pedro calungsod: 28th week friday 2012 II

Jesus is telling us that man, the person is composed of body and soul.  All of us have a body and a soul.  If you are body without a soul then you are dead because the soul gives life to the body.  The soul however can live even without the body.  Our souls are eternal.  We cannot kill it.  It will live forever no matter what we do.

Jesus said do not fear those who can kill the body and afterward can do no more.  Fear however those who can kill and has the power to cast into hell. 

This is what Pedro Calungsod stood for.  He was a teenage boy at 17 years of age who accompanied the Jesuit missionaries to the Islas de Ladrones in 1668 - Islas de Ladrones was later renamed the Marianas and in the past this was part of Cebu Diocese.  Pedro and Fr.  Diego San Luis were there to evanglize the Chamorros - of Guam in the Marianas.  On April 2 1672 Pedro Calungsod accompanied Fr. Diego Luis to evangelize the natives and to baptize a new born girl.  But then they were assaulted and both the priest and Pedro Calungsod died.  On Sunday Pedro Calungsod will be canonized and he will become the second saint of the Philippines, the first being St. Lorenzo Ruiz.

Pedro Calunsod believed in our gospel today - that we should not fear those who can kill the body and do nothing more.  Rather we should fear him who can kill and has the power to cast you into hell.  They killed his body but his soul is now with God, a saint whom we can imitate.  Tandaan naton ina.  Si Pedro Calungsod nagpakamatay tungod kay gin-apinan niya ang pagtuo.  He valued more the life of his soul over his body - they can kill his body but not his soul.  Thus he was martyred.  Today we pray to Pedro Calungsod that he would make our faith and trust in God strong.