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A Few Minutes with Father By Father Allan S. Fenix Meditations on Our Daily Life As Catholic Christians
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Oremus (Let Us
Pray)
Fr. Allan S. Fenix
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.
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Education for
Life
By Father Allan S. Fenix
I remember being very well edified, while attending a golden marriage anniversary, one of the party expressed; " I love my spouse just as when we first met each other. " It made me wonder if I could also say that way when I reach the same number of years in my priesthood. The Holy Bible. The Roman Missal. The Christian Prayer.... These are only a few of the basic books that our seminary formators required us to have. They regularly made unannounced inspections. According to them, these books should always be in every priest's personal library. A companion. So that, from time to time, one can immediately pick through it to remind us. In life, we try to devise and apply different kinds of method and processes to solve our daily exigencies. I remember well how our late Canon Law professor taught us the course. He did not push us to literally go through, one by one, memorizing the whole provisions. But, he merely showed us the various approaches and steps on how to interpret and apply it with one thing clear at the back of our minds: " The salvation souls. " For most people, school life almost takes a quarter of their life. Some, even for the rest of their life. It is because education is not meant to burden us, as some students take it. It is to exercise us through the many courses by which we can lead our lives in the vast maze that will further on confront us. Education is, actually, a friend; to help us. We've often overhear people say; " I've tried it. I've done that. " Education teaches us how to continually correspond with life. School does not gives one everything. In fact, according to one of our teachers, it merely gives us seven percent of the whole picture. The rest depends on how we take the challenge of continually educating ourselves. Withdrawing from life and, even worse, giving up is not an option. It is self-impoverishment. Life is an endless textbook of realizations. The vast universe is not the last frontier as Science upholds it. It is life. |
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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 |
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Gaudium
Sacerdotale: Joy in the Priesthood
By Father Allan S. Fenix "Are you joyful in your priesthood? " That's a single question from someone which I will never forget and will I continually answer with a big " YES!!! " After several years of a rigidly structured seminary formation, the first challenge for the newly ordained is how to make one's priesthood work. How to make it take off? It does not carry with it a job program or description. One thing that the seminary gave me, which, I realized, was subtly hidden in our formation, is time management. Sufficient exercises were given to make one think on how to make each minute useful and productive. The routine day to day schedules were prescribed not only to preoccupy oneself, but to see behind it the orderly workings of our Lord God. From rising up early in the morning, attending community prayers and the mass, down to the meals, classes, games and lights off. Because, aside from the usual parochial sacramental schedules and office tasks, one is left, practically, on one's own devices. Happiness in the priesthood comes from its unpredictability. It is being creative with what's on at hand. It is not, as one veteran priest said, "Looking for things which are nowhere." Find meaning and significance where there is none. Affirm yourself daily. For, in the end, no one else will but yourself. Just remember, time can be a friend or fiend. It just flows. It does not wait on nor work for anyone. If one knows how to handle it, it will very well benefit us. But, if we mishandle it, it will be a ruthless enemy bent on nothing but ravaging us. We will always be faced with an endless array of flowery choices that we just could not ignore. This is where one will start looking longingly for an affirmation from someone else and others. For which others might be unprepared to give. We will, then, be continually running and looking for it while, at the same time, putting in harm's way our sacred vocation. Sad? Of course. When I do not find the time to be one with God, in prayer, and do what I have to do. When I inadvertently preoccupy myself with a hundred and one things other than time with him. What moves you? Go for it! Just always remember to take good care of the minutes, the hours and ones vocation will be able to take care of itself. |
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Migrants
By Father Allan S. Fenix One Filipino migrant told me; "Father, I only know two places here; my work and the Church." I love the simplicity of our Catholic migrants here. Parish churches are their common rendezvous. It is their second home on Sundays, during their weekly, once or twice-a-month days off. They come in droves by taxi, train, bus and some, who are nearby, by foot. On Sundays, street traffic is at a stand still. With them, it is always a standing room only Church. They fill and maximize every available space to the brim. Sometimes the building seems to be bursting to the seams. English masses have increased to as many as four. As of now, there is no Filipino mass yet. 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.
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Public Opinion
By Father Allan S. Fenix
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Jesus was Found
Alone
By Father Allan S. Fenix
We love to be with our lovedones; friends and people who share our likes and interests. Alone, one can be a subject of loneliness. Depending on our threshold level, it could either be beneficial or toxic to human life. Extreme levels of loneliness can cause depression in humans. It could, then, bring in various kinds of illnesses. We are social human beings. We were not solely created. We were made with and to be together with others. 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.
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Once is Enough,
Twice is too Much
By Father Allan S. Fenix The world pressures us with the following; provision, possession, and power. They appear to be the be-all quick relief to our ever chronic material problems and difficulties. To some extent, they are. But they are just a panacea, not the cure-all. If not checked properly, materialism and power go stale and spoil absolutely anyone due to unwarranted overexposure. Instead of simplifying life, it becomes more complicated. We are, then, faced with mounting requirements which gradually alienate us from ourselves, our lovedones, and from our Lord, God. We are getting more and more busy each day just running after the dangling carrot. Human connectedness is severed. Others, our brothers and sisters, are treated as things or objects to be used in order to satisfy our ulterior motives. Our needs become overly convovulated to cover up our lurking selfish wants. Our life is turned into a neverending race running after the ever changing modes of the world. Theres no more permanence. Commitment is sacrifice in the name of worldly consumption. We feed our insatiable appetite with whatever is available that we can get our hands on. In the end, we become junkies of the world. Taking in whatever it offers us, good and bad alike. 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.
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No Excess
Baggage, Please
By Father Allan S. Fenix
To survive for even a day, one needs to go lightly but seriously. Most find ways to work harder and harder, because a generous income reflected in ones account is heartily rewarding. But not so physically, because it would be hard to move and carry around. More so, we don't want to get ill, as a result. Travelling entails lots of extra baggage fees and uncountable anxieties that it might get lost. Its good to be fit and trim. Lean and mean. It will bring one sound health and happiness. One will be disposed to receive and enjoy more of what life can offer us further on. Everyday, we are burdened with a lot of various things brought about by our work situations and environment. Sometimes we feel so helpless. We can either deny and try to escape from it, or put it on waiting mode at the back of our minds. But it continues to be a problem just the same, and just keeps piling on. Or we can accept and face our burdens bravely and responsibly. If we don't give up, things will, eventually, in time, give up on us and find the way to a proper solution. Our hearts are solely designed for good and positive things. Negative things such as anger, hatred, unforgiveness, cursing, and malice are squatters digging in taking advantage of our mental resources. These are unwanted weights taking up important spaces. They slow us, bug us, and stick us down. A ship in danger of sinking has to jetison many of its precious possessions in order to survive and reach harbor. Holiness, is an option. It is a good choice, of course. Everyday, it keeps on waiting on us. It is the rightful content of our hearts. God wants us all to be happy now in this life and in his heavenly Kingdom, together with him, when the time comes. |
| List
Keepers 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. |
| 365 By Father Allan S. Fenix 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. |
| Shortwave By Father Allan S. Fenix 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." |
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Do Whatever He
Tells You
By Father Allan S. Fenix
I was
requested to preside and preach to the Lorenzo Mission Institute
on Sunday January 14, 2007. I would like also to share it
to you:
Idleness
is the playground of the devil. Where there is no activity to do,
temptation abounds. We are pushed to do something not good.
"Do whatever he tells you." In the gospel, the people in charge of the wedding banquet were in a quandary as to what to do since the wine had run out. "What can we do? We don't have wine anymore!" In philosophy we learned that some human action is defined as volitional action. It is voluntary action; action coming from the human will. Good is the the object of this will. On the other hand, there is the action of man that is involuntary. Automatic. It is the psychological function -- instinct. Doing without even thinking. Our seminary formation is replete with structures. Schedules. It is meant to discipline us. To put our will and intellect, our body and soul, in line. In your case, your formation is distinctively defined. You have your academic formation at the San Carlos Seminary to hone your intellect -- the object of which is knowledge. And you have your spiritual and human formation at the Lorenzo Mission Institute which is meant to firmly establish in all of you -- priests and priests to be -- the age old wisdom and holiness according to the priesthood of Melchizedeck. Always remember, brothers, that anything you pick up, do or learn here will all be of great use in your future ministries whrerever you go. Take advantage of it whether doing manualia, cleaning, eating, or taking a shower. Take advantage of it whether during study period, games, music practice, apostolate, meditation, or prayers. I fully assure you that these are all good for you. I remember a lot of my contemporary seminarians were not able to finish their priestly formation because they kept on complaining and questioning whatever was being offered in the formation. "Is it necessary in our priesthood?" Then one day they just woke up realizing that they were not any longer a seminarian or priest. So brothers, don't keep on complaining but just do whatever your seminary formators tell you, for God, being omnipresent and who is the ultimate formator, is for sure working through them. He does what is good and necessary for us in preparation for our future as missionary priests. The battle for the Lord and his church is fierce and merciless. We all need all the available ammo we can muster now, while still in formation. Our deep compassion goes to a casualty seminarian/priest. Honestly, it breaks our hearts to know one. So, brothers, I repeat it again now and will in the coming days ahead: "Do whatever he tells you!" |
| Power By Father Allan S. Fenix 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. |
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An Arm and a Leg
By Father Allan S. Fenix
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.
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Giving Is Life
By Father Allan S. Fenix
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. |
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Nino
(Spanish
word for small child)
By Father Allan S. Fenix
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By Father Allan S. Fenix
We tend to just ignore these familiar signs usually found loosely
hanging on the doors and entrances of stores, shops and offices.
But, upon second thought, these signs render deep significance in our
lives.
For
security purposes, to keep our possessions safe, we lock our gates,
doors, and windows to keep away unwanted persons such as thieves and
robbers. But for health reasons, in order to
maintain our overall well-being, we openly entrust ourselves to
specially trained professionals for medical treatment.
God speaks to us in crooked lines. He talks to us through others.
He is the Emmanuel- "God who is with us." He is in all of us.
Therefore, we are responsible for each other. We cannot just
inadvertently reject or close ourselves to others. For to do so, is to
do it similarly to our God, the Father. In Matthew 25:45 "….. I
tell you whenever you refused to help one of these least important
ones, you refused to help me."
We
have to be welcoming to everyone just as our Holy Mother, the Church
is. Its arms are perpetually open to embrace everyone who wants to come
back into its fold. To be open to ourselves is to lead others towards
the
doors of heaven where we are all God’s children.
To be open is to be welcoming. To be closed is to be sorry.
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| "Do
This in Rememberance of Me" By Father Allan S. Fenix
We
humans are children of tradition. Tradition is
our track record. It is our lifeblood. Tradition is a uniting factor.
It reminds us of our common origin -- of where we all started
from. According to Dr. Jose P. Rizal, a famous Filipino
national hero, "One who does not know how to look back to where one
started will never reach ones destination." <>
Memory, one of the acts of the intellect, differentiates humans from animals. We humans remember. We have pockmarked our environment with various kinds of memorials and structures to help us remember important persons and events on our life's roadtrip. Our homes, offices, rooms and, indeed, our very lives are all filled up to capacity with exotic curios of things and places we or our loved ones have been to.
Gratitude
is the memory of the heart. To observe tradition is to gratefully
express our indebtedness to the people who have gone before us. It is
our way of uniting ourselves to the extreme sacrifices and sufferings
they all went through.
The
bottomline of all traditions is to free the individual.
Every celebration and remembrance is a retreat bringing one back
to the genuine meaning of our life. If an individual starts to forget
the tradition one came from, one becomes a washed out fragment isolated
from the main body. These persons are aimlessly roaming the vast
universe unaware where they really belong. They are our unchurched,
baptized brethren who are synonymous to refugees without a country
with which they can identify.
As
Catholics, we were all raised up in the tradition of the Eucharist.
It
is our identity. It
clenches the center of our lives. Our regular and weekly
communal celebration of the Holy
Eucharist is not only a way of going through the motions but, rather,
our
way of rejoining in spirit the Blessed Virgin Mary and John, the
beloved apostle, in their sadness and bereavement at the foot of the
cross: The bereavement shared in seeing Jesus Christ, Our Lord, die
upon that cross and, in turn, sharing the unexplainable happiness
of
Mary Magdalene in
witnessing his ultimate triumph from death -- his
resurrection -- on that first Resurrection Sunday.
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Service Provider
By Father Allan S. Fenix
"Bless us, O Lord, and this your gifts, which we are about to
receive from thy bounty, through Christ, Our Lord, Amen….. We give you
thanks, Almighty God, for the benefits we have received from thy
bounty, through Christ, Our Lord, Amen." These
prayers are an acknowledgment of our total dependence on God, Who is
the provider and creator of everything we have.
Eating is a social event. It is a celebration. And, so, do we still say our grace before and after meals? Or, do we just wolf everything down quickly and in minutes leave the carcasses behind like famished vultures on a prowl for another meal? Food is everyone's daily issue, without exception. Everyday, ever since time began, we humans and all other living creatures have moved about in our environment, armed with our mental and physical skills, talents and instincts, to look for food to put in our hungry stomachs. After we have had our fill, physical food should not only end in the stomach at the mercy of its digestive juices and be disposed of after a while. But, rather, it should bring us higher in search of the food that will fill the genuine yearnings of our hearts, minds and souls, and which are concretely expressed in the wondrous aesthetic works of art, culture and architecture. These pursuits are the ones which give color and variety to our lives and which push us towards the consciousness of the origin of our existence -- God. The physical food from God should bring us to appreciate the more noble things which are ordinarily unseen and invisible. To be bogged down in the physical is to be victimized in the clutches of its inimical charms. That's why we have now the reality of eating disorders and other similar gustatory abnormalities. Eating just for the pleasure of it. While its scarcity brings out the beast in all of us, food and other material goods which we possess should always be a tool in bringing out the divine and blessed in each one of us. In this way, we will really be happy and contented in the land that God gave us and has entrusted to us. |
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Ad Usum Privatum
(
For Private Use Only )
By Father Allan S. Fenix
There used to be a seminary rule which says "NON DUO" -- no
two seminarians should be seen alone in the company of each other. As
seminarians are being formed to be priests someday, one should have the
greater
sense of the community. After all, one is a priest for the
community -- for the universal church -- and not for a single
particular family or group.
When
the seminary bell rang for any community scheduled events like
prayers, meals,
classes or study periods, one was expected to leave everything behind,
stop
whatever activity was in progress, and join the entire seminary
community
in the chapel, refectory or classroom. NO one is expected to be seen
loitering around the premises. Seminary life is geared towards the
extreme importance of the community. One is encouraged to uphold the
primary welfare of the bigger group over that of oneself.
Seminary formation is a daily observation of Jesus’ commandment to lay
down one’s life for one's community and friends.
In this age of individualism, wherein self-interest is always the motive or the valid end of action, inculcating communal values is a great challenge. People tend to do things their own way and on their own. There is a tendency to mistrust the law and authority, and so the community is diminished and the needs of others put on the back burner. When Jesus was transfigured up on the mountain, such that his clothes became dazzling white as no fuller on earth could bleach them, Peter made an existentialist proposal: The making of three tents; one for Jesus, one for Elijah and one for Moses. But then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them. And from the cloud came a voice, " This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." And so Jesus, God as he is, does not put his own wants and interests before ours. Rather, he put it all behind him. He forgot himself, became obedient, and left everything in favor of humanity. And his legacy is the Church: the gretaest community in the world.
Our
homes -- our families -- are the little seminaries wherein children are
formed in view of the bigger world outside that they will someday join
and face. Whatever happens to the child inside the family will
have either grave or beneficial consequences within the entire
community someday. Our society is the mirror reflecting our own
individual families.
Let us always heed the voice from the cloud, "This is my beloved Son.
Listen to him." (Mark 9:7). Let
us listen to our parents, our siblings and other family members, our
superiors, our authorities, our colleagues, our friends and just about
everyone who has something to say to us. For in each one reside
the
voice of God which will rightly point us out towards our authentic
mission of filling the world with His love.
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True or False?
By Father Allan S. Fenix Truth is in everyone of us. We all possess it. It is what pushes us to go on living. Otherwise, why are we doing what we are doing now? In truth, there is something to live for and so it is our reason for living. Truth is the object of the human will. We act because we believe. We obey someone or something because we are certain that it is correct and true. Since truth hurts and is inexplicably painful, many runaway from it and take refuge in falsity. Falsity contradicts truth. They are totally different, and there is no middle ground. Indoctrinated persons are blind. Their free will has been submitted to a program of manipulation and control. They have been taught to believe in lies that have been presented to them as truth. The motto of liars is, "A lie frequently repeated eventually becomes true." With this philosophy Adolph Hitler nearly conquered the world, and would have had not the truth of freedom won out. Some of us are made to believe through mind-blowing suggestions that a certain product will make our life better in 14 days of continuous use. Eventually, we find ourselves patronizing it hoping that it will really deliver what it (falsely) promised. When such false indoctrination fails, we find ourselves to be like Pilate, wondering "What is truth?" Truth cannot be altered. It is eternal. Its basis is Jesus Christ, who is truth itself. As he said, " Either you are with me or with the enemy." And we know that this enemy is the father of lies. Most of all, truth shines and is enhanced when it is shared far and wide. |
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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.
As blessings, we let God use us in a mission of healing a wounded
humanity. We
are commissioned to drive out demons by eliminating occasions of sins
like nightspots, saunas, gambling dens, poverty, exploitation,
and abuses. To do this, we have to communicate only one common language
–
Jesus Christ – who might be a point of division for some but is the
convergence for a majority. In this way, we do away with any
misunderstanding and conflict. And most of all, we have to be a
strong and capable healer of the sick. A sickly doctor is not a good
representative of his profession. An immoral priest, leader or parent
is not a good role model for a parish, community, or family. We
should prepare and form ourselves well before we minister to others.
We are the good news of the Gospel. As such, we bring blessings
to the lives of others. We uplift them to praise and worship our
creator, and they in turn become blessings to others.
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Deus Amat
By Father Allan S. Fenix
For humans, reason is higher than love. Knowledge comes first before love. To humans, love is subject to control and manipulation - " nadidiktahan an puso " ( hearts can be dictated ). God is not ruled by reason. He rules by love. From out of His love flows everything. Love is God's language, and He keeps on communicating love until the end. As we read in 1 John 14:12, " This is my commandment : love one another as I love you. " And so we are "appointed to go and bear fruit that will remain..." To do this, we must give way to others and put their needs ahead of our own. We always want to be first -- to be second is to lose. It's hard for us to give way in favor of the next person behind us. It is because we have a worldview wherein resources are just few and limited. Theres not enough for everyone. We have to get there first or else, and grab everything for ourselves. We must believe that as in the days when Jesus fed the multitudes he will likewise provide for our needs as long as we share with one another. This is faith.
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.
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REMAIN SEATED
By Father Allan S.
Fenix
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.
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HANDS AND SIDE
By Father Allan S. Fenix
Various super hero characters naturally fascinate us because they can do things which are definitely impossible for us mere mortals. Unfortunately, all of them are just science fiction -- the work of a wild imagination. They don’t have any actual existence outside of our monitor screens. These animated characters are the virtual projections of our human inadequacies and limitations. And so we sigh, "If only these characters were real..." In life, we have all kinds of problems needing solutions and questions needing answers. Until these are solved and answered, we are relentless in pursuing the solutions and answers to each of them. Peace is not only the absence of war or conflict, but the peace of mind that comes when problems have found solutions and questions answers. Fear gripped the disciples of Jesus Christ because they were caught in a tight bind as to what to do with their lives after what happened to their master and teacher. But it was turned into joy when: "Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side: 'As the Father has sent me, so I send you.'" (John 20: 19-20). Meditate on Jesus’ nailed hands and pierced side. It means work. His crucifixion on the cross was his masterpiece. Work dismantles fears and anxieties arising out of our exigent problems and questions. With our hands and body, we can find solutions and answers to all our problems and questions. Look at yourself and your environs; it is your ongoing and becoming masterpiece. Don’t stop working! Don’t be complacent! And don’t be discouraged with what is transpiring as of now: For the biggest room we occupy is the room for improvement. Jesus’ nailed hands and pierced side were his field demonstration of what our work is. It is never light and easy but: "...believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life and PEACE in his name." (John 20: 31). |
| EMBRACING
DEATH 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. |
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NO PAIN, NO GAIN
By Father Allan S. Fenix
Sumptuous foods; centralized air conditioning; an inviting waterbed. Sensual entertainments. Its good to enjoy the fruits of our labors. But when we become too comfortable, we tend to feel drowsy, fall asleep and become oblivious to the needs of the rest of the suffering world. We say, "I worked hard for these things: They are mine." We abhor suffering. It brings inconvenience and discomfort. We love the comfortable, the usual, the ordinary, the traditional. Suffering is our fraternal twin. It exists because of our physical bodies. Since our bodies are God-given, sufferings come from Him. In turn, and as He wills it, it is through His immeasurable wisdom that we are given to suffer, that we may serve Him through it. Sufferings come in different forms – physical and mental deformities. Illness. Willed, unwilled or circumstantial poverty. Various forms of inadequacy. The name of Jesus Christ is synonymously interconnected with suffering. They compliment each other. Because it is through His suffering that we are saved. He came to earth to suffer to save us from our sins. With proper care, diet and rest, our human body is designed to endure the most arduous circumstances. This was clearly shown by Jesus Christ when He spent forty days and nights fasting and being tempted in the desert before His public ministry. And, also, by the numerous human survival dramas that our history has witnessed. Don’t be afraid. We are all in this together. Be thankful for your sufferings, because suffering is life. A dead person doesn’t suffer anymore. We can serve God more effectively when we are suffering. Because suffering, properly understood and taken positively, is a motivation that pushes us to do well and to do good. Suffering makes us creative in ways of alleviating our miserable situation. And, as John 12: 25 says, “ Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternity." |
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PICK ONE
By Father Allan S. Fenix
The reason why we are in school for quite a long period of time is because the primary purpose of education is to enable one to choose rightly and properly from a very limited set of options. Life does not tolerate a repeater. Everything counts, and every chance is a brand new option. The ability to choose is the only thing that cannot be taken away from anyone. Life is our biggest gamble. We have to bet -- that is, we have to make choices. We are what we are and whom we are today due to the choices that we have made in the past. Daily, we are confronted with variable choices, yet we must choose only the correct one – Jesus or the devil. Light or darkness. Salvation or damnation… To be human is to choose -- we discriminate; we distinguish. An animal,conversely, is ruled by instinct. It can do no other but surrender to it. Though an ill or sick individual have to rely on others to decide some aspects of his or her life, the ability to choose ultimately remains our very own deadly weapon. Nobody wants to lose. As much as possible, everyone wants to win everything on which one bets. And by having the ability to make the choice, one is already certain of a winner's potential. |
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HEAVENLY BODIES
By Father Allan S. Fenix As children, our parents have taught us of proper domestic etiquette, one of which is, “to knock three times gently and wait for a moment for someone to answer the door." There’s no place like home. Families take out big loans and sink down investments just to fulfill their dream of having their own house and lot. Every home is a kingdom. One is protected by inalienable rights in his own home. No one can just disturb his peace and privacy without legitimate warrant of search or arrest from a duly authorized person. Our material possessions are our personal extensions. In time, we establish roots and a sentimental connection. We are even too reluctant sometimes to let go of some of our properties because they have deeply rooted sentimental values. So, any assault or violence to it is a direct affront to the owner. That’s why, we cannot even blame evictions which turn bloody and deadly among our squatters in their shanties. The Catholic Church is rich. It has churches, chapels, institutions and structures and even agricultural lands. But these things were put up for the very purpose of establishing an earthly Kingdom of God. It is a heavenly fortress to bring salvation to all. It is not for any profit-oriented schemes, though every Catholic faithful, by reason of his or her incorporation to it through the sacrament of Baptism, is a shareholder in its ownership. However, this does not mean to say that we can have a free hand to do whatever we want with it. We cannot manipulate it to suit our own selfish motives. Jesus was enraged in what he found in the temple when he went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. "He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables." And to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace." John 2: 15-16. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s gift freely given to us. We don’t possess it as we do any of our personal effects. We are merely its trustworthy stewards. We cannot do whatever we want to do with it. It has its own divine and noble purpose -- to reveal God’s Kingdom on earth. We sin gravely when we desecrate our bodies by abusing them out of their primary purpose. That’s why we should take care of our own physical body and avoid any life-threatening form of activities such as vices and extreme lifestyles. Our human body is designed to worship and serve God alone and bring out his love to our neighbors. |
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FAST BREAK
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."
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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.
I have personally encountered a number of burnout cases -- people who have been enthusiastically giving of themselves to others until one day they just lost fire. What follows is a smoldering bitterness; an irritation of life. An ax given some time in the sharpening can eventually cut all the trees in the forest, while one which is not goes blunt after successfully cutting one or two. It can never progress to its true purpose, and is best relegated to the sidelines.
Investing time for prayer has great
returns for everyone. It is a time to
sharpen our focus and concentration for the innumerable tasks ahead. After his apostles told
him that, "Everyone is looking for you, Jesus Christ said, " Let us go
on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also. For this
purpose have I come." |
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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! |
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