visible rhetoric

Instead of giving you an outline of the Instrumentum laboris I am giving a personal reflection on it because I don’t want to repeat what I presume you have already read. First permit me to state the obvious in the instrumenta laboris of this second session: the Biblical Apostolate has 14 pages and has more or less 7 proposals, the Youth has 13 pages and has more or less 23 proposals, the Laity has 21 pages and has 11 proposals, the Family Life has 13 pages and 7 proposals, but topping them all, the Liturgy has 62 pages and 41 proposals. In effect we have just given our instrumentum laboris a new name – instrumentum laborious. The presumption therefore that you have read this comes from the belief that if you have not read it because of interest, you must have read it at least as an act of penance for the many sins we and others have committed on the sacred liturgy.

Judas has always been personified as a villain, the contrabida inthe story of Jesus. He was a traitor who sold Jesus out for thirty pieces of silver. But imagine what it would have been like without a Judas? Imagine what it would have been like and how the story would have ended without Judas? Surely his betrayal has a purpose. Even though how repugnant it is to us now, that act of Judas was something needed, it was something essential to the plot that became the peak of salvation history.

Today, because of the readings, is traditionally called the day of betrayal. We commemorate today the betrayal of Jesus by Judas and partially by Peter. During this day, I will begin giving the evaluation by class, of course to those who are ready. And I chose this day, the day of betrayal, to explain why I would give it by class and what you should do now that you will know each other’s needs and secrets. Last night I got the dictionary and looked for the word betrayal. It has several meanings.

What was the motive of Judas in proposing that the perfume anointed on the feet of Jesus be sold and the proceeds be given to the poor? Was it really well-intended? Was it really borne out of charity and concern for the plight of the poor, or was it plain and simple hatred for Jesus? It is difficult to know. It is something only God can fathom. But certain facts are clear from this incident. First, not all good works are motivated by good intentions. It may be done for other intentions which can only be known by the doer of the action. It may even be done because of some sinister and evil motives. Following the rules for example may be motivated by fear of authority or the need to be recognized and affirmed by the superiors. Following the rules is good. In fact it is praiseworthy. But the individual might have other intentions which may make a good deed less than sincere.

Today we gather to baptize Yanagi Lei. By the sound of her name I can safely assume the characteristics of one who had the upper hand in naming this first child last November 26. He or she should be a lover of sushi, tempura, anime and manga which leads to me the conclusion that he or she was not born during the brutal Japanese Occupation years. I might be wrong in my presumption but I can say that I am safely correct in my conclusion!

I thought I will be forgotten now that I have transferred assignment and had my cellphone numbers changed twice and had the new one put to good use by some needy pedestrian in Manila, the latter being the more Christian way of saying “ay yatis kinawatan ako.” Most often the worst of circumstances can be transformed into good when the mind changes the way it looks at things and events. Twenty minutes after I was pick pocketed my anger dissipated, something that seldom happens. And it happened when I got myself to look the other way around and say that that cellphone, which I seldom used anyway, could be finally put to good use. I think that is what Mother Marie Eugenie meant when she said that “the spirit of Assumption tends towards joyful detachment and going beyond trials and difficulties without complaining and wasting time over them.” Indeed these are not just words for Marie Eugenie. The pains of her growing up years never became a reason to get stuck to whine and sulk about ...

One day a samurai who had too much of wine made a commotion on the streets disturbing everybody as he passed by. Seeing a monk who was walking quietly, he immediate jumped on him and blocked his way. The poor monk calmly looked for another route but the drunk samurai followed him suit and again blocked his way. Sensing that he could not get rid of him, the monk quietly asked, “what can I do for you, sir?”

Why are we baptized? We are baptized for three reasons. First, we are baptized so that we will become sons and daughters of God, our baptism makes us participate in the new life won for us by Christ who by his death and resurrection has made us sons and daughters of the Father. Second, we are baptized to cleanse us from our sins, to give us a fresh start, to rid us of sin which obstructs us from living fully our call as sons and daughters of God. And thirdly, we are baptized in order to incorporate us into the family of God, to become members of the church. Baptism marks our entry into the community of God.

I have said so many things already through the years, having been assigned here twice, regarding the feast of Our Lady of Candles and the proper liturgical feast which is the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple. I have commented on the long expected child, on Mary and Joseph, on Simeon and Anna, and even on those poor pair of turtle doves. But the word of God, though ancient, is ever new, always relevant, always significant, always possessing a message that continually hounds us and draws us to the deeper realities of our life and call. Last year I reflected on our second reading, a reading from the letter to the Hebrews. Today for our reflection, let us focus ourselves on the first reading from the prophet Malachi.

Today is Christmas, Merry Christmas. I just want to emphasize this point because today is officially Christmas Day. I say officially because some of us have already started greeting each other Merry Christmas way back November and even as early as September when we begun putting up our Christmas Trees and lanterns. That was the unofficial Christmas, also known as the Filipino Christmas. Today it is officially Christmas and we are celebrating it after almost all our Christmas parties are over. We are after all a people known for postponing our grief and anticipating our joys.