BREAKING AWAY FROM OUR CYCLES OF BEHAVING

BREAKING AWAY FROM OUR CYCLES OF BEHAVING

Reflections on JudGeS 2:11-19  /  MatTHew 19:16-22
By Frank Savadera, SJ 

The book of Judges that we start reading today, presents to us a cycle of God’s people being unfaithful (OFFENDING THE LORD), Yahweh flaring up and delivering them to the hands of plunderers, the LORD raising up judges to warn them and deliver them from their enemies. YET they continue not to follow the commandments of the LORD. They begin crying in distress.   Yahweh listens to their cries of affliction.  There comes PEACE but when the judge dies ... they relapse and do worse than the sins of their ancestors.  THEN the Lord FLARES up again and DELIVERS them again unto the hands of their despoilers ... and the cycle continues.  It will almost get tiring to read ... in the coming days about this cycle of being unfaithful, not following the commandments, the appearance of judges, people crying in affliction, Yahweh relenting and delivering his people from their enemies, the judge dies and everyone goes back to their old ways.

WHAT ARE THE CYCLES of our lives ... in which we feel ... we’ve been caught in ... almost involuntarily ... as if it has become our DEFAULT ... the TIMES when we say ... ETO NA NAMAN AKO ... nangyari na ito dati (HERE AM I AGAIN.  THIS HAPPENED ALREADY IN THE PAST).  Umuulit na naman ako.  The SAME PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR REPEATS ITSELF AGAIN ... and again and again.  I don’t seem to learn.  HOW DO I STOP MY CYCLE OF BEHAVING???

The more conscious among us can undestand that there are patterns of behaving in our different contexts that we ... UNCONSCIOUSLY IMBIBE.  One or two in the families of my lolo and lola tended to break-away from the family circle;  there are STRONG-WILLED women in my family;  the male members in my family tend to DIE younger; there’s a pattern of alcoholism and addiction in my family;  family members get into arguments; there's a history of getting into business deals that eventually got family members killed or assassinated.  What is the CYCLE in your family? 

Or on the personal level ... what PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR do I get to repeat??  Why do I get agitated when I watch certain movies or observe peculiar behavior of people.  What stimuli in the environment will eventually upset me or get me very angry?  What role do I usually play when I am with friends ... am I the listener? The clown? The problem solver?  The community gatherer?  Am I usually the LAID BACK one?  Can I experiment on other ways of behaving ... other than the PATTERN or cycle of behaving that I’ve grown most accustomed to?  Can I break away from MY CYCLE??

A cycle is precisely something that begins and ends and begins again ... begins and ends and begins again ... begins and ends and begins again.  CYCLE!!!!  NAKAKAPAGOD! 

 

It is interesting for me to note the ORIGINAL GREEK WORDS used by the young man in the gospel for ETERNAL LIFE ... ZOEwei AIONIOS – eternal life; NO BEGINNING AND NO END ... a LIFE that does not begin nor end.    “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”  OR if we translate that now to how we interpret the Gospel:  LORD, how do I PUT A STOP TO MY PATTERN OF BEHAVING ... to my DEFAULT BEHAVIOR ... (HERE AM I AGAIN.  THIS HAPPENED ALREADY IN THE PAST).  Umuulit na naman ako.  The SAME PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR REPEATS ITSELF AGAIN ... and again and again. NAKAKAPAGOD NA!  .    “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”

Can we just get into the FEELING OF EXHAUSTION ... the FEELING OF EXASPERATION ... THE FEELING OF FRUSTRATION ... REPEATING AND REPEATING THE PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR perhaps experienced by that young man in the Gospel.  He wants ETERNAL LIFE ... ZOEWAY AIONIOS ... a life of no beginning and no end ... a LIFE FREE FROM MY CYCLE and ENDLESS PATTERNS OF BEHAVING. 

If you wish to be COMPLETE – teleios (perfect);  TELOS ... brought to completion ... or be brought to your end ... KEEP THE ENTOLEY – COMMANDMENTS (FAITHFULNESS) or better yet GIVE AWAY YOUR POSSESSIONS (HOOPHARCHONTA – POSSESSIONS – literally ... that which BEGINS YOU ... that which anchors/ roots you ... that which allows you to RULE. What leads you ... or that which we are so attached to (i.e., my family, my reputation, what I think of myself, what I made for myself, my pride, my sense of privacy, my friendships ... or even the vocation ... I want to be a Jesuit ... baka possession na yan?   

Today ... we are asked to reflect on our PATTERNS / CYCLES of behaving ... how are we called to BREAKAWAY from such possibly negative cycles in our lives and to ZOEWAY AIONIOS ... a life of no beginning and no end.  Will I be willing to let go of what usually rules me???  Or do I simply forget all about these things ... and turn away sad and grieving all the days of our lives.  Always ... we are asked to choose. 

IS LOVING AND SERVING GOD ... 

THE WILL OF YOUR HEART?

Reflections on Joshua 24:14-29  /  MatThew 19:13-15
by Frank savadera, SJ  

Joshua asks his people something which we are constantly being asked ourselves:  DISCERN ... IS LOVING AND SERVING GOD ... THE WILL OF YOUR HEART?  Can you decide today whom you will serve?   Whom do we really wish to serve?  The God of our fathers or the little strange gods that we had created for ourselves?  It was EASY for us to respond therefore that it is Yahweh we would like to serve.  But Joshua then commands everyone:   “Put away the strange gods that are among you and turn your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.”

WHAT ARE THESE STRANGE GODS in our contemporary context?  They that we are drawn to ... whom we know as FALSE yet WE ALLOW THEM TO RULE our HEARTS and our MINDS?  We are beholden to them instead of being more focused on the great works of God!  How do these STRANGE GODS manifest their presence in our lives?  Can we identify them ... label them and even speak to them ... tell them:  STRANGE GOD KA!  You estrange me from what I truly believe and what I hope to become. (ESTRANGE? ... that which isolates us ... alienates us ... pushes us away from the GOOD!)  ... and SADLY ... we can be so convinced of the TRUTH about them ... that we had allowed them to rule our lives.  STRANGE GODS THAT ESTRANGE US FROM THE TRULY GOOD.  Example:  DESPAIR – STRANGE GOD YAN!  This is beyond me ... I am HOPELESS ... I am NO GOOD!  We allow DESPAIR to rule over us.  PREJUDICE – our evil perceptions of people ... STRANGE GOD YAN!  This guy is DIFFERENT ... WEIRD SYA!  From this day onward ... I declare war against him!  CYNICISM – kalokohan naman yan.  This is a USELESS activity.  I have nothing to gain from it.  I’ve gone through that before ... it didn’t work.  Why try it again?  STRANGE GOD YAN!  Each time, we encounter these strange god in our midst, be reminded of Joshua who tells us:  “Put away the strange gods that are among you and turn your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.”

WHAT HELPS THEREFORE TO FREE US FROM THESE FALLS GODS?  Joshua himself makes a proposal:  “Fear the LORD and serve him completely and sincerely.”

FEAR THE LORD – this is HOLY FEAR: be more afraid knowing that my current pre-occupation is not in the service of God ... or that which alieanates me from God.  Know that I can be distracted from how God is calling me at this time and at this minute.  Fear of the Lord allows us to constantly re-adjust our perspectives ... GOD IS THE SOLE FOCUS AND OBJECT OF ALL THE THINGS THAT I SEE AND EXPERIENCE.  Other than that ... MATAKOT KA! FEAR THE LORD! 

SERVE HIM – IS THIS WHAT GOD REALLY WANTS ME TO DO or is this SIMPLY SELF-GRATIFYING!  Can I catch myself.  Am I serving God or simply serving myself.   This is simply CONVENIENT FOR ME ... FOR ME ... FOR ME! 

IN SINCERITY AND TRUTH:   A certain HONESTY ... gusto ko ba talaga ito ... or I AM JUST FOOLING MYSELF.  If I cannot be honest about what I truly feel about things now ... I don’t know how I can be HAPPY!  BITTER!  ANGRY!  DEPRESSED! I always say:  If there would be a time in your life that you will need to be most honest to yourself ... let this be the time ... FOR YOUR OWN SAKE!  THIS IS YOUR LIFE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HERE. 

The CALL of Joshua therefore remains relevant for us today:   DISCERN ... IS LOVING AND SERVING  GOD ... THE WILL OF YOUR HEART ... decide today.  How are we putting away the STRANGE GODS that tend to overpower us and estrange us from focusing on God and God alone.  

This is why the IMAGE OF A CHILD in our Gospel is important:  A child MANIFEST A CERTAIN FEAR ... A HEALTHY FEAR  ... I’LL FOLLOW ... KASI SABI NG NANAY ... GANITO GANYAN!  A child manifest a certain SINCERITY OF HEART ... he wouldn’t lie ... di ba?    “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  

More than being childlike ... let a line from the Gospel further console us:  JESUS PLACED HIS HANDS ON THEM ... on the CHILDREN  and he went away.  He gives his blessings ... and leaves us on our own ... for what?  TO DECIDE ... TO DISCERN ... CAN I LOVE AND FOLLOW THIS GOD ... OR DO I CONTINUE TO KEEP AND HOLD ONTO MY STRANGE AND LITTLE GODS ... we discern.

  

I AM THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS ....

 

JUST HAD A THOUGHT:At masses the past days, we had been reading about the patriarchs and YAHWEH introducing Himself (specifically to Moses) as I AM WHO AM. Interestingly, he says: I AM the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Hmmmm! Nothing too strange about that yet. The past days also saw narrations of how these patriarchs died. Abraham died. Isaac died. Jacob died ... Joseph died and so on. Here's the interesting part: Yahweh says ... in the PRESENT TENSE ... I AM THEIR GOD! It would have been different if Yahweh says I WAS THEIR GOD. Grammar check 'to! But He says I AM ... IN THE PRESENT TENSE. Strange ba? His relationship with those who had passed on to the next life continues ... and ... and ... THEY LIVE ... and ... and ... THEY ARE ALIVE ... IN THE PRESENT TENSE. God's presence makes those ONCE DEAD alive. And perhaps this applies as well to those who are LIVING. Good day everyone.

INGESTING THE BITTER-SWEET WORD OF GOD

INGESTING THE BITTER-SWEET WORD OF GOD 

Reflections on Revelations 10:8-11  /  Luke 19:45-48

Memorial of Sts. Columban, Pope Clement I and Blssd Miguel Pro

by Frank Savadera, SJ

From the Book of REVELATION, we read:  John heard a voice from heaven speaking to him.  "Go, take the scroll (or book in some versions) that lies open in the hand of the angel ...” Take and swallow it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey." 

There is simply something strange visualizing an image of the evangelist John taking a scroll or pieces of hard paper ... cardboard ... and eating them as the angel instructed him.   We see babies or toddlers ... sometimes tearing pieces of paper and putting such in their mouths.  HAVE YOU EATEN PAPER ... at least once in your life?    It may be true perhaps to think that doing so can give anyone a stomach upset.

We would like to think of the book or the scroll mentioned in our first reading as representing the words of God.  Eating and consuming it thus speak of the probable effects of God’s word on us.  Thus, God’s words may be SWEET to the TASTE ... SWEET IN THE MOUTH ... but BITTER or SOUR to the STOMACH.  What do we mean? 

We celebrate the life and witness of at least a dozen saints whose memorial we remember today.  How is God’s word for them SWEET IN THE MOUTH ... but BITTER or SOUR to the STOMACH?

SWEET in the MOUTH.   Today is the feast and memorial of ST. COLUMBAN – an IRISH monk and missionary who at one time found himself in the middle of a pack of wolves.  Holding the Holy Bible in his hands, he prayed  "Deus in adjutorium" (God come to my assistance) ... and the wolves reportedly smelt his clothes and left him.  Incidentally ... some church historians think of this Irish monk as very attractive (guapo) and had problems with his relationships and attractions with women.  The word of God reportedly came to him through the words of a reclusive OLD WOMAN who suggested that he fly to a region where girls are less beautiful and seductive than those in Ireland. "Save thyself, young man, and fly!"  Because of such words, Saint Columban found himself moving around ... moving around ... setting up communities wherever he went ... the beginnings of his missionary activity.  Isn’t this what we mean by:  THE WORD OF GOD IS SWEET TO THE MOUTH ... the same kind words we perhaps receive when we are so consoled in our prayers and retreats.  And we know that this is true because we had experienced so ... you may agree. 

The WORD OF GOD is SWEET in THE MOUTH – Pope Clement I – 2^nd/ 3^rd pope after Peter (whose feast we also remember today) may have realized this all to well ... as he preached firmly to strengthen the pillars of the Church which Christ had established.  He wrote letters to the communities of Corith affirming the authority of presbyters as rulers of the church, on the grounds that the Apostles had received God’s word and appointment as shepherds of the flock. 

In our Gospel today, Jesus himself also preached everyday in the temple area.  And isn’t it ... isn’t it simply consoling to hear the word of God preached ... how inspiring it is to hear the dramatic stories of saints who followed the word of God.  THE WORD OF GOD is indeed truly SWEET to CHEW and  MUNCH in the MOUTH. 

But even in the life of Pope Clement ... we know that he was incarcerated and sentenced to work in a marble quarry ... thus becoming the patron of marble-makers.  While serving his time, the Pope managed to secretly preach and proclaim the faith which eventually irked his captors.  As tradition tells us, the Pope was thrown alive into the sea with a huge anchor  attached to his neck.  The WORD of God is indeed SWEET to HEAR ... inspiring to LISTEN TO ... but it also presents the reality that once ingested or taken into the mouth ... it will need to be digested ... and for some ... it becomes difficult to DIGEST.  Should we eat the WORD OF GOD ... can it also cause INDIGESTION ... Na—IMPACHO tayo sa salita ng Diyos!   What do we mean??? 

The word of God consoles us ... YES ... but it also calls us beyond mere self-conscious consolation.  It calls us to the BITTER-SWEET REALITY of committing ourselves to the work of God ... much as our saints generously offered their lives for God’s work.  The Word of God is SWEET to the MOUTH but we are asked to anticipate that it takes GRACE to bear with the BITTER and SOUR realities that go with faithfully subscribing to the WORD. 

Given our own examples ... we may ask ourselves, how easily do we give up in seeking God ... when things do not work our way?  How are our original fruits of prayer --- telling us to be good as God wishes us to be good --compromised when NEW DATA in our environment simply proved SWEETER? 

Friends today we also remember the life of  a JESUIT BEATO by the name of BLESSED MIGUEL PRO a priest  who lived during the time of  anti-Clericalism and the persecution of the Church in Mexico .   To proceed with his ministry,  he apparently disguised himself  a la JAMES BOND – double “O7.”   Reportedly, he would come in the middle of the night dressed as a beggar to baptize infants, bless marriages and celebrate Mass. He would appear in jail dressed as a police officer to bring Holy Viaticum to condemned Catholics. When going to fashionable neighboorhoods to procure for the poor, he would show up at the doorstep dressed as a fashionable businessmam with a fresh flower on his lapel. His many exploits could rival those of the most daring spies.  We went around preaching that the WORD of God is indeed SWEET.   But ... eventually he was falsely accused in  an attempt to assassinate the Mexican president.  He was sentenced to death without the benefit of any legal process.  On the day of his execution, Fr. Pro forgave his executioners, prayed, bravely refused the blindfold and died proclaiming, "Viva Cristo Rey", "Long live Christ the King!" 

Friends, our Gospel today also tells us how the scribes and the chief priests couldn’t put Jesus to death ... simply because many were hanging on to his words.  Today, as we remember the lives of Sts. Columban and Clement and Blessed Miguel Pro ... let us truly be consoled of the SWEET WORDS which we receive always from God.  We pray as well for the grace to continually HANG ONTO HIS WORDS even amidst the bitter realities of our lives.  

  

TRANSFORMING FEAR INTO HOLY WISDOM

Feast of St. John the Baptist

TRANSFORMING FEAR INTO HOLY WISDOM

by Frank Savadera, SJ

I was just wondering:  If there are surveys measuring the public’s approval ratings of government leaders ... are there also such similar kinds of quantitative surveys assessing church goers’ approval of their priests and bishops? 

Given the bad press the church has been getting the past years ... one may think that people’s perception of church leaders had gone really sour. 

Believe it or not ... a recent survey released by the PEW Research Center of Washington D.C. and published by the UCANEWS ONLY this August 2012 reveals interesting results.  For the 20-year period between 1992 to 2012 ... the approval ratings of priests in the United States had been steady at 80-83%.  (This is high ... considering Obama’s 49%; Pinoy’s 42% in July 2012). The approval ratings of American bishops on the other hand, had increased dramatically from 51% ten years ago to a current high of 70% despite the many controversies hounding the Church of North America (i.e. the newly-delegated Archbishop of San Francisco was recently caught driving under the influence of alcohol).

Though it may not be the Church’s way of proceeding to refer to popularity ratings as means to assess the effectiveness of church programs ... we can still nevertheless surmise that ...  regardless of the countless accusations hurled against the church ... the public ... amazingly still easily accord  their church leaders degrees of respect and positive regard.  If the ratings above apply to the church in Northern America ... we can perhaps expect higher approval ratings of priests and bishops here in the Philippines where life still revolves much around the activities of the church (with or without the RH Bill).

In a similar way ... no matter what charges Herod and Herodias hurled against John the Baptist ... which merited his being in prison ... the Baptizer as gleaned from our Gospel reading ... nevertheless STILL enjoyed the confidence of many ... and even of Herod himself.

As the Gospel implies:  Herod seemed to have feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man.   Herod kept John in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.

HEROD FEARED JOHN. HEROD LIKED TO LISTEN TO JOHN.  Friends, SINNERS as we are ... and much like what Herod himself manifested in the Gospel ... we nevertheless are called to pray for and keep a basic sense of FEAR of the LORD.  As in the case of Herod, FEAR of the LORD allowed him a recognition of what is TRUE, RIGHTEOUS and HOLY.  He thought of John the Baptist as a righteous and holy man.  Herod feared him because he knows that John speaks the truth.  Consequently and this we know ... knowing the truth is accompanied by a lot of FEAR ... FEAR that sometimes causes us a lot of panic attacks, headaches, fatigue and stomach problems.  Herod feared John ... but Herod nevertheless still liked to listen to him.  Friends, let our fears be HOLY fears of the Lord.  Let our approval ratings of Him remain high ... knowing that indeed His holiness and righteousness transform our FEARS to a greater wisdom of ourselves and our God.   

Though Herod continued to listen to John ... he was just too weak to put into effect what he believed was TRUE.   He was just caught up with the many demands and influences which surrounded him.  He was just so enthralled by the girl, daughter of Herodias who danced in front of him.  He became overly concerned not to be embarrassed in front of many people.  As such even though He believed and continued to listen to John ... he succumbed to his weak and easily swayed self.  He had the holy and righteous KILLED.  We pray for greater strength of character ... the inner will to stand by what we believe is TRUE despite the numerous voices and influences we hear around us.

After beheading John the Baptist, Herod was DISTRESSED.  What for us is distress?  DISSONANCE between what we TRULY desire and what our current concerns force us to do.   The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word.   Amidst instances of distress ... may we grow in greater integrity.

We are in the business of helping keep not simply the approval rating of the Church BUT MORE SO keeping and sustaining its INTEGRITY.  

JESUS OPENS UP HIS HEART FOR US

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

JESUS OPENS UP HIS HEART FOR US

by Frank D.B. Savadera, SJ

We cannot totally know God! God is a being that is completely MORE THAN what can be thought.  Tayo nga ... we cannot completely know ourselves ... hindi ba?    God however,  graces us with the capacity for WISDOM ... to know him ... to experience his very being and reality.  This feast and solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we are asked to contemplate:  WHAT TRULY IS IN THE HEART OF JESUS?  Would you like to know?  We have the capacity to know because the LORD OPENS UP HIS HEART TO US!!!  What truly is in the heart of Jesus!??

HEART is a great symbol that we use in many literature.  What is the HEART of the matter?  What is the CORE?  What makes it ALIVE?  The heart is such a delicate organ of the body ... it distributes BLOOD to all other organs of the body ... and so WE NEED TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF OUR HEART.  It has become so crucial and important to OUR LIVING that we say:  PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH MY HEART!!!    (Take good care of your heart ... it’s the only one you’ve got ... if you lose your heart I lose you love).  ARE WE WILLING TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE HEART OF JESUS who opens up his heart to us! 

The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has been observed in the Church for centuries.  It is none other than OUR DEVOTION TO THE HEART OF JESUS (Isn’t it true that we have a lot of devotions?)  I want to know how that HEART reaches out to me ... how that HEART opens itself to me ... how do I feel BEING LOVED by that heart ... how I feel BEING FORGIVEN by that heart.  

One of the saints who promoted the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the French nun Mary Margaret Alacoque.  The Twelve Promises of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary for those devoted to His Sacred Heart:

1.    I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

2.    I will establish peace in their families.

3.    I will console them in all their troubles.

4.    They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death.

5.    I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.

6.    Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.

7.    Tepid souls shall become fervent.

8.    Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.

9.    I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.

10. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.

11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.

12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.

"Look at this Heart which has loved men so much, and yet men do not want to love Me in return. Through you My divine Heart wishes to spread its love everywhere on earth."

Another revelation:  Saint Faustina Kowalska  (Poland) ... from whom we derive the DEVOTION TO THE DIVINE MERCRY ... wrote in her Diary, now world famous, these words of Jesus: “I have opened my Heart as a living source of Mercy, from it all souls draw life, all approach with deep confidence this sea of Mercy. Sinners will obtain justification and the just will be strengthened in goodness. I will fill the souls of those who put their trust in My Mercy with My divine peace at the hour of their death. 

This is the reason why the IMAGE OF A SHEPHERD is significant in our understanding the SACRED HEART OF JESUS and his DIVINE MERCY. 

From EZEKIEL we read:  “I myself will look after and tend my sheep.  I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark.  I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.

From St. Paul to the ROMANS:  “The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.  God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved ...”

HOW MUCH IS GOD PROVING HIS LOVE FOR YOU AND ME? Can we have a sense of that?  Can we feel that?  Can we contemplate the HEART OF JESUS to recognize how the Lord wishes us to be his SHEEP and himself our SHEPHERD.  He cares for us ... he loves us and pastures us ... such that nothing can harm us.  

STRIPPED OF OUR TECHNI-COLORED DREAMCOATS

2nd Week of Lent

Reflections on GeNesis 37:3-4, 12-13A, 17B-28A /          MaTthew 21:33-43, 45-46

by Frank D. B. Savadera, SJ

In the year 2000 during the month of December,  Bishop Karl Lehman,  president of the German Bishops’ Conference created a big stir in the media by saying in almost a cryptic way what others perhaps feared or were just too embarrassed to suggest: “the Pope would surely have the courage to say if he thought he was incapable of doing his job.”  Imagine someone saying:  HOY BAKA NAMAN MEDICINE IS NOT FOR YOU ... LAGI KANG NAGKAKASAKIT. YOU DO NOT HAVE THE ENERGY FOR IT ANYMORE!

People elsewhere of course inferred from the statement that the president of the German Bishops Conference had called for the Pope’s resignation.  For his statement, Bishop Lehman who of course was referring to Pope John Paul II ... was severely criticized for being insensitive to the weak and frail physical condition of the incumbent and well loved pope.  As we all know, Pope John Paul II did not choose to resign and we were all witnesses ... with the help of television of course ... as to how he faltered and faltered ... how his health deteriorated until his eventual death.  Thirteen years after the German bishops suggested the possibility of a papal resignation, a German pope resigns.  (An editorial cartoon features a sketch of St. Peter’s Basilica with a thought or conversation bubble saying:  WHAT!  What did you say will you give up for Lent?)  When some of us think of giving up at least temporarily some of our vices ... Benedict XVI gives up his office for Lent.

Friends today, still in the Year of Faith, we grapple with the fact that Benedict XVI had indeed stepped down.  The office of the Pope had been declared vacant (SEDE VACANTE).  We ask: Who takes care of all of us now? Will this be the end of the world? This experience is just so new to us that one of my  Facebook friends blurted out in her facebook account:  It’s almost like having your father saying ... I’m  giving up ... I’m packing all my things ... and you no longer have a father.  I resign! 

What a coincidence one must say that our first reading today talks about a character Joseph ... the namesake of Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger).  Joseph, called by his brothers as the “master dreamer” was himself the favorite of his father Israel and the proud owner of the famous techni-colored dreamcoat.  In our account today, Joseph got stripped of his tunic, got thrown into a pit while his brothers asked: We shall then see what comes of his dreams.” 

What do we make out of the story of Joseph?  What do we make out of this story of another Joseph aka Benedict XVI our Pope who resigned from office?  Joseph’s brothers made fun of him and condescendingly called him the “master dreamer” ... which in fact HE WAS ... not so much because he slept a lot (as some of us do) ... but more so because he was a man of great vision. 

We would like to think that Benedict XVI himself is a man of great vision ... a master dreamer himself.  And I think this is how we are all called ... to be MASTER DREAMERS ourselves.  But what separates a SIMPLE DREAMER from a MASTER DREAMER?  We refer to the gospel and say that perhaps the TENANTS who drove away the servants of the landowner had dreams for themselves.  They toiled ... cultivated the land ... and work hard ... and worked hard we would like to believe on the land while the landowner was away.  They had dreams and much like normal dreamers ... I’m sure they wanted something good for themselves and for their families.  Nothing is really wrong with that.  Our question however remains:  What makes a simple dreamer different from a master dreamer?  Joseph was a master dreamer ... and we would like to think that Benedict is himself a master dreamer.  I think the clue comes from our Gospel today.  Amidst all our toiling ... dreaming and cultivating the land ... the work that had been entrusted us to do ... the SON of the landowner comes.  Do we recognize him?  The fault of the tenants I would like to believe was that the weight of their personal dreams simply overwhelmed them  ... to the point of plotting to obliterate the very presence of HIM who makes it possible for all of us to dream. 

Friends ... to be MASTER DREAMERS for me means simply continuing with the good that we are doing everyday ... not so much because it is required ... not so much because I want to have better grades and be recognized in my field ... not so much that this will assure me of a good future ... but more so because this is all about SHARING IN THE DREAM OF THE GREAT MASTER HIMSELF ... and BENEDICT could not have said it most plainly:  Amidst the growing complexity of  the world around us ... our dreams become more meaningful ... when BEHIND ALL OF THESE DREAMS we are able to say: DEUS CARITAS EST.  God is the LOVE behind all our capacities to dream.  We become MASTER DREAMERS as WE SHARE in making more known that love.

When I was a Jesuit novice ... I was assigned to the Emergency Room of the Philippine General Hospital.  Of course, we know that the PGH is not a first class hospital ... it is a government hospital which caters to the poorest of the poor.  I’M NOT GOOD WITH HOSPITALS ... what more ... in a government hospital!  The smell can be quite bad ... and I can remember the stench even as I speak to you today.  They had what they called WAITING ROOMS ... where people were cramped in one place because they had not enough rooms to accommodate all the charity patients.  They had these waiting rooms ... and I realized that when you are POOR ... YOU WAIT ... and the poor wait ... they wait not only for their “bantays” ... they wait for blood donors and other benefactors ... they wait to DIE.  It was just a so chaotic place for me ... and I remember asking myself WHAT AM I DOING HERE?  WHY DO I NEED TO BE HERE?  This is such a DEPLORABLE SNAKE PIT. 

Friends ... much like the experience of Joseph, I realized that I needed to be stripped of my TECHNI-COLORED DREAMCOAT ... my pride ... my overconfidence ... my self-sufficiency ... and know that there is GRACE in recognizing my HELPLESSNESS amidst seeming hopelessness around me.  I don’t know if you think of  your current status now as a SNAKE PIT (hwag naman sana)  ... pero I’m sure it’s hard to be here ‘di ba?  But as the story of Joseph tells us ... there is grace in staying in our own pits ... at least for us to understand that it is not my will and effort ... but God’s will and effort that saves us and pulls us out always of all our difficult situations.  We pray for Benedict XVI as he strips himself off of the papal DREAMCOAT and stays in his private pit to experience all the more God’s presence and grace.  And that prayer is for all of us as well.

The brothers of Joseph,  in an almost nasty remark say:   “We shall then see what comes of his dreams.”  Hindi ba we have a saying LIBRE NAMAN ANG MANAGINIP!  DREAM KA LANG NG DREAM!  At the end of the day however, we can acknowledge that we can work and work ... but what comes out of our initial dreaming is beyond us.  There is such a thing as DESTINY .... and this makes dreaming more exciting.  I’m sure Joseph never even expected to be a powerful man in Egypt.  He was in the Pharaoh’s prison for a time.  What comes out of our DREAMING ... I think ... is a greater SENSE of TRUST and FAITH ... that something GOOD WILL COME OUT of all our small and even perhaps unrecognized efforts.  What can come out of Benedict’s resignation? ... a greater and more strengthened  Church ... I believe ... not so much dependent on the leadership of any person or pope but on the Spirit that keeps the Church alive through many difficult times.

As Benedict himself said: “... I always knew that the Lord is in the boat, and I always knew that the boat of the Church is not mine, not ours, but it is His. And He will not let her sink, it is He who leads it, certainly also through the men he has chosen, because so He has willed it. This was and is a certainty that nothing can obscure. And that is why today my heart is filled with gratitude to God because He has never left me or the Church without His consolation, His light, His love.”  Friends ... we are asked:  what really becomes of our dreams?  We really don’t know di ba? What we know is:  OUR TRUST and FAITH in God’s spirit will keep our boats afloat ... and our consolation comes from the fact that God will not allow that boat to sink (for now). 

·   We are called to be master dreamers ... attuning our dreams to those of the Master’s ... he who makes it possible for us to dream in the first place.

·   We are invited to check how we are being stripped of our techni-colored dreamcoats ... our pride and false images of ourselves.  How are we asked to stay in our own respective pits and experience the grace of being pulled out from that pit  by something other than ourselves;

·   What comes out of our dreams?  We do not really know?  But then perhaps a greater faith ... that we will be sustained because it is the Spirit that maneuvers and keeps our boat afloat each time.