Christ.

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God moves.  He moves in us.  As the creator -- the unmoved mover, as St. Thomas Aquinas succinctly coined it -- he is the constant initiator.  All things bear his signature.  It is for this reason, therefore, that everything is good.  By the mere fact of its existence, something is good because God purposefully made it to be so.  We, his creatures, are merely the respondents to his beauty and love.  No one amongst us is pressured to do so.  But, we are left with no other choice but to say our, "YES LORD!"  We have nowhere to run to.  We are surrounded.  We are cornered by his love.  We drown it.

Faith and Luggages

By Father Allan S. Fenix  

 

     I was recently at the airport to send off a visitor.  While we were falling in line to check in our luggages, one migrant worker, ahead of us, was taking so much time checking her's, for it exceeded the weight limit per passenger allowed by the airline she was flying home with.  According to her, maybe the airline's weighing scale and her's at home was different, as she repeatedly weighted all of her luggages before leaving for the airport.

One Size Fits All

By Father Allan S. Fenix  

 

     Before, in the seminary, as a sort of an excuse or a justification from seminarians who have already decided to go out of the seminary and no longer pursue the road to priesthood, I often heard from them the following statement:  "We can  serve God, not only as a priest..."

A Breath of New Life

By Father Allan S. Fenix  

 

   There are some people whose immigration status is legitimized through the so-called amnesty program. This goes the same way with many prisoners, either criminal or political, who are able to free themselves out of jail and are given a second chance in life through the parole or the presidential pardon systems. Rebels and tax evaders, in order for them to be returned to the fold of law and start a new and decent life in society, are offered amnesty and tax breaks, respectively. Even some individuals, who are overwhelmed by their own personal and family debts, and countries, devastated either by wars or natural calamities, are put on a loan condonation program.  Not to free them from their financial obligations but, rather, they are helped to restructure their loans to make it, in such a way, that they can conveniently pay the amount they owe.  However, all of these are law-related.  Laws are not forever.  Laws are proposed, promulgated  and implemented  by a governmental system which is composed of humans.  And so, it can be arbitrarily subjected to an amendment, an abrogation, or an outright dissolution.

     A breath of fresh air is how we always describe our overall wellbeing whenever we have just gone to confession.  It is because what was given by the confessor and, in turn, what was received by the penitent is love.  In the sacrament, we hear it clearly by ourselves from the words coming out of the confessor's mouth.  It feels so good to know that we are loved, doesn't it?

     Depending on how he might judge the gravity of the sins committed, the penance that the priest gives, like praying of the rosary regularly, going to mass daily, praying the Stations of the Cross, etc., might be from his own decision but the absolution is divine.  It is God's.  We priests are acting "in persona Christi"- in the person of Christ.

     Love understands.  For as long as we maintain our being in the state of grace, the forgiveness of our sins, through the sacramental absolution, stays.  It lingers.  But God knows that humans are limited.  Thats why we are always given many chances.  As long as we are alive, the sacrament is valid.  We can ask and receive the forgiveness of our sins.  It is only by the hardness of our hearts whereby God's forgiveness is taken far away from us.

     "Soft persons have no place in this world."  In the world, we were taught to be hard.  However, faced with God's love we have to soften ourselves.  Learn how to humbly kneel down inside the confessional.  Accuse ourselves of the sins we have committed.  And, in turn, receive the greatest of all loves, God.  Going out of the confessional box, indeed, it will be a breath of fresh air, for we will be walking on the wings of the Holy Spirit.

Three for the Road

By Father Allan S. Fenix  

 

    "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

     During election times, winning is in the numbers.  Candidates campaign for every vote.  Each vote cast is very valuable.  The more votes that they can muster in favor of a certain candidate, the better it is. Thats why, there are some who, knowing that they have a very slim chance of winning over a rival candidate, cheat.  They employ just about any tactics to win, some of which are illegal like vote-buying, double registration of voters, etc.

     For many, the number Three is a very significant number. It might simply mean "I LOVE YOU." But for one to whom it is being address to, it is an all-moving life-changing three words.  I know of some, who upon hearing those words, whether just in passing, in a whisper or murmur or a compliment, coming from others, be it a spouse, a parent, a child, a sibling, a friend or a total stranger, simply decided  to change their lives for the better.  With these three simple words, they put themselves on a different road to a much better place than in the past. There are even some who bank on it. They have these selected favored numbers in which they constantly cast their lottery numbers, and the number Three is always one of them.

     Maybe heavily influenced by what we see on many cinematic films, we sometimes think too much about God to the point of over exaggeration, which up to a certain point might be right.  But, whenever we reach a point wherein our limited reasoning cannot explain it anymore, we just then give up on it and lose faith.

     The Holy Trinity, the One God in Three Divine Persons, means "I LOVE YOU."  "I," in grammar, is a first person pronoun. "... I am who I Am ..." (Exodus 3:14).  There are times wherein I encounter people who are very critical of our Catholic faith.  Swearing, they say that they will never be one since they cannot accept a religion advocating a love more than to one own's family.  We cannot simply deny that there are some cultures which still have a strong practice of ancestor worship.  The overarching motive is fear of misfortune. They cannot remove from their belief that their forefathers, who have already gone ahead of them, still hold power and influence over their lives and fortunes.  If they displease them, something bad might happen to them.  God must be the first and the only one in our lives and in everything. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." (Revelation 22: 13).

     "LOVE"  is Jesus Christ.  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3: 16).  In the world, love is very much adulterated. Worldly love is overindulgence of the self, resulting in greed and selfishness. Thats why, we have this inequality in the distribution of wealth. We have people who are extremely rich and, there are, also, those people who are living in extreme poverty. There are four kinds of love:  eros, filial, philia and agape. The fourth kind, agape, is the selfless love for others. This is the kind of love that Jesus had on the cross for our sins.

     The "YOU," who is the Holy Spirit, the sanctifier, completes the intimate relationship between God and Jesus Christ. With the Holy Spirit, there is a dialogue in the Holy Trinity.  In the game of basketball, which many of us are familiar with, there is the so-called shooting the ball by the board, in which a player does not directly shoot the ball to the basket but does so by way of bouncing the ball through the ringboard to add more beauty and style to the action. This clearly pictures to us the Holy Trinity. The ringboard is the Holy Spirit and the ring and ball is God and Jesus Christ.

     The Holy Spirit is in each and everyone of us. By virtue of the Sacrament of Baptism, our bodies become living tabernacles, most especially when we receive Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. So, keep it clean. Keep it pure. Go to confession. So that we will always be in the state of grace.  With the Holy Trinity in our lives, we need not cheat.  We are, indeed, on the road to a holier life where we will all be winners.

     "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I love you!!!"

Meteor Showers

By Father Allan S. Fenix  

 

    Have you ever witnessed a meteor shower before?  I, for one, haven't yet.  A meteor shower is defined as a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to be entering earth's atmosphere at extremely high speed and on a parallel trajectory.

     To feel refreshed, specially during the sometimes unbearably hot summer months, it is nice to take a cold shower to wash away sweat, body odors, and accumulated grime.

     Pentecost is the Church birthday.  The Church, the Body of Christ, is made up of all the baptized.  So today, inside the celebration of the mass, without ever noticing it, all of us having faith in him, are taking a spiritual shower.  It is the shower of the Holy Spirit pouring down gifts upon gifts to us.  As birthday celebrants it is, indeed, fitting for us to receive these gifts coming down from the Holy Spirit.

     For a few moments of silence, using our own individual imagination, lets picture, right in front of us, the kind of gifts that the Holy Spirit, as of now, is giving us that we particularly need to fulfill our mission towards our own family, work and apostolate.

    It is in our culture that, if possible, on our birthdays, we go and offer a thanksgiving mass. So, whatever it is, thank the Holy Spirit and receive the gifts wholeheartedly. Then, let us celebrate.

     The gifts of the Holy Spirit to us, actually, have no value if we don't know how to cherish them.  Big or small it might be, learn to appreciate and keep on going back to it over and over again.  Because "Whoever is faithful with very little is also faithful with a lot, and whoever is dishonest with very little is also dishonest with a lot." (Luke 16:10).

     Well, we just took a meteor shower of graces, compliments of the Holy Spirit. May we all feel fresh and good as we go back, once again, to our dormitories, work places, families and apostolates. Happy Birthday to all of us!!!

This Way to Heaven, Please

By Father Allan S. Fenix  

 

    Before, I used to watch a lot of martial arts films, wherein the characters involved, with their feet not touching the ground for quite some time, make long, high jumps from one place to another. As a child, then, I nearly believed that, maybe, there is really such breed of persons, who can be able to do this. But I always have to pinch myself awake, reminding myself that these are just movies, with lots of camera tricks employed to impress the audience.

     Excluding the animated science fiction characters that we usually see on films and in comic books, the idea of a real human person flying up in the air on their own, without the aid of any flying implements, by merely defying the law of gravity is unbelievable beyond the imagination. The only word that I can come up to describe it is "supernatural."

     Being supernatural refers to no one else but God.  For, he is everything that we are not.  For one, he is the creator, who came from nothing  but himself, alone, while we are his creatures, created out of something.  He is infinite while we are finite.

     "With God, nothing is impossible." (Luke 1:37).  Not jumping to a rushed conclusion, and to make a very long story short, Jesus Christ  ascending to heaven is not unbelievable.  It is possible under all of the circumstances by which we know God.

     In our faith, without the gift of the beatific vision, by which we are able to see God face to face as He is,  there would be a lot more of things that we wouldn't know and understand than we are able to.  

     The Ascencion of Jesus Christ to heaven, the second decade of the Glorious Mystery, is a victory for all of us harboring faith in him.  For, it is our triumph over death together with him. So, as we pray the rosary every Thursday and Sunday, may we "Be holy, as the heavenly Father is holy." (Matthew 5:48).  So that one day, welcomed by the choirs of angels, we can enter heaven to be together with God for a life everlasting and without end. Amen.

     By then, we will be able to say that there is really a certain breed of persons who can not only fly but, even go and enter heaven.   They are those who have faith in God and did not gave up on it.  These people just go on living and loving it.

Wordkeeper

By Father Allan S. Fenix  

 

    There are those who keep on counting the number of months and days until their birthdays. Because, for them, it means an exciting celebration together with their loved ones and friends, and, perhaps, they receive a longed for, promised gift, begin a new stage in life as a teenager, adult, senior citizen.  There are, also, those who dread its impending arrival. For them, an added year to one's age is the start of losing their vigor and youthfulness, entrance to old age, sickness and, eventually, the ever looming death waiting at the door for each and everyone of us. There is really no other way but up. Because, from the day we were born, we start edging nearer to our own mortality.

In God's Good Hands

By Father Allan S. Fenix  

 

     In our lives, whether through others or in ourselves, we impose and demand many external and internal expectations. We believe in the saying; "Actions speak louder than words."

 

     There was a time when I began asking myself the question, "Is it at all possible for an individual Catholic faithful to gain a full understanding of the faith, the Church doctrine and its traditions and practices?"  This was triggered when during our final exam in religion when we were about to graduate from the minor seminary, I felt so much shame that I was not even able to get the correct answer to a basic catechetical question, "What is the teaching authority of the Church?" To which the answer is "the Church Magisterium."

 

     The Sacrament of Baptism,  defined in Canon Law as the doorway to the other sacraments, is very important.  But, in itself, it is not the only end of a Catholic.  As a testament that a Catholic is continually growing in the faith.  After baptism, there are other subsequent sacraments to be received such as Confirmation, Reconciliation, Eucharist, Matrimony, Holy Orders and the Anointing of the sick and dying.

 

     Oftentimes, the importance of the Sacrament of Confirmation is just seen as a mere requirement towards the reception of the Sacrament of Matrimony. The attitude is that if there is no impending church marriage, this particular sacrament is nothing- "wala lang!!!"  Usually in the parishes, the sacrament is celebrated whenever there is a big occasion like a parish feast or anniversary wherein the local ordinary, who is the official sacramental minister, is invited. There are times when the faculty to confirm is delegated to another official representative like a vicar forane.

 

    First Holy Communion.  Pre-graduation recollections and retreats.  Sacrament of Matrimony.  These are some of the special moments in every Catholic's life wherein going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation is required as it is, usually, followed with the celebration of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.  Otherwise, it is just relegated to some other spiritually trying times, like the funeral mass of a family member, or grave illness, or as a prerequisite for the Sacrament of the Anointing of the sick and dying.

 

     First things first.  But, sometimes, first things are put last.  The Sacrament of Matrimony is a complicated sacrament. Complicated, in the sense that it involves a lot of official documents such as baptismal and confirmation certificates, wedding license from the civil registrar, banns, seminars and interviews.  For the underage, a letter of consent from the parents is required.  For a foreigner, a freedom to marry certificate issued by their embassy is, also, a requirement.  It is my common experience, as a priest, that in administering the Sacrament of the Anointing of the sick and dying, I also find,  at the same time, that at in their old age they haven't yet embraced the Sacrament of Matrimony.  As we were taught not to keep the food on the table waiting, so we must also not keep the grace of God hanging in a balance by living as husband and wife but without the benefit of the Sacrament of Matrimony.   

 

     ".... Apart from me you can do nothing."  (John 15:5).  The seedbed of vocation is the family.  Every Catholic family is called upon to pray for vocations.  The sacraments are made possible only by a priest.  So without the Sacrament of the Holy Orders, there will be no sacraments.  Nobody is worthy of the call.  All of us are sinners.  But, it is only by the grace of God that our vocation will operate.

 

     The fourth commandment says, "You shall honor your father and mother."  If we have to honor our parents, how much more must we who honor those who gave us that very commandment?  The commandments are from God.  He is our shepherd and we are his sheep.  Jesus said: "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me."  (John 10:27).  Therefore, as Catholics professing one faith in the Triune God, we have to follow him through the voice of the Church Magisterium through which He speaks. If we do this, it is only right that we will have a true understanding of our faith together with all its traditions and practices.

 

     "I  do not call you servants anymore... I've called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father." (John 15: 15).  God is our teacher and we are his students.  Lets learn from the Chinese Catholics, many of whom received the faith late in their lives. They call a faithful "教友 (jiao\you)."  Literally translating the two characters, it means " A friend being taught. " 

 

     If we remain friends with him, we are in good hands.  Lets take it from his own very words,  " I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.  No one can take them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of my Father's hand." (John 10:27).

Hands and Feet

By Father Allan S. Fenix  

 

     The hands and the feet are two of the work horses of the human body. But since it is the part of the body which has more direct contacts with external objects, whenever we eat, work and do recreation, nowadays, with all the various kinds of viruses spreading around, we constantly see pictures of a hand, and soap and water, whereby it reminds us to be always conscious of our hygiene by regularly washing our hands.  How about the feet?  Where do we fit those in?

 

     In Romans 10: 15 we read, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news."  God is the Summum Bonum- All Good. Things can only be considered truly good if not tainted with sin. As people professing our faith and service to one God, this Holy Thursday in the mass of the washing of the Apostle's feet, we are being reminded to be always in the state of Grace by regularly confessing our sins. Otherwise, what will be the difference between those unchurched Catholics, who just go on oblivious with their lives, and us, who are always in Church but are not regular in the reception of the sacraments.  If that is the case, we won't benefit from the bountiful grace that flows out from the Eucharistic sacrifice.

 
By Father Allan S. Fenix  

     At whatever time and age, there are just many things that we still don't know nor can we totally understand about our faith. Faith is a daily discovery. And, one should be awake to be able to see it.     

 
By Father Allan S. Fenix  

     Recalling the years, as I made my way to the priesthood, I perenially heard the following statements, which I sometimes found convincing enough from others, who, I don't know, if they just wanted to test or dissuade me - "If you will not have a family of your own, what will happen to you when you get old?... Who will take good care of you?.... "

 

     From time to time, I also always encounter this in the news: "A person, in great financial straits, kills a family member for the insurance money."

 

      There are four major types of insurance - property, casualty, health and life. Each of them offers very attractive benefits which, for everyone of us, is basic in securing our own future and that of the family. No one wants to see their own lovedones in want - in poverty, in hunger, in difficulties... We would always like to see them rich, fullfilled and happy. So, for many, to add to their regular income, selling insurance as a part time job, helps a lot. If one is motivated enough in convincing others in buying these policies, one can earn a lot, in terms of high commissions. Unless and until, the policyholder starts to default on their annual premiums.

 

     Insurance, as in many other institutions we all see around us, is a business. It is subject to market conditions. Nothing is really secure. As there are many which prosper, there are, also, many which close shop.

 

     Only God lasts. I remember a priest who shared to me that during the time of his ordination, upon the imposition of our Archbishop's hands on his head, he whispered the following words; "Goodbye world."  After long years of sacrifice and wait, priesthood is not an end in the life of a seminarian. But, rather, it is an invitation for one to cultivate more holiness in one's life.  I do believe, that, as priests, we were freed from a lot of worldly concerns so that we could just focus on this one single business- holiness. So that, in the same way, others who hunger for God's love in words and deeds might see a bit of heaven in us. They have had enough of hate and insults from their work places, family, friends....  May we priests not be an added burden to them, but act as a sort of alleviation.

 

      "..... Lord, to whom would we go? You have words of eternal life."  John 6: 68. Our choice for God is already the greatest insurance that we have made in our lives. Be it for our property, casualty, health and life. It's the greatest thing that happened to all of us.

 

     God does not change. He offers us everlasting insurance with  him in heaven. May we never try to lose that privilege. May we never default due to sins. But, instead, sustain it through the sacraments, prayers and  deeds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   
     Caregivers here, under their signed contract, have no days-off. It is a reality to many of them that the only glimpse that they have had of the foreign country they have been in is the airport, the house of their employers or the park, if ever their wards love the outdoors.  In short, if they are Catholic or profess any sort of religion, they do not have a chance to be in Church, even on a Sunday. But, if ever they are given a window of opportunity to go downtown either to send money back home or buy some personal necessities, the next place that they can be found is in Church, kneeling down in the pews praying.  Some cry for the lovedones they have left and miss back home, most specially those who are too ill or sick. They also fervently pray for their employers to at least give them a few hours of free time by which they can be in Church on Sundays.
 
     "Father, may misa po ba?" (Father, is there a mass?) This is the sweetest question I hear from them. "Yes, there will be a mass," is  always my reply. I would like to give God to them, for this is the only thing that I can give them. The Beauty, who is God, is the only essential thing that I can offer to them which they can happily bring back home to their wards and employers.
 
     "Their cheerfulness and happiness is just so contagious...." is some of the feedback that I get from some of their employers. No wonder their aging wards seldomly get sick or, if ever they do get ill, they immediately recover. It is not only because positive feelings make the immune system stronger against any possible infections and viruses. It is, also, because they possess the true Beauty and Love within their hearts springing from their ever resilient faith in God.  <>

     For us too, being family-centered people, everyone is a family. Everyone is a "tatay. nanay. kuya. ate. bunso.... " (Father. Mother. Elder brother. Elder sister. Younger sibling) So, in time, a caregiver can smoothly assimilate and, eventually, become just like a member of the family. They then become the unofficial eyes, ears and mouths of their wards and employers. Though a lot of them just gained either a highschool or college level education, almost all of them have a certain proficiency in english. They are the ones who can read the instruction labels or nutritional contents on medicine bottles or food items being purchased in drugstores and convenience stores which are mostly written in english. They are the ones who receive instructions from either doctors or children when their wards are already too old or too poor to hear. And, if their wards feel reluctant to tell their children, who are already too preoccupied taking care of their own families and careers, and not wanting to be an added burden, regarding their health conditions, it is their caregivers who courageously speak up for them.

     God created all of us. He gave us all of our senses. We are, then, all his instruments. May we be open and available to be put it into his service.  May we always be open to receive and communicate his grace and blessings to others, most specially,  those who need it most, such as the senile population, the infirm and the dying. As in the Sacred Scriptures, Jesus Christ, confronted with a deaf man who had a speech impediment, put his finger into the man's ears and touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, "EPHPHATHA!"- that is- "Be Opened!"    

       Several years ago, while attending mass at our parish church, I noticed that a lot of our older pahishioners were at a kneeling down position either praying the rosary or a novena while the mass was underway. Later on, I came to know that this kind of habit was a carry over from the time when the mass was celebrated in a language very foreign to them, which was Latin. In 1965, after the Second Vatican Council was promulgated, when the mass was now being allowed to be celebrated in the local vernacular, people gradually came to understand, through the belabored catechism of priests, nuns and catechists, the greater importance and value of the mass itself, rather than praying either the rosary or novenas; specially while the mass is celebrated.  And so, that kind of practice among our older parishioners gradually dissipated. The faithful, since then, have started participating actively, fully and consciously in the liturgies.  

        There are two kinds of banns. The first is the all-too frequent one which is the wedding bann. Usually, pictures and personal data of couples intending to get married are posted on the parish bulletin boards and announced for three consecutive Sundays during the mass. The purpose of which is to determine whether an impediment exists which will render the candidate for marriage unfree to marry. The second one is the ordination bann which  is, most of the time, very infrequent.  Sometimes taking place only every few or several years.

     As a seminarian, I only thrice remember being presented at the altar by our parish priest before the gathered community in Church during the Misa de Pro Populo (Sunday High Mass).  The first was after our solemn investiture of a cassock and surplice a month after our minor seminary graduation. The second was before our diaconal ordination. And, the third was before our sacerdotal ordination.

     During the presentation, standing in attention before the gathered community, our personal data was read. While our ordination bann was current during the three succeeding Sundays, with our mug shot-like photo at hand, parish catechists went the rounds of the different villages of the parish giving catechesis about the Sacrament of the Holy Orders. In this way, a significant part of the people in our parish got to know who we are and our family.

     As a diocesan clergy, I owe a major part of my priesthood to the faithful of our Archdiocese. With our Archdiocesan system of Misa de Pro Seminario, wherein all first and second Sunday mass alms of the month are remittable to the Curia Oeconomus in support of seminary formation, the faithful, indirectly, are my benefactors in the long years of my priestly formation.

     While we were still in the minor seminary, this is made very clear to all of us.  We were always told by our formators that we only pay our monthly board and lodging plus a sack of rice per semester; the local church shoulders all the rest.  Indeed, as a priest in our Archdiocese, we are at the receiving end of the generosity of our parishioners. I have been to parishes wherein we have to practically live by their material support.

     Sometimes we are, also, at the receiving end of their constructive and destructive criticisms. I constantly listen to them and there are more of the latter. Having been a priest for several years now, I always tell them to pray for us, as I was taught by my family eversince I was a child. Married persons have their spouses and children to turn and cling to. We, priests, on the other hand, have only ourselves to go to. Sometimes, we are too unsure of ourselves. As one of our seminary formators succinctly worded it in Spanish, we priests are very good at "CARCULO" (a crude more or less system of estimation). As a celibate, I feel very open and vulnerable to a lot of temptations.

     Enough of our uncharitable comments and criticisms. The Church, the clergy and the laity, have to help each other hand in hand. This is the only way in which we can achieve our mission towards establishing the Kingdom of God in this world.
 

        Health care is always a prime issue everywhere for everyone. At whatever amount, everyone wants cure and healing of their own illnesses. No one wants to die. Everyone wants to prolong life and enjoy it as long as it lasts. Thats why there is a big business behind it. Long before nursing became a very much sought after college course in our country, and first world countries started admitting nurses and caregivers to look after their increasingly aging populations (with a promise of citizenship for them and their families), one who is interested in beimg admitted to the department of medicine has to donate a substantial amount of money. It was a common thinking, back then, that being a doctor of medicine was a sure path to riches. But now, with its demanding and lenghty training, specialization and high cost of financial investment, who still wants to be a doctor? There was a time when the "topnotcher" on the nursing board exam was a doctor. It was also no wonder that the regional hospital in our province had to import doctor-trainees from a similarly third world country like Nepal, just to help compensate for the lack of candidates. No one wants to get sick: We abhor it. But, suddenly, everyone wants to take good care of themselves from in a different situation and environment.     

        It used to be the devotion of many of our aging and widowed members in the community who wake up very early in the morning, sometimes coming to the parish church even before the sacristan is up and the puerta major is opened.     It is almost always the first item on the program at any public gathering, either on graduation from all levels of schooling from nursery to college.  And at family reunions, class reunions, anniversaries or other activities it is there or else, it seems, the activity is incomplete.  Among the seven sacraments, it is the most celebrated daily either as a votive or at wedding or funeral masses.     In the mass, we are called on to renew our relationship with our Lord and our fellow brothers and sisters by receiving his body and blood during communion. This is the bond of our unity as a eucharistic loving family. For how can we say that we love God, whom we cannot see, if we cannot even love our own brothers and sisters whom we can see and who are right beside us.
     

       My father, a nonschooled farmer from the Chinese Fujian province, knows a lot of Spanish words, although in a wrong way. In 1947, thinking that his future was in the Philippines, he decided to immigrate. Arriving in our hometown, he was astounded to find it so lonely and full of apes and monkeys. He opened a small store, bought himself a hunting rifle, and, on his free time, had the luxury of shooting a lot of them.

     Call it the Spanish connection. My father knows only a few words of the dialect, and half of them are Spanish foul language. One or two of them are always included whenever he speaks. It is because he got his initiation on the streets. Back then, there were no language schools for the new immigrants to help them assimilate well with society. Whatever the people he encountered taught him, he aped it too well, thinking that it would greatly help him learn the dialect. I am just thankful that none among us siblings inherited that kind of habit.

     Call it the Spanish connection. Listening to reports made by our Chinese parishioners during the recent pastoral visit, I was heartened to hear a lot of entries wherein they acknowledged the impact that many of our Filipino migrants working in factories and homes around here are having on their Catholic religiosity. They admire and wish to imitate how they do their liturgies, singing, prayers and devotions, most specially to the Most  Blessed Virgin Mary. Not to mention the number of Sunday massgoers among them. In our history, it was the Spanish Catholic missionaries who brought to our land this brand of religion and culture. I remember reading in one article that every Catholic Filipino is a missionary. With the phenomenon of migrancy happening worldwide, every Catholic migrant is transplanting that faith in another land and making an impression on the lives of others.

     Call it the Spanish connection. I grew up in a Filipino Catholic family. We prayed together the rosary before the altar of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus every Friday. Went to mass on Sundays and received the Eucharist. Followed what the Church teaches us to do. I am, also, very grateful that one of us, in the family, was gifted with the vocation to the priesthood. One time, I found myself and one of my siblings having a discussion on the topic of Catholic countries all over the world which have a similar third world situation like our country, the Philippines. We pondered on the question, "Does it have anything to do with  being Catholics?" We anchored our conclusion on the introduced juego culture from the Spaniards: gambling and all the corruptions  that it ensue are wreaking a lot havoc in our Philippine society. These things have kept us poor. We have the "Llamado  Dejado" ( cock fighting ), Pusoy Dos, Entre Cuatro, Jueteng... Amidst all of these, one thing that we we are just glad  of is that we have  the  Catholic faith.

     Call it the Spanish connection. Just like our father earlier on, a number of my siblings, seeing that they cannot grow in this kind of environment that they found themselves in, decided to immigrate and to live and work in another land, bringing with them our mother. In their luggage, they brough along with them the icons of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and enthroned it in their new homes. In our communication with each other, it is almost always about a reminder and sharing of our family devotion of praying the rosary before the altar of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Going to mass on Sunday and receiving the Eucharist...

     The Church is both human and divine. Divine, it is perfect since it is of God. Human, it is all too imperfect. The love of God is perfect. It was God who first loved us. The human expression of that love from God is imperfect. Because we all knew too well that humans are imperfect. God's love for us is perfect. But, our parents', siblings', spouses'. fiances' and fiancees', colleagues', friends'... All of these are imperfect. We cannot impute all of the blame on history. The Spaniards came to our land bringing along with them the Catholic faith. We are so grateful. But, we cannot deny that along with that came the not so-good stuff that we have imbedded in our culture. The Church is composed of saints and sinners and we just have to live with that. We have to struggle along with our given culture to be saints. As at the concluding portion of the mass, we always hear the presiding priest say, "...go and proclaim the gospel to the whole world."

     It was still very early that one evening, after my mass at a sisters' convent.  While I was leaving the compound on a scooter, I saw, by the curbside, a woman who seemed to be waving her hand at me. I thought she was someone whom I knew, or she knew me. So, I went by and stopped.  It turned out that a number of nondescript brothels operate in this area and this lady, for a few hundred, was offering a different kind of trip to heaven- pleasure without the responsibility. 

     I might make you very uncomfortable. May I ask you some questions? Are you using some form of artificial contraceptive?  A condom?  Birth control pills?  Have you had a vasectomy?  A ligation?  Or, worst of all, an abortion? 

     The primary purpose of marriage is not recreation but procreation.  The propagation of the human species.  Every person who decides to take the road of marriage should have this in mind.  I overheard one of our former seminary formators say that God is really so wise:  He made sexual activity so pleasurable so as to act as a consolation between the couples for the excruxiating pain that the mother will undergo during the course of childbirth. And, after that, in raising the children.  I met some young generation couples, who, according to them, due to  economic reasons, decided to forgo having children but, instead, just have either a pet dog or a pet cat.  And so, the use of artificial contraceptives severe the line of connection to life.  And so, therefore, we cut our relationship with Jesus Christ who is the life.  Just think about it:    If every parent of ours had thought that selfish way in the past, would many of us be here in the present?. It  is the teaching of the Church that every sexual activity between married couples should potentially result in the bearing of a child.
    
     The second purpose of marriage is communication.  People want to communicate.  Because we want to have good relationships among each other.  The phenomenon of migrancy gripping the world over is indeed a modern tragedy of utmost magnitude to the family, since it puts great physical distance and barriers between spouses.  Modern technology might be of great help, but it is not enough to fill the physical longings of each spouse for the other.  In marriage, two persons become one. And so, married couples should live as one to fill each other physically and emotionally. <>

      Each of us wants to go to heaven, eventually.  And, we all can do it through the states of life we are in which, in my case, is the priesthood.  I do encourage every parent to find your way to heaven through your family - be it in your own spouses, children, or relatives.  Using other artificial means prohibited by our Church will derail our lifelong quest for heaven. 

     In a gathering of diplomats, one diplomat of a certain country was requested, impromptu, to lead in the singing of his own national anthem. He was embarassed before the whole group because, on his own, he forgot a lot of the words in the lyrics of the national anthem. This particular  experience is, sometimes, true to many of us. In a community or group, we can spontaneously and easily pray the rosary, the angelus and other formulaic prayers:  But on our own we can, sometimes, hardly remember a lot of the words to complete the prayers.

     In the parish where I am assigned, I once attended a civic meeting. One member, upon knowing that I am a Filipino,  invited me to view a video that he had uploaded about a year before on his blog. One afternoon, according to him, as he was passing by the train station, he happened to chance upon a large group of very happy people processing along the street.  He got so taken by his curiosity with what was transpiring before him that he considred himself fortunate that he had his video-capable moble phone with him. He immediately pulled it out and recorded it all.

     The members of the group we were composed of were cultural-curious individuals. The focus of the meeting was diverted by what twe were seeing in the video, and they decided to do away with the agenda for the day and, instead, let me explain to them what it was it all about. It turned out that the video we were viewing was about the culminating activity of our Philippine May Flower Festival, wherein a procession is held along the major streets of the place.

     I told the group that the reason why we are a happy people is because we are the people of the resurrection. We have nothing to fear because our God is alive. He has resurrected from the dead. So everyday this is reason enough to always celebrate and be happy.

     In the culture of the place where I am, they believe in ghosts. In every aspect of their lives, they believe that a certain ghost is in-charge of it. For us Catholics, we have our patron saints. In fact, they also have their own annual ghost festival. They do a lot of rituals. They offer a lot of fruits, incense and other foodstuffs to appease the ghosts around them. They have this belief that if they earn their wrath, grave misfortunes will come to them and their families.

     We ended the afternoon meeting with a catechesis that in their belief there is no reason for them to fear, but, instead, be happy.  Fear is something one feels if one is unsure of a certain matter or it is unknown. Something very unfamiliar. If one really understand well one's faith, one is comfortable and happy with it. We separated ways with a plan of action. The group decided to, in a formal way, video tape that particular religious activity of our Church when the time comes for it. This will be a good means of introducing it to their families and acquiantances. This is also one simple way by which modern technology was used in the service of evangelization.

     On my part, I realized that, once in a while, we will be called upon to witness to our faith before others who do not understand it, and we must be prepared to deliver. We have to constantly challenge ourselves not to be too comfortable with our faith, but to time and time again deepen and strengthen it.

   I asked this question; when I once gave a reflection to a group of graduating elementary school students: "What do you want to do when you grow up?" I requested them to write their answer on a piece of paper. I presumed that they did not copy from each other. But, while going through the pieces of paper one by one, I was touched by a number of  similar responses which stated that they planed on putting up a foundation to help poor but deserving persons.

   The is a story of a nurse who once, in the middle of the night, was called upon by an in need patient to whom the nurse curtly responded; "I'm sorry. I cannot help you. I am now off duty!"

Homecoming

    I learned much the importance of constantly sharing of oneself when one day two parishioners from our parish came over to invite me to come and go with them and give communion to a sick person. They are members of the Legion of Mary, and they wanted to fulfill their assigned substantial work for the week.

Come One, Come All

    In many parts of the world, Christmas trees are only visible during the Christmas season. But, in the Philippine countrysides, where public forms of transportation used to be so inadequate, vehicles, whether it be jeeps, buses or, even, pump boats are daily transformed into virtual human Christmas trees.
 
     Technically, the vehicle is already too much overloaded. But no willing passengers, on the roadsides along the way, are ever refused. There is always a spot, a seat for just one more and another.

     In bus terminals and port areas, specially during big holidays such as All Souls' Day, Christmas, Holy Week, etc.,  when people from urban areas go back to visit their families in the provinces, passengers fight for a space. On the road, one can see  vehicles, with only its wheels visible, transformed into a Christmas tree made of up people bearing their precious luggage back home. The bad side of it all is that, sometimes, accidents and, eventually, deaths do occur with many of the casualties unaccounted for since their names do not appear in the official manifest. 

     Baptism for a Catholic is very important. It is, for us, an initiation. It is the doorway to all the other sacraments. Many talented individuals go through a lot of rigid auditions just to land a coveted spot in a prestigious competition. But, with a legitimate birth certificate and a small amount of fee, an infant can be baptized. In many cases in our Archdiocese, since the priest can go to far flung and remote areas during their annual village feasts and celebrations, where a big number of baptisms occur, baptismal records are used as a point of reference to register still unregistered children at the Municipal Civil Registrar when parents seldom have the opportunity to go to town.

      In our catechetical instruction, we were taught that the Church is modeled after a mother with its arms outstretched open, willing to accept all of her children into her bosom. Our Church is a Christmas tree made up of all kinds of people; rich and poor alike:  The saints and the still aspiring ones. Our Books of Baptism are never really filled up. But the sad thing is that, as I observed in my several years as a priest, many of the infants being brought for baptism have unmarried parents. It is so easy to know, as they are asked about their marital status during their registration at the Parish Office. On many occasions, they are just civilly married, living in or single parents. 

     In baptism, our names are written in the manifest of heaven. From that point on , we are now meant for heaven. It is the teaching of the Church that infants baptized in the Church should also be married in the Church. But, for many of our Catholic parents, there seems to be a stop gap. They are so happy and willing to bring their children along with beaming godparents to Church for baptism. But, they themselves, have forgotten to consider their own marital status.

     Our salvation does not only happen when we receive our baptism. It is an ongoing process done through the help of the other succeeding sacraments. There is no stop gap. Our names are already included in the official  manifest of heaven. We are not stoways. Or last minute passengers with no ticket on hand. Or else, if something happens and death is an unevitable consequence, it is a big disaster that heaven might be refused to us later on.

Chasing the Dragon

     Currency markets crash. Machines overheat and bog down. People overeat, overdose and, eventually, die.

 

     Have you ever been a drug-user or dependent?  Or, have nearly become one?  Or, have, at least, tried to?  They always say that the most unforgetable one is the first high. It is the best experience for a drug-enthusiast. After that, if one does not inhibit oneself, it is a road downhill to self-destruction:  Because one keeps on increasing the ante of drug use and dosage to keep up with that first high. Until one realizes when it is already too late to extricate oneself from the mire. The first high is simply unrepeatable. One is hooked to the substance.  It cannot give back anymore than  it gave the first time around. As a song says; "The first cut is the deepest."  Thats why, they call subsequent drug "chasing the dragon." One is running after at something that is uncatchable.

 

     Why do we have an economic problem? (Where does all the money goes to?) Even a garbage problem? (Where do we put all this stuff?) Business and financial  speculators say that their first million is simply the best. No other subsequent millions can repeat the emotional high they have obtaining it. Simply nothing compares with the feeling.  So, they want to keep on repeating the experience. Until they realize that it is a quicksand venture.  No amount of more millions will satisfy one's greed anymore until one drowns in it.  We've heard of many who have embezzled some other person's hard-earned wealth for their own selfish satisfaction.

 

     Sometimes we tease them. But, have you seen someone pray for hours on end?  Why do they do that?  I have heard a parishioner say, " Father, God talked to me!" And I responded, "Really??!!"  It is simply because they found the true treasure. It is simply because only God can fill us to the brim of satisfaction. We came from him and it is but natural that he alone can complete us. Earthly satisfaction, since it is imperfect, can only go so far.  It is only good up to a certain extent.  No matter what we do, we will be confronted with frustration.  For earthly pleasure, once is enough. But for a God-experience, once is merely the beginning to a full experience of being together with him in heaven. The experience of bliss is simply indescribably endless.  No amount of time can equate the God experience.

 

 

     We used to play, running out around all through house and, if there was one, into the garden.  We did not worry about any utilities, rents or even the monthly mortgage payments.

 

     Flipping through the pages of our history books, I learned that deep in the jungles, our primitive ancestors used to make their homes in caves and up in trees to stay away from the bite of the roaming, hungry and foraging beasts of their time. Comparing that data to the present time, I can say that nothing seems to have change. The accidents might be totally different but the substance remains the same. Nowadays, especially in urban areas, people have to live in very limited floor spaces in high rise buildings. People of our time now have to live up high to stay away from the astronomically unaffordable property prices. Floor prices are inversely proportionate to where the apartment units  are located. The higher it is located, the lower the price is. And the lower it goes and so the price soars up. Sometimes I compare it to cans and cans of sardines stocked one after the other in our kitchen pantries.

 

     Christmas upon Christmas, we always find the Holy Family - Joseph, Mary and the Infant Jesus- in the manger  reminding us of the time when people could not afford to accommodate them in their homes. They were sent away. They were put away to pasture. There's just no space available for them in their hearts or homes.

 

     Sometimes it is at the center of their receiving rooms fully lighted the whole day. Along the aisles leading to their bedrooms.  Or, sometimes buried deep amongst a cacophony  of our modern digital appurtenances. In coming to every house, the first thing that I always look for is where the family has enthroned the Holy Altar. There are sadly some, who due to proselytization, have completely removed their Holy Altars from their homes. It has no more place in their hearts and in their faith. And so, in their homes. It might be relegated to the stock room. Or worse, broken up to pieces and thrown like a piece of thrash. Their attitude also changes.  I, as a priest and friend, feel as though I am no longer welcomed in their homes. There's no more place for me in their friendship. I, as a priest, suffer the remorse of conscience that perhaps I have been negligent with my priestly duties and obligations.

 

     I cherished the time growing up in a house, wherein the living room, aside from a lone battery-operated transistor radio, it is merely graced by a very simple Sacred Heart of Jesus altar. Going in and out of the house, it is the first thing that will greet us. When the 10-watt bulb is put on by our grandmother we all know that it is Friday and in the afternoon after arriving from our classes, whether we like it or not, we will all kneel down to recite the rosary altogether as a family.

 

     Many years have since passed by, we have all grown up, gone away to our own vocations. But, the one thing that I always observe everytime I go to visit them in their houses is a simple altar conspicuously placed in the middle of their homes. God has a place in their homes. God has a place in our hearts.  What is a house without an altar? What is an altar without a house?

 

Tempus Fugit

By Father Allan S. Fenix

 

     Eversince I came to know how to tell the time of the day by looking at the clock, I have been curious to know who exactly invented time. When my mother bought me my first wristwatch, I kept on looking at it and counting time. Because I know time is so precious and limited for me, I know there are just so many things that need to be done and accomplished. And so, everyday, I seem to be always running after time. But the time I have as always seems to be just not enough.

A Bag of Cement and a Piece of Steel Bar

By Father Allan S. Fenix

 

     At a time when the thrust of our Archdiocese was towards creating more and more smaller parishes in order to bring the sacraments to more and more people, constructions, and the accompanying arrays of fundraising activities connected with them were just one of the daunting tasks facing newly-appointed parish priests. I even saw how some got easily burned out and gave up.

 

     In my years as a priest, raising funds for either our parish constructions, catechetical funds or transportation needs, was never that hard. It was also enjoyable.

    

     Priests are not trained to be salespeople. But, placed in a particular situation with that kind of particular need, I gathered all of my remaining guts and approached our parishioners one by one; not only in their houses but even in the streets or store corners, pedicab lines and terminals, and even in some makeshift gambling dens. And, in a very simple way, sold to them the plan for their parish church. After a time, designated pastoral council members in each village expressed their willingness to go with me on my rounds. In this way, also, people came to realize how long they have been away from the Sacraments. Some of them asked to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And some, who are either civilly-married or just living in, inquired about the possibility of receiving the Sacrament of Matrimony in the coming days.

 

     Why do people join organizations, fraternities, groups, communities or take up some issues and causes? I believe that everyone of us wants to become a part of something good and big. So, it is not really hard and difficult for them to chip in with the little that they do have. I started with the suggestion of donating a single sack of cement or  a piece of steel bar per family. However, that one bag of cement or piece of steel bar  is just the minimum. They can increase it to two, three or more. The amount and quantity donated, usually, depends on how convinced they are of the plan. There are those who have nothing to give materially but pledge their human energy  for a day or two of free labor at the construction site. I have also talked with a local construction material dealer, who was willing to give us a special price for those construction materials if we promised to purchase it all from his business.

 

     With some stationey, a typewriter, an address and a stamp, we were able to source out funds abroad. It is the same process. I just sell to them the idea. I  convinced them that there is a particular community out here doing something for the Body of Christ. This project will help unite and bring about improvement in the faith-life of the community. We sent out a number of them. It is fascinating to know that even our local postman is so excited whenever mail arrives from abroad addressed to our parish church.

 

     There are, of course, a lot of rejection letters expressing their support and encouragement for the plan but that they don't have the appropriate resources needed. We compiled them all. It is also a small achievement to receive some encouragement. Out of these rejection letters are some trickle of support. I don't know anymore how much we have gathered. As far as I know, our Archbishop knows all about these as all money from funding institutions are transferred through his dollar account.

 

     It is really not that hard. What is difficult is if your priest-companion has a different mind set. We cannot deny the fact that, though for years and years now, the Universal Church has been calling for us to go out into the whole world and make disciples of all nations, there are still a lot of us who are too ashamed to go out there and "beg" for the Church. There are some who are in their rooms tinkering on something, counting the number of requiem masses they have for the month, calculating the percentage due to be remitted to the Curia Oeconomus...

 

     Work is never really completely done in the parish. There are just a lot of things to do. There is no end to it. Sometimes, parish priorities and projects change as pastors also change. This is to show that life has no end. We are continually serving and forming the Body of Jesus Christ. We are the Church. We are the Body of Christ. Any work is not only to be done by one or two but by the whole community. If people see something good being done, for sure, they will follow and support it. Let us all work together to form the Body of Christ: both materially and spiritually.

 

By Father Allan S. Fenix

      The Catholic Church is both human and divine. Human, because it is composed of all the baptized. Divine, because it is founded by God, Our Lord,  Jesus Christ. That is why the Sacred Scriptures, which is the Word of God, and its offshoot, the Sacred Tradition, are the two pillars of our Church. Our Church is a good combination between the Sacred Scriptures and Sacred Tradition. Because, while the Sacred Scriptures is of the divine, the Sacred Tradition is of the  human. Humans, in time, inspired by their love for the Sacred Scriptures, expressed it by ways of traditions and practices. These practices, where, in time, adapted and institutionalized in our Church.

A Good Act a Day

By Father Allan S. Fenix

 

     Youngsters and even adults, when work and classes are cancelled due to a typhoon signal, cannot be contained. They cannot be kept indoors at home. They are on the prowl. They are either in the movies, shopping arcades or amusement parks. They are just everywhere.

 

     One time, during a very strong typhoon in our place, when it was really difficult to go outdoors, I was kept indoors the whole day. Not wanting to waste any moment, I decided to to listen to my shortwave radio and made a detailed reception report of two international english programs, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. In the evening, I continually scanned the frequencies hoping to find more international english programs over the airwaves. It was also an opportunity to rearrange many stuffs aroud the room, which had been for a long time awaiting my time and attention.

 

     Life is our one common project. One day, I decided to do, at least, a good deed each day for myself and others. I know,  we cannot all be on the front-page cover of a sports or fashion magazine but, everyday, I always lift myself out of bed to have being the best as my goal. I am afraid of blood, but one day I decided to go and donate 250 cc of blood to save a life somewhere. One day, I went to the dentist to have some cleaning and invest some of my saved allowance for a dental treatment.. One night, desiring to be holy, I went to our parish church and joined a Charismatic Prayer meeting. From time to time I go, inquiring here and there for any gatherings that I can join. There are just many things to do to fill our lives and make it meaningful for the rest of our lives. There is no reason for us to get tired. Procrastination is a mortal sin in this project. If we stop doing good, we start to deteriorate and, eventually, die. All we need to do is to go and sign in for life. Check in for God.

 

Our Church, Our Family

By Father Allan S. Fenix

 

     Aside from our own mothers, who do lots of chores at home, in our family, we have who we call "Mother Superiors" and, also, "Mother Generals."  They are the ones who decide for the good of the Church.

 

     Our family is thousands of years old. It traces its origin all the way to its Divine founder, Jesus Christ, who prayed that all may be one. Our family believes in One God in three Divine Persons - Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Our family's sacraments and traditions are uniform. Thats why, we are called the Universal Church. Most of all, it is a Mother. It is our Holy Mother, the Church. I belong to the Holy, Roman, Catholic, Apostolic Church. Thats my family.

 

What's In a Name

By Father Allan S. Fenix

 

     We are taught to take good care of our own name. Because there are some who do many things to of it. Some steal it. Some change it. Some sell it. And, some just plainly destroy it behind our back.

 

     The Second Commandment states: "You shall not use the name of the Lord in vain."  Simon Peter, an apostle, recognized the highness of their master as the Christ, the Son of the living God.  But, it was another apostle, Judas Iscariot, who "went off to discuss with the chief priests and the officers of the guard how to deliver Jesus to them." Luke 22: 4.

 

     There are a lot of instances, in the past and in the present, wherein we use the name of God to praise and thank him for the blessings we have received and, at the same time, use that same name to blame him for all the unfortunate goings on in our lives that we are encountering.

 

     In our elementary catechism, we were taught that the fifth commandment: "You shall not kill." does not only entail the physical violence and destruction of another. But, also the disrespect of our neighbor's name. 

 

     All of us have sinned. We are overwhelmed by our own weaknesses. Let's accept it. This realization should reduce us in all humility to show charity to our neighbors who are encountering the same challenges as ours.  Jesus said: "As often as you did it to one of this least brethren, you did it to me." All of us, certainly, feel insecure on what others are saying about us. Our name is our only true treasure. Let us be charitable and respect it. In this way, we are certainly following God's commandments.

 

Faith Incorporated

By Father Allan S. Fenix

 

    I met persons who have been living in the place for the past twenty, ten, seven years..... who were also in the same situation as mine. This gave me a boost  to go on and continue whatever it takes. Everyday, I am learning something.  I am looking forward  to the day when my struggle with the language will end. A day wherein I will get comfortable with the language. A day when I can carry the language with me wherever I go.

 

     Nobody can claim that one's faith in God is already firm and strong. Even the apostles, who inspite of living closely in the company of Jesus Christ, still experienced a lot of doubts, envys, betrayals, greed..... How about us, present generation, who are thousands of years separated and removed away from what really happened to our Lord, Jesus Christ? Why do we still believe?

 

     We've known many cases wherein  married persons, once separated away from their own families due to work and other extraordinary situations, easily forget their own families back home. They easily get bored of their situation and so give up on their commitments. What they do is to found another family wherever they are. We've also known many cases of Catholics who easily change religion whenever they find it inconvenient. Catholics who haven't yet done something with their faith but decided to join another church just to find themselves disappointed again.  And so, on to another religion.

 

     Don't just sit there. Do something. We have to do something to make our lives work. Make good relationships work. Make marriages and family lives work. Make our faith work. Make God work on our lives. Just like Peter, who finding himself sinking on the water when he felt the strong winds, we have to cry out, " LORD, SAVE ME! "

 

Broken and Given

By Father Allan S. Fenix

By Father Allan S. Fenix

     Since interviews are some of the things prospective job applicants dread, I've read that one should come for the interview prepared and feeling confident by knowing what kind of job one is particularly applying for. And, also, one has to know the background and history of the business. In the interview, the applicant should convince the employer that he has something good to contribute towards  the progress of the business and so, eventually, employ him.

     These activities are our study periods by which, day by day, we form our relationships with God. And thus, a firm bond is establish between us, his creatures, and God, our creator. If one even skips meals and feels famished. And so, with prayers. If one skips it, one will feel the instant sense of separation and isolation. So, see to it that we do not neglect to be faithful to our daily study periods with the Lord. Because when the time comes for the interveiw, what will be our response to his question? How will we convince our employer to hire us?

     In the name of efficiency, newer technologies tend to consolidate everything into smaller and smaller-size gadgets. A mobile phone, nowadays, has a built-in flashlight, video camera, voice recorder, radio, GPS system, internet connection and what have you.

 

     Movies are nothing but make-believe. In factual reality, there is no such thing as a one-man army subduing everything in its path. Remember Rambo? Every war or just about any activity or endeavor was made possible by the concerted efforts from the lowest element in the rank and file workers to the top-most decision-making executives.  Although, in the end, it is always the head which earns the juicy accolades.

 

     We have been much criticized by other faiths in this. In the church, we have the tradition of the veneration of the saints. We, also, believe in the great role that our Most Blessed Virgin Mary has played in our salvation history. This is to help us - that all of us need their help. The Church believes in the human limitation. We cannot do it all alone. We cannot gain salvation through our own devices. At a certain point in time, we will feel totally exhausted and collapse along the way. The saints, our choirs of guardian angels, the Blessed Virgin Mary were given to us by the Church, not for anything else but as an example, a life pattern,  for all of us.  Although, sometimes, we must accept that we are overdoing our veneration and respect for them.

 

     Against the trend that had been going on in our culture, that of naming children after famous Hollywood movie stars, the Church encourages parents to name their children after saints, guardian angels, the Blessed Virgin Mary so as to help us to be reminded of that particular person. It is a form of Catechetical method being used by the Church.

 

     The Holy Trinity; the three persons in one Divine God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; is the Head of our Church. The Church was made possible through them and in us. Without the Holy Trinity, we are nothing. But without us, they still can be. The Doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity is a mystery. Period. Sometimes, in any discussion such as this, to avoid being caught up with a lot of confusing discussion it would seem convenient to just say that it is something covered with a thick shroud of MYSTERY. As the Dogma of the Catholic Church says; DE FIDE- believe or be excommunicated. Very harsh, isn't it?

 

     There is much more than that we don't know that we, actually, do. Thats why a true educated person is one who knows that he doesn't know. This fact moves one to be nothing but humble. Accept, that, as humans, we need lots of help. The Holy Trinity is with us for this very purpose alone. May we always ask for their intercession. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

By Father Allan S. Fenix

 

     We love to listen, read and know about the lives of people who have "made it:" How they started from scratch and nothing, met their challenges and failures and, eventually, acquired power and wealth.  Perhaps they came up with an idea and made it into a great invention and industry. Then we take even more interest in how they faired in life after all the honors and accolades they received.

 

     In the seminary, we love to listen to our fellow seminarians and priests talking about the story of their vocations. How we heard God's call in our lives to enter the seminary to become one of his priests. There are those which are plain simple. And, there are also some which are very extraordinary, full of drama. We get bits and tidbits of inspiration from each one.

 

     The first book that I received, one school christmas exchange gift, was a book about the lives of the saints. I first wondered why, of all the kinds of books, this was the particular book chosen for me. Maybe, it was because I was very naughty in class at that time.

 

     The book was a good read. It always deserves a repeat reading. I learned how people, like us, in their simplicity of life and their staunch faith in God were able to beat the odds. They were able to accomplish great and noble deeds for others. Let's take our que from the saints; lets learn from them. They are models given to us by the Church to be imitated for their positive examples.

 

     We all want to make it big. We all want to be successful in all our endeavors. Yet, separated from our titles, positions, careers and possessions, who are we? On our own, we can only do as much.We are nothing without the help of God in our lives. As Christians, our full identity rests on him who made us. Let  us always go, ask and pray to him that he might make us as holy as he is. Because as Christians, our one common goal, is to be as holy as our heavenly Father. I think, for me, that would suffice and be enough.    

By Father Allan S. Fenix

 

     At the end of each day in our lives, as Christians with our eyes fully focused on salvation, we should always go back and look at ourselves. With a mixture of discouraging and encouraging results, we must hold on firmly and strongly to our faith. Because we do believe we know that amidst the torrent of turmoil and change all around us, our faith is the only thing that we really can hold on to. It is the vehicle that will bring us to our Promised Land. It is always our unfinished project. Faith, being beautiful, moves us to do something. Its completion is our eventual happy reunion with its origin and giver -- God. 

 

     Then, at the beginning of another day, we are again called on to make a stand with our faith at full mast. No matter what we do, we believe that a person of faith always wins out in the end.  The death of a person who has faith is a happy and most peaceful surrender.

          Leaving the seminary, one thing that my spiritual director told me is: NEVER FORGET TO PRAY!

          Before the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, I used  to not see nor hear the following reminder: PLEASE SWITCH OFF YOUR CELL PHONES. Prayer is an excursion wherein, for a moment, we are lifted out of our human conditions and put into contact with the divine and infinity. It is the vital link between God, the creature, and we, his creatures. Praying adds value to human life. Because it is in it wherein we cease to see how the world see life, in terms of numbers and net profits, but, in terms of heaven; love and forgiveness.

          Because life and prayer is so valuable that it surpasses any human valuation. It is FREE. It is just there. But the irony is, since it is free, it is most usually neglected and ignored. Humans love to take all the risks and challenges. The world today is full of exotic activities, hobbies and what have yous with its equally devoted fanatics. But, prayer is not one of them. Who amongst us include praying as one of our hobbies?

          It is in praying where the beauty of the human person emerge. In praying, we express our humility, helplessness and our longing to be eventually reunited with our creator. It is said that the fear of hell is not in the punishment but in never knowing who one's true creator is.

         The world doesn't need more arms, legislation, or more artificial contraceptives to help solve our ever increasing problems. What we need are sincere prayers.

Education for Life

By Father Allan S. Fenix

Thanks Be to God!

By Father Allan S. Fenix

     When I was in elementary school, I remember telling one of my teachers that I wanted to become a priest.  My 
teacher responded; "Very good! Thats a very noble vocation.  Thank God for it!"

     We always want something novel and different in our lives. Perhaps a raise, a promotion, or a bit of recognition 
for what we are doing or have done.  Thats why, everyday, we are always on the move, on the go, maximizing the full 
enjoyment of our days.  We just love the adrenaline rush that these things bring us. We feel alive. There is a sense of 
purpose.  We look forward to a day when all our hoped-for dreams and plans will really come to full blossom.

     God moves. He moves us. As the creator -- the unmoved mover, as St. Thomas Aquinas succinctly coined
it -- he is the constant initiator. All things bear his signature. It is for this reason, therefore, that everything is good. 
By the mere fact of its existence, something is good because God purposefully made it to be so. We, his creatures, 
are merely the respondents to his beauty and love. No one amongst us is pressured to do so. But, we are left with no 
other choice but to say our; "YES, LORD!"  We have nowhere to run to. We are surrounded. We are cornered by his 
love. We drown in it.

     How about evil?  Where does it comes from?  Evil is "deprivation," as philosophy has defined it. It does exist when we 
fail to acknowledge the genuine source of the good before us. When we take all the merit for ourselves and leave the true 
author behind. It is when there is a gap -- a lacuna -- that exists between the creator and the creature.  Evil is the 
plagiarism of God's goodness. A system's failure.

    "Thanks be to God! " We say it at the recessional part of the mass. Our daily lives are a thankful gratitude to God, for 
He is the life.  Our daily life is His unique masterpiece. So, at the end of  our days and of our lives, we should thank God. 
May there never be any bitterness at all because we failed to address our gratitude to Him.

                         

Gaudium Sacerdotale: Joy in the Priesthood

By Father Allan S. Fenix

Migrants

By Father Allan S. Fenix

 

     After the mass, they hang out and disturb the Church with their sacred noises. They eat lunch together and go downtown to procure their toiletries and some other personal necessities in some Filipino stores before slowly ebbing back home to their individual places for another gruelling week (or weeks) of work in the different manufacturing parks around. In some of my encounters with them, I encourage them to visit the nearby municipal and youth libraries wherein a variety of english books and magazines can be borrowed for three weeks.  DVD viewings, internet service, biweekly art exhibits and, sometimes, concert shows in the evenings. I suggest these things because I have observed that some fill the rest of their spare time in discos or watering holes drinking.

 

     Contrary to what many of their families back home think, our Filipino migrants, as well as other Asian migrant nationalities, earn just very modestly. They gross just half the amount of what an average local earns - NT $ 15, 840 - or roughly around P23, 760 which since 1997 hasn't been revised. For those in the manufacturing sectors, it is doubled due to overtime pay. But, their work schedules are somewhat unhealthy. It is the graveyard shifts, in the evenings. Daytimes are mostly reserved for the locals. Their pay is substantially slimmed down by numerous prohibitive deductions such as: broker's fee, board and lodging, health insurance contribution, taxes, health check up every six months and others. After sending a major portion of it back home to either pay the debts they incur in coming over or for their family needs, only a pittance remain. Just enough to survive until another pay day.

 

     It's their prayer that the money they send home be put into good use so that when the day comes for them to go back home -- when they finish their contracts -- a difference was effected by their being here. If not, they will forever be tied down, staying and working here when, in fact, they are only legally allowed to work for two contracts which is around, at the most, six years.

By Father Allan S. Fenix

     There is an unwritten business law that said; "The customer is always right." They are the "gods" to be followed, 
for they have in their hands the "purchasing power."  The means that a business can profit and bump up from crunching 
the competition.

     Jesus Christ underwent his passion according to the pulse of public opinion. Public opinion is the life and tongue of the 
people. It is very powerful. Businesses relies much on it. It is where the "dough" is. So, even considering how sick and 
mentally insulting it is, attention is given, for it is what sells. Even, sometimes, in exchange for ones moral fiber.  Herod,
Pilate and the rest in power are the classic example of greedy businesspersons of their day. To save face and maintain 
their social standing,they bend to the pressure of public opinion -- "CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!"

     There are many things we expect from ourselves and others.  Everyday, whether domestic, work, or intrapersonal-
wise, we set our goals to be accomplished and achieved for that particular period. We become sad, frustrated and 
even enraged when, inspite of what we did invested in terms of time, energy and money, all went for naught. It did not 
turn out as we wished  it to be; according to what we wanted. We've, perhaps, heard so many such news stories wherein 
unrequited persons turn berserk and take things violently into their own hands to get what they wish and want to the 
detriment of other people's lives and security.

     Stop barking up the wrong tree.  Relax and cool yourself down. Everybody are doing their very best in the given 
condition and situation.  Life is a project. Everyday, we're all trying to find the definite piece to insert and complete the 
puzzle.  Whyis it that, oftentimes, God is scapegoated and blamed whenever things go awry and not according to our 
plans and expectations?  We love to compromise to accommodate so many things in our lives. But, let it not be at the
expense of our love and faith in God, our Father.

Jesus Was Found Alone

By Father Allan S. Fenix

 

     Does God feel lonely, too? At first glance, no.  As God, he is exempted from it.  In church, our Sunday and weekday masses are brimming with massgoers.  God is, certainly, never alone there.  But, on the other hand, yes.  When we refuse to serve him to others.  At the concluding portion of the mass, the celebrant says: "This mass is ended. Let us go in peace to love and SERVE the Lord."  We keep him in reserve in our hearts.  We do not want him out of our hearts' tents. We feel so awkward and are ashamed to demonstrate him to others through our lifestyles. We leave God out in the coldness of our hearts.

 

 

Once is Enough, Twice is too Much

By Father Allan S. Fenix

 

     Lent is not a gloomy somber season, but it is an austerity period for some.  Rather, it is a time of purifying ourselves of things we wish to have or acquire.  This is a check for the overindulgence from Christmas. It is a spacious room we enter to reconnect with our wonderful real selves: A time to give in to the fruits of our prayers and fasting.  The world thirsts for our prayers and fasting. When was the last time we generously did it?

 

     Let us pause awhile from the humdrum of our lives. Let us look and find God in the business of our lives: Nourish ourselves with his power, that we may not be possessed by the daily contingencies of our lives, but rather divinize it that others may see God from the things we have and use and speak and do.

 

     Lent is really another meaningful time to spend and be with each other.

No Excess Baggage, Please   

By Father Allan S. Fenix

    All of us want to make use of our precious time productively.  So, whether long or short, simple or complicated, written ot just mentally, we have our list or agenda or program on what course our lives should take in the coming days ahead.  Life does not come with a manual of instructions or the "how to's" similar to some certain electronics gadgets or home and kitchen appliances. 

    In Luke 3:10, "The crowds asked John the Baptist, 'What then should we do?'"  Every day, we are so caught up with our own lists that we forget to see the persons beyond it.  We end up unhappy, confused, discontented and wanting for more.  It is because we forgot the others, our neighbors.  Life did not come with a manual enclosed because life is  lived in interaction with others.  It is being involved in other's lives that keeps us from merely existing on the sidelines.  Material things do not satisfy because they only  offer their own very limited engineering.  They cannot do more than they were designed to do.

     Life is very exciting, with lots of promise for surprises.  We never know what lies ahead, because life is not programmed for only a very specific moment.  But instead, we are created in such a way that we can respond to the various stimuli we encounter each moment.  We have the freedom, the option that is all ours to chose however we want to fill up the case of life that lies before us.  Sharing is the most appropriate way in which the problems and inadequacies and wants of the world can be resolved.  The strong and the rich must recognize their own spiritual weakness and poverty so that they may learn how to share themselves with the weak and the poor.  In the same way, the weak and the poor should also realize their spiritual strength and abundance in order to be successfully able to reach out to the strong and the rich.  Jesus, as God, made himself weak and poor so that we weak and poor creatures might realize our true being as precious creatures of the Most High God, our Father.

    Life, in order to be happy, should be shared with another.  This is where we will find the true meaning of our lives.  A certain object is nothing when it is just laying idle in a dark corner.  It only becomes something, only gains its own personality, when it is picked up and put to use in the service of life.      

     At last, the countdown is over.  Because it is already Christmas, the thing we've been waiting and counting on in thge past few weeks and months.  But then, now what?  Sometimes in our waiting and counting frenzy we forget to do anything more worthwhile.  All of our precios energy has been wasted on everything trivial.

     Christmas, a week before New Year, is a very special day, for we have, once again, successfully broken new ground in our lives.  We are given another 365 clean slates to start anew.  This is the common gift that we just received today, right at this very moment.  And, just like any other gift, it is up to us to determine whatever we want to do with it.  Will we open it and discover everything that is good and wonderful in it, or will we keep it wrapped for fear of any pain that might be inflicted on us as has happened in past years. 

     Let us start again.  Let us rise where we have fallen.  Even in death we still have the hope of the resurrection.  Jesus Christ has truly come to us and, when we get up to do, once again, our duties and obligations, we should do so with full gusto and enthusiasm.  We should pick up where we last dropped off..

     Let us start again.  God loves a non-quitter, for he, himself, did not quit on us.  If God would just look at our sins, then none of us would survive.  But, rather, God continues to dispense his mercy, love and forgiveness.  Let us help ourselves, for God has been doing so ever since.

     People do a variety of things to satisfy their appetites.  There are thjose that dig down deep underground looking for gold.  And there are those who find it up there, on the air.  Yes, there is an uncountable treasure buried up there on the air, for the taking of anyone who wants it.  There is an intellectually stimulating and uplifting listening alternative to the A.M. and F.M. radio bands.  It is classical shortwave (or S.W.), which came into vogue during the Second World War when Americans craved news of their loved ones serving in the different parts of the globe.  It flourished as a source of proaganda during the Cold War between the U.S.A. and the now defunct U.S.S.R., and has since successfully reinvented itself and survives today.

     At the end of each day, after working hard throughout the day, all we want is is some energizing diversion to relax the mind and body before, eventually, retiring for the night.  We would always like to recreate by traveling and seeing places.  But many of us, in our lifetime, won't have any chance of doing so (outside of revisiting the place of our birth) due to costs and lack of opportunity.  But with a reasonably priced shortwave receiver, an improvised antenna and a little bit of patience when scanning the dial, one can travel half way around the world to Russia, Spain, London, and even North Korea, courtesy of the ionosphere.  We can multitask as we listen to interesting happenings and events unfolding into present history from the different points of the world:  Listen to soothing orchestral music, or study an exotic language, all for free.

     Shortwave is the new ambassador and showcase channel of each country on the map, reaching out in different languages as they daily feature a well-researched, prepared and porperly selected item about their country in an hour or two.  A radio guide might be necessary for the serious hobbiest, as each station broadcasts to different frequency spectrums, but the thrill in this hobby is in scanning the dials.  Finding an available english broadcast is a consoling reward for one who wants to listen to news and information from somewhere exotic and different.  Some shortwave stations even have cute giveaways and souveniers for listeners that contact them either by snail mail, email or SMS. "They would certainly love to hear from you."

     The arrival and availability of the digital audio system on the internet has greatly affected and done away with much of the wonder of shortwave listening.  Everything is automatically and spontaneously provided (but for a fee).  My interest in shortwave started in elementary  school, when I was able to listen through my A.M. portable radio to an english broadcast from a neighboring Asian country one night when I was about to sleep.  I wrote them a letter and they, in turn, sent me some station postcards and stickers.  Researching further, I found that a quality shortwave receiver was way beyond our family's means, at that time, but the interest stayed in my heart until adulthood and the priesthood.  I have now in my possession, keeping me well in good company, a DX-375 Radio Shack and 1950 Hallicrafters S-40B with a 75 foot long  horizontal outdoor antenna.  All of this is compliments of an equally entusiastic shortwave hobbyist from Michigan that I met on the internet in the course of my unending search on this hobby.  Truly the Sacred Scripture is true when it says, "Look and you will find.  Ask and it will be given to you."
 
       

     Power is good.  It is the ability to control someone or something.  Control is the backbone of power.  That's why we always want to be in control.  However, power, as any other good, is subject to abuse.  It is addicting.  It whets our greed.  When this occurs, power becomes destructive.

     Power is the offshoot of of being able to gain a mastery over the self.  Without it, power is spurious.  It becomes dangerous.  It becomes possessive and misguided.  It is, in the end, pure exploitation of something or someone.

     No one can have a pure monopoly of power.  It should empower others.  It should not be concentrated, but dispersed.  It should help the individual conquer himself; get over his vices and weaknesses. 

     Jesus Christ, the model of self mastery, is power.  He is the king who showed his power to his apostles and to those whom he remembered along the way. 

     Be they sick or strong, rich or poor, sinners or saints.  He helps liberate the individual from the clutches of his own self.  He pulls him out of the darkness of self destructive behavior towards unselfish service to the community and to his church here on earth.

An Arm and a Leg

 

     People who love education are those who have realized that something is not right with their lives and they desire to correct it.  Poverty is evil.  It is a deprivation of the richness created for each and every person by God.  People who want out of poverty have to have the right tool to uproot themselves. And good education is the proper one.

     Graduating from a good and reputable school, coming from a famous and rich family, belonging to the right kind of group or club is a big advantage in the practice of one's profession and business. These are catapults to worldly success which can deliver the goods by creating the right networks and connections. But these can never be totally relied upon, in the long run, for how one lives one's professional life.  Much depends on one's conviction and on how one will add to, improve and work on it to make it flourish and last for a lifetime and for generations to come.

     Every word and every act that issues from us is a great responsibility because it could either make or unmake someone in the community. We are living in a society mired in lies. Education is a means by which we might choose good over evil, truth from lies, virtues over vices.

     Sadly, we've known a lot of persons from impressive backgrounds whose names became synonymous with lesser things than what we might rightly expect from them.  This is due to poor and inadequate judgment on their part.

 

Giving Is Life

 

     Science ordinarily defines matter as something that has weight and occupies space.  It has extensions and parts.  And so, it is subject to corruption.  It diminishes, wears out, and is eventually discarded.

     Life, which is the greatest of all miracles, is immeasurable.  It is a project awaiting completion.  Every new day is a day nearer to life's completion and submission. Life increases in value and meaning only when it is given away.  Giving is the food of life.  It is our way of paying our due while in this world.  The more life is given away, the nearer it gets to completion.

     From birth, we start giving. Receiving is incomplete when it is not reciprocated  with a similar giving.  The Most Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - have given themselves completely away.  God the Father created a world which gives him praise and worship. God the Son saved us from our sins by giving away his very life.  God the Holy Spirit is continually present in our midst up until the end of the age.

     The "wheel" of giving gets stunted when the giving stops.  Selfishness blocks giving.  Giving might be painful since it involves letting go of something we are accustomed to; but when the giving stops, life deteriorates into matter. It becomes a hardened self, concrete block subject to the vicious teeth of the elements.  Such life would never progress to anything more than a non-paying occupant of a giving world.

 

(Spanish word for small child)

 

    

 

    

 

 

Service Provider

By Father Allan S. Fenix

True or False?   

By Father Allan S. Fenix

Blessings

By Father Allan S. Fenix

     The birth of each child brings with it a big celebration.  When we are born, we are good news to one another.  The world is much better off now than before we existed.  There is the innate desire born in everyone to be better and to make the world a better place. Too often this desire finds its expression through the crude representations around us.  So, work is unceasing because we have to work and improve on what others have left to us.  The work is slow and frequently delayed because we gallivant and play at the artificial and distracting pleasures the world offers.  When we are able to overcome this, we become the blessings that God intended us to be.

Deus Amat

By Father Allan S. Fenix

 

 

     Love without qualification is possible only when we do away altogether with all labels and differentiations in our lives.  This will allow us to see the nature of God's love for us, and in doing so we will know to share the bounty of God's love with all in need.  This is righteousness.  And it is what is expected of us.

 

 

     Our seminary formators have repeatedly told us that a mature person is one who does things at the right time, at the right place, and to the right person.

 

     A disciple is a student.  A student is one who sits down at the feet of the teacher and needs to be present always in order to learn.  Seated, a student can listen properly.  It is the most appropriate position to learn. That's why places of gathering like churches and classrooms are ordinarily fitted with seats for this very purpose.  These are places to listen and learn.  Other venues such as movie houses and sports stadiums are solely for entertainment purposes.  One can seldom see seats around in malls and shopping areas because the owners want people to keep on moving - to keep on buying things.

 

     At home, we expect people to work - clean, wash, cook, arrange, etc.. We resent people who just sit in front of the television.  Being seated does not mean being lazy - not doing anything.  It means that we are disposed. We are available to fully, consciously and actively engage our faculties in worthwhile activities such as listening and learning.  However, caution must be given that sitting does not allow us to fall into vices like gambling, drinking and rumor mongering.  Many great inventions, discoveries and ideas have been formed as a result of being seated.  Seated, we can see plainly whatever is in front of us -- our limited choices and options.  Seated, we can think, reflect and pray.  We can even come up with resolutions and decisions.

 

     Lets be good stewards of our church facilities:  from our edifices like the rectory, hall, and office, down to the last chairs and pews of our church. For they are channels wherein we can listen and learn and become true disciples who will bear much fruit.  And this is the fruit of Jesus the true vine.

HANDS AND SIDE

By Father Allan S. Fenix

By Father Allan S. Fenix

     We love life.  Everyone wants to live long and be happy together with our family, loved ones and friends.  We wish to stretch our very limited time together with them.

     On the other hand, no one wants to be left all alone.  That’s why death scares us.  It is ugly, grotesque, abhorrent.  It is the ultimate separation from life -- family, loved ones, friends…..everything.

     But in Jesus Christ, in his resurrection from the dead, he has shown us that death is wonderful and beautiful. It is a victory over pain and suffering.

     In His resurrection, we become renewed persons. Everything becomes as new again as a morning dawning. In him, death is the price for life.

NO PAIN, NO GAIN

    PICK ONE

By Father Allan S. Fenix

HEAVENLY  BODIES

By Father Allan S. Fenix

 
By Father Allans S. Fenix

 

 

    Temperance is the habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions, especially for food and drink.  It is a safety valve with regards to the consumption of food.  Many among us have a weight problem because we frequently fail to exercise this virtue.

 

    Fasting is the actual exercise of temperance.  It is not for the fainthearted.  It is not something vehemently done by someone on a whim just in order to abide by what is required by the law or of the season:  Rather, it is the highpoint of one's regular and daily self-sacrifice.

 

    Before indulging in any form of physical exercise, we are always advised to have a thorough medical consultation to avoid any harm or injury to one's health.  Any new exercise should be entered into in a gradual manner.

 

    In the same way, fasting is only for the good hearted with a noble cause.  As Matthew 6: 16-18 says, "And when you fast, do not put on a sad face as the hypocrites do.  They neglect their appearance so that everyone will see that they are fasting.  I assure you, they have already been paid in full.  When you go without food, wash your face and comb your hair, so that others do not know that you are fasting - only your Father, who is unseen, will know.  And your Father who sees what you do in private, will reward you."

 

PRAYER   AND   WEALTH

By Father Allans S. Fenix

     Losing something valuable is demoralizing.  Health is wealth and it is a primary concern of everyone.  If it goes, everything does.  One loses control of oneself.  In turn, illness sets in and takes over.  One then cannot physically function properly.  Everything in life is disrupted.  Considerable time is required just to regain what was lost.

     Prayer  is necessary for a healthy life.  It makes one pause awhile from the humdrum to give new and fresh perspective to life.  Prayer is the best antidote to burnout.  There are many instances in the Sacred Scriptures wherein Jesus Christ showed us that after his exhausting work with the people he frequently rose up early go to a deserted place to pray:  Taking stock of himself before taking any further actions.

AMITYVILLE

By Father Allans S. Fenix

     The first lesson that we learn is on limitation. The first person that an infant child learns to trust is its mother due to the amount of physical encounter-- feeding, bathing, diaper change -- and in time other family members-- father, siblings, and extended family. As one grows up, our circle of recognition expands to include our neighbors, teachers,class and schoolmates, etc.

    Our early years are very crucial on how we will perceive God, whom we cannot sense in ordinary ways. If we were abused, He will be a cruel one. If we were loved, He will be a warm, caring person.

     Devils who were former angels know how to recognize and acknowledge God because it was He who created them. Mark 1:24: "…he cried out, 'What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are- the Holy One of God!'" They are from Him. They are His creatures. They knew His overpowering influence over them. Their diabolic influence is no match for his overpowering strength. They merely mimic the creator
who created them.

     What happened to the pitiful demons along the way? It was their overzealous pride and ambition which did them in . This is the first case of a coup d’ etat. They tried to usurp power which is not theirs and that can never be theirs. They did never learn their limitations early on. As a philosophical principle says: "NO EFFECT CAN BE GREATER THAN ITS CAUSE."

     Only God has authority over the devil. We need to call on Him when we are harassed and tempted. We have no business dealing with the devil. Mark 1: 25-26; "Jesus rebuked him and said, 'Quiet, come out of him!' The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him."

     We should never be proud. We have to keep in mind our extremely creaturely limitations. We are mere instruments of God, our Creator. We only share in His power whenever He uses us to advance His mission of teaching, healing, helping…… Let God reign over our life!

Fishing Rods

By Father Allans S. Fenix

Jesus Christ in choosing fishermen as his first apostles is not being discriminatory but rather has his own sensible reasons why.

    Fishing is a an unstructured activity. It is not a conventional job- eight to five with overtime pay, holidays and guaranteed benefits. Fishermen deal with the constantly changing nature. They don't normally wear watches since they read the sky, the stars and wind directions. For them, right timing is a very valuable virtue. Time spent at sea can be very unpredictable. Sometimes it would take them days even running out of supplies but merely surviving on guts and instincts.

    According to the late Pope John Paul II; "The world does not need teachers but witnesses. If ever people listen to a teacher, it is because he is a witness." Fishing, besides being not regulated, does not depend on word-of-mouth or referrals as most other professions do. Fishermen just go on quietly with their tasks. They don't advertise. They exist in the anonymity of their fishing nets and boats. Preaching the gospel is most effective when it is seen rather than heard.

    Matthew 5:14 and 16 said; "You are like light for the whole world.... In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven." When I was a child, I was so fascinated by the line of lights coming from fishing boats illuminating the darkness in the middle of the sea. Light is their unique technology in order to gather and catch fish. In their ministry, the apostles lived up to being light by preaching effectively the gospel to people caught up by the darkness of sin.

    These things hardened the first apostles in their anticipated ministry of spreading the gospel to the gentiles and beyond.

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By Father Allan S. Fenix

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By Father Allan S. Fenix

Reprinted from Life Today November 2005