The sin that cannot be forgiven

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
January 26, 2026

CHRIST mentioned this kind of sin in that episode where he was accused by some scribes that he cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of devils. (cfr. Mk 3,22) He said: “All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men…but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit shall never have forgiveness, but shall be guilty of an everlasting sin.” (Mk 3,29) That’s because they accused him of having an unclean spirit.

Obviously, it is an unforgivable sin since it involves a deliberate and complete rejection of God’s mercy, making it impossible for the person to repent and receive forgiveness. This kind of sin is committed when we attribute God’s miracles to the devil, when we refuse to acknowledge Christ as the Messiah, and when we reject God’s offer of salvation.

This unforgivable sin is precisely the sin of the demons themselves who refuse to believe in God in spite of everything God would do to help them. In other words, one who commits this unforgivable sin, that is, who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, is like the demon himself.

Let us always remember that God always likes to forgive. Remember Christ offering forgiveness to those who crucified him just moments before his death: “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” (Lk 23,24)

In this case, those who crucified him did not really know what they were doing. And, in fact, they were converted when after Christ died, they confessed that he was truly the Son of God. (cfr Mt 27,54; Mk 15,39) But in the case of those who saw the miracle on the Sabbath, they persisted in their disbelief.

We have to see to it that we avoid falling into committing this unforgivable sin. We may not understand everything in our life and that is why we commit sins, but let us not directly, formally and openly reject God in the face of the many good things and blessings that we also enjoy.

Let us make our sins an occasion to get closer to God instead, to understand better his will and ways, and even to attain sanctity. Sin, of course, does not cause sanctity. But if handled well, it can occasion the way to holiness. It can trigger a strong impulse toward developing a greater love for God and for others, which is what holiness is all about.

It’s really a matter of how we react to our sinfulness. If we are sorry for our sins and try to make up for them, then sanctity would be at our reach. God, always a loving father to us, will never deny his mercy. Neither will he deny his grace to make us as we ought to be – true image and likeness of his, and a good child of his.

In fact, if we go by the reasoning of St. Paul, God seems to have the habit of choosing the foolish things of the world, the weak, the lowly and the despised, in order to confound and shame the wise, the strong and the proud of this world. (cfr 1 Cor 1,27-28) Along this line, He can also choose a sinner to confound those who pride themselves in a worldly way as saints.

Let’s be quick to ask forgiveness the moment we realize we fall into sin. And when faced with a mystery that is hard, if not impossible, to understand or to cope despite all our efforts, let’s be humble enough to abandon ourselves in God’s hands, in God’s providence.

Why Christ sought to be baptized

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
January 10, 2026

THAT’S a question we can ask on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Even St. John the Baptist asked that question. But Christ insisted. “Suffer it to be so now. For so it becomes us to fulfill all justice,” Christ told St. John the Baptist. (Mt 3,15)

The quick answer to that question is because Christ wants to show that with baptism, he is identifying himself with the whole humanity, demonstrating his commitment to fulfill the will of his Father.

At the same time, with the appearance of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and a heavenly voice heard, saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased,” what was established was the clear divinity of Christ and his mission of redeeming humanity.

It’s a historic event pregnant with very important implications. With no need to be baptized, he had himself baptized, even insisting on it, to institute the sacrament of baptism which is the gateway for us to Christian life, to incorporate us into the mystical body of Christ.

With baptism, we open ourselves to the possibility of receiving all the other sacraments that fully satisfy our spiritual needs with the view of attaining our salvation and our eternal life with God our Father.

We have to understand then that our life has to revolve around the sacraments that serve to build it up and make it Christ’s life as well. As the Catechism puts it, all the sacraments form one organic whole, and they “touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life.” (1210)

Some spiritual writers have also considered Christ’s baptism as his second birth. The first one was with Mary, quite hidden and known only to a few shepherds and mysteriously to three magi who came from a far country. This second one highlights the fact that Christ is the Son of God and presents him to the world as such.

Yes, Christ’s baptism also marks the transition of Christ’s hidden life, consisting of more or less 30 years of doing ordinary things daily, to his public life when he would start going around preaching and healing and ultimately offering his life on the cross.

To be sure, the life of Christ is perfectly one and consistent, thoroughly redemptive in character both in his human and divine natures, and also in his hidden and public life. The distinctions do not divide Christ since all these distinctions are held in one divine person as subject.

This truth about Christ should somehow be reflected in our own lives. We are human, yes, but we are meant for a divine destination since we are God’s image and likeness, adopted children of his. With God’s grace, this blend, so to speak, is made possible.

Also, our personal, hidden life should not undermine the public life that is also meant for us since we are social beings. We have need for privacy, for discretion and confidentiality, but all these should not be made as an excuse to avoid our social duties and responsibilities.

We should not be afraid to go public, so to speak, to give witness to our faith which is not something to be held only personally but also collectively. We just have to make sure that our “public life” should not be an occasion to seek human glory, but only for God’s glory and for the good of all.

This will be our constant danger, and therefore we need to rectify our intentions continually and see to it that the means we use for giving witness to our faith in public are in keeping with the purpose of simply giving glory to God and for the common good.

Mary the surest way to Jesus

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
December 12, 2025

IT’S good to keep this spiritual and ascetical formula in mind as we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12. Mary, the Mother of Jesus is also our Mother. How she cared and identified herself completely with her Son is also how she cares and identify herself completely with us.

If we would just have a bit of common sese, we would know that it is always wise to go to Mary in order to get to Christ. As a saint once said, Mary is the shortest, surest and safest way to be with Christ.

Let’s see to it that our devotion to her grows. And if it is practically dormant if not dead, then let’s stir it up to life again. She is important to us. In fact, she is indispensable to us. She cannot be treated as an optional feature in our spiritual life, nor something decorative or appendical only.

While she is not God and, therefore, not to be accorded with the worship that is only due to God (latria), she rightly deserves to be given the highest form of veneration (hyperdulia) among all the saints who are already with God in heaven.

She never undermines our relationship with God. If anything, all she does is to bring us to God and to help us fulfill the will of God. Thus, in that episode of the wedding at Cana where she noticed that the hosts were running out of wine, she told the servants, “Do whatever he (Christ) tells you.” (Jn 2,5)

She is the epitome of motherhood who knows how to be a mother even to God and to all of us. All that because of her perfect identification of her will to the will of God, giving us a concrete example of how a human being can be so identified with God’s will that she becomes God’s perfect image and likeness as God wants her and also us to be.

We are often incredulous, even skeptical, about this possibility. But she managed to do it. Obviously, she was given the necessary graces for that. But she also corresponded to those graces with everything that she had, reflecting in the most perfect way the redemptive mission full of suffering of her son. How our Lady was and continues to be should also be how we should be.

And she is all there to help us achieve that dignity of being true children of God who can even be a mother of God and a spouse of God as our Lady was the most dutiful daughter of the God the father, mother of God the Son and spouse of God the Holy Spirit.

Let us just imitate our Lady’s perfect faith shown especially when she said, “Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum,” (Be it done to me according to your word) during the Annunciation. With that faith which for sure she could not understand completely, she put herself entirely under the designs and dynamics of God’s will of love, of redemption, toward mankind.

As mother, she would really take care of us the way she took care of Jesus. She will always be with us, ever solicitous of our needs, always ready to help and intercede on our behalf.

These are basic truths about Our Lady that should never be missing in our mind and heart. On the contrary, they should always be made to be felt more deeply so as to give the pertinent impulses and motivations to our thoughts, words and deeds.

Manifesto for climate justice from the youth of Eastern Samar

November 20, 2025

We, the Greenpeace Philippines - Eastern Samar Volunteers and the Eastern Samar Youth for Climate Justice, stand together in a unified and urgent demand: Climate Justice now.

The recent series of typhoons that struck our country once again exposed how dangerously vulnerable our communities have become. But these disasters are not the product of nature alone – they are intensified by collusion, corruption, impunity, and the unchecked greed of corporations, governments, and the wealthiest 0.1% who continue to profit as our communities face loss, displacement, and trauma.

As young leaders living on the frontlines of the climate crisis, we call on the government, corporations, and the richest billionaires to accelerate a just, equitable, and community-led transition to sustainable, affordable, clean, and renewable energy. We also call for the urgent strengthening and replenishment of the Loss and Damage Fund, ensuring vulnerable communities have the resources to prepare, rebuild, and adapt.

Our demands are not abstract; they are grounded in evidence and lived experience.

Oxfam’s latest report, Climate Plunder: How a powerful few are locking the world into disaster, lays bare the scale of injustice driving our suffering. The findings are stark:

- A person from the richest 0.1% emits more carbon in one day than the poorest half of the world emits in an entire year.

- If global emissions resembled those of the richest 0.1%, the world’s remaining carbon budget would be wiped out in less than three weeks.

These numbers are not just statistics: they expose the root of the crisis: a global system engineered to benefit a powerful few while the rest of the world pays the price. It is this same system that leaves communities like ours exposed, underfunded, and repeatedly forced to rebuild from nothing.

This is why we insist that those most responsible must finally pay their long overdue debt and support the transition they have delayed for decades.

We also call on the major polluters to face the survivors of Super Typhoon Odette and all climate survivors across the Philippines. We stand firmly behind the Odette Climate Case, a pioneering lawsuit filed by 67 Filipino survivors seeking justice for the devastation they suffered. This historic case – the first in the Global South to directly link carbon major operations to death, injury, and destruction – marks a critical step toward accountability long denied.

As global climate negotiations continue in Belém, these truths must shape the agenda.

Climate action cannot be separated from the politics of power, inequality, and corruption. Emissions targets and finance discussions mean little if the systems enabling elite capture and profit-driven obstruction remain untouched.

At COP30, governments must commit to:

- Strong transparency standards and anti-corruption safeguards across all climate finance mechanisms

- Independent oversight to ensure adaptation and Loss and Damage funds actually reach vulnerable communities

- Structural reforms that prevent high emitters and powerful elites from shaping climate policy for their own benefit

COP30 is not just another meeting – it is a deciding moment for the world. A moment for citizens and civil society to demand truth, accountability, and ambition. A moment for rich nations and powerful actors to deliver real commitments, not rhetoric.

We speak now as young people of Eastern Samar – survivors, advocates, and bearers of responsibility for the future we will inherit. Our message is clear and uncompromising: We will not be silent. We will not be sidelined. We demand climate justice – rooted in truth, equity, and accountability – and we demand it NOW!

Preparing for the end

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
November 15, 2025

THAT’S what we can get from that gospel episode where Christ made the people, who admired the temple for its rich adornment, to realize how it was going to be at the end of time. (cfr. Lk 21,5-19)

Oh, many terrible things were going to happen, he told them. But at the same time, he reassured them that while they shall be hated by all men for Christ’s sake, not a hair of their head shall perish. “In your patience you shall posses your souls,” he said.

This gospel episode is definitely a call for us to prepare for the end, either of our own life or of time and the world. It’s a preparation that is also a call for us to really strengthen our faith, and to keep on going and growing in our spiritual life that in the end is what truly matters, since that is the life that brings us to our eternal bliss with God.

In this regard, we need to see to it that our profession of our belief in God, and the accompanying practices of piety that it involves, should always continue to grow and improve, making appropriate adjustments, proper adaptations and even necessary corrections along the way.

We cannot deny that we always tend to fall into lukewarmness and complacency, leading us to fall into all sorts of inconsistencies between what believe in, what we teach and what we do. It calls to mind that accusation Christ once made against some of the Pharisees whose words we may follow but not their deeds, since, as he said, “they preach, but do not practice what they preach.” (Mt 23,3)

We have to continually check and review how we are doing in our spiritual life, in our relation with God and with others. Do we really find time to pray, to know more about God? Are we progressing in our skill in discerning God’s will and ways at every moment of the day?

This definitely would require of us to have some kind of a plan of life that covers everything in our life, making them pursue the ultimate goal of our life. If we are to be effective especially in facing the many challenges and opportunities today and in the future, we need to hone our skills at making plans and strategies, both of the short-run and the long-run types.

This may require a lot of patience and self-discipline, and the learning curve may be very slow at the beginning. But then again if we persist, there is no other way but to succeed.

Of course, the most important goal of the plans and strategies is how to relate everything to God. We have to come out with concrete ideas as to how to make that goal achievable. Obviously, this would involve developing the virtue of order and of inculcating the proper sense of priorities, giving the inputs of our Christian faith the first priority.

We have to examine our attitudes, practices and habits, and see which ones would reinforce this effort and which would hinder it. We have to learn how to make plans and strategies that are realistic and are organic in the context of our personal circumstances. They have to be plans and strategies that know how to flex with the changing circumstances without getting confused or lost in our proper focus.

We should be able to see a gradual process of developing our spiritual life such that we can feel more intimate with God himself and that our whole life goes truly in synch with God’s will and ways! This is what is meant by preparing for the end.

The relevance of the Holy Rosary today

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
October 7, 2025

CONSIDERING the rapid shifts on the global stage, leaving us often sharply challenged and confused, we really need now more than ever a stable anchor that would put us on the right groove to help us navigate life smoothly and lead us toward our real and ultimate goal in life.

And I believe the Holy Rosary would help us greatly in this regard. It’s a highly recommended devotion that would help us contemplate on the lives of Christ and Mary, our best guides in our earthly pilgrimage. It connects us to the mysteries of our Christian faith and promotes spiritual reflection and peace, which are what we really need in these often chaotic times.

Let’s remember that we are meant to have a shared life with God and with everybody else in a blessed communion of saints. And the Holy Rosary, properly prayed with real faith and piety, would greatly help us by keeping us in synch with the mysteries of the salvific mission of Christ and with the help of our most powerful intercessor, our Mother Mary.

The Holy Rosary would help us keep a relation of intimacy with Christ and Mary especially these days when we are often tempted to be guided only by our emotions and passions, and the worldly trends that tend to lead us to self-indulgence.

It is a form of meditative prayer that combines vocal prayers with the contemplation of the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, thus encouraging both vocal and mental prayer. It is a powerful weapon against evil and a source of grace and peace, particularly in times of conflict or difficulty.

According to Archbishop, now Blessed, Fulton Sheen, the Holy Rosary is one of the most profound ways to find Christ. More than a mantra, each mystery actually allows us to reflect on the message of the Gospel and of the key moments in the life of the Christ and Mary.

“The Rosary is the book of the blind,” he said, “where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known. It is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men. The power of the Rosary is beyond description.”

Sister, now Venerable, Lucia of Fatima, also has these to say about the Holy Rosary: “My impression is that the Rosary is of greatest value not only according to the words of Our Lady of Fatima, but according to the effects of the Rosary one sees throughout history. My impression is that Our Lady wanted to give ordinary people, who might not know how to pray, this simple method of getting closer to God.”

We should learn to pray the Holy Rosary properly. We should focus on meditating on the mysteries of Christ’s life while reciting the prayers, approaching it with sincerity and devotion, and allowing it to inspire both contemplation and action.

We should approach the Holy Rosary with a great desire to grow closer to God and seek Mary’s intercession. We should avoid a rote recitation of it. Rather, we should strive to make each prayer a heartfelt expression our faith and love for God.

We obviously need to pause from time to time to keep or recover the appropriate disposition in praying it. Somehow, we should feel the very the presence of Christ and Mary while we pray the Holy Rosary.

Who we are in the eyes of God

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
September 10, 2025

IT would be good if all the time we have it clear in our mind who we really are, what our true identity and dignity are, in the eyes, in the mind and heart of God. It would help us to stay calm, confident and happy despite the ups and downs of our earthly sojourn.

We are God’s beloved! His love for us, to put it bluntly, is the same as his love for his own self. And that’s because we have been created in very image and likeness, meant to share his very own life and nature.

In spite of our human limitations that are due first of all by our lack of faith in our true identity and by the misuse of our freedom and all the other God-given powers, God never fails to love us just the same. He would go to such extent as to become man, to preach the Good News to us, and ultimately to offer his life for us. That way, he himself bears all our sins and conquers them with his resurrection.

To top it all, he remains with us all throughout time, his real presence and the ever-ready offer for our redemption are made available in the sacraments, especially in the Holy Eucharist. He knows our weaknesses, he knows that we continue to fall, and yet he is all there, ready to forgive us and to make us new again.

These considerations should always be in our mind. That is the real challenge because we all know that our thoughts and intentions, more often than not, are guided simply by our human reasoning, based mainly on feelings, on worldly standards, etc., rather on the gift of faith that God himself gives us

God wants to share who he is and what he has with us. But it is us who fail to correspond to such tremendous gift and truth. It would be nice if from time to time, we pause and consider again this most wonderful truth about ourselves.

That awareness, nay, conviction, would help us to live good and happy lives, able to deal properly with whatever human situation and condition we may find ourselves in. We can have the strength to say “No” to temptations, and if ever we fall, we would not hesitate to go back to God, convinced that God’s mercy would always be given to us.

More than that, we would have the power to do a lot of good, to continue working with Christ for the redemption of mankind. Yes, we would be able to “bear all things and conquer all things.”

Yes, there’s really no reason for us to be too worried and anxious when we encounter some difficulty in our life. In fact, we have every reason to be confident and at peace, focused on what we are supposed to do. And that’s because we are always in God’s hands.

Whatever situation we may be in, we can be sure that God will always provide for what is truly needed by us, and it may not be what we want. We just have to trust him completely for he knows better than we do, and what we want may not be what we need. It may not even be what is good for us.

God always knows what to do in any situation we may find ourselves in. He may allow some evil to come to us, an evil that can do us no harm unless we let it, but God knows how to draw good from evil.

We should just remember who we are in the eyes of God!

Peace month opens with anniversary of The Hague Joint Declaration:

Peace advocates urge parties to revisit hallmark agreement and overcome obstacles to resuming GRP-NDFP peace negotiation

A press statement by the Pilgrims for Peace urging parties to resume peace negotiation
September 1, 2025

As September is Peace Month, Pilgrims for Peace joins with peace advocates around the world in rekindling hope for peacebuilding that addresses the roots of armed conflict.

This is an appropriate juncture to reflect on the developments in our peace accompaniment with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). We have not heard from the two Parties, with almost two years since their November 28, 2023 Oslo Joint Statement, saying they would move toward formal peace negotiations.

There are indeed obstacles to resuming the talks, and these must be overcome. These include widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and the ‘weaponization of the law’ under terrorism legislation (namely the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012), which make peace talks nearly impossible. In many areas, peacebuilding has been muted or maligned with the NTF-ELCAC’s proliferation of ‘fear-and-terror’ operations. The so-called ‘whole-of-nation approach’ has led to deplorable red-tagging, terrorist-labeling, and criminalization of dissent with military operations that blur the lines between civilian governance and military objectives.

With September 1, 2025 marking 33 years since the signing of The Hague Joint Declaration, Pilgrims for Peace encourages the two Parties to consider again what can make for peace.

The Hague Joint Declaration provides a worthy framework for addressing the root causes of the armed conflict. Not only did it lead to the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) and the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) but it was also instrumental in arriving at a common draft of the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER), which was nearing finalization. The two Parties can reaffirm agreements and drafts and move forward from there to negotiate on the third and fourth items on the peace agenda: political and constitutional reforms and the disposition of forces and end of hostilities.

We acknowledge that difficult economic and environmental realities as well as foreign security threats facing the country are sensible and worthy grounds for productive peace negotiations. Given the long silence since the November 23, 2023 Oslo Joint Statement, perhaps the two Parties can already reaffirm The Hague Joint Declaration as a framework agreement and continue.

As peace advocates, we enter the September Peace Month ready to work in overcoming obstacles to genuine peacebuilding. We reiterate our call to remove the terrorist designation of the NDFP, Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), New People’s Army (NPA), as well as NDFP personnel under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. We guard against warmongers and peace spoilers as they seek to continue instigating obstacles to resuming the talks. Let us take stock of previously crafted and signed agreements, as these may help in discerning a way forward.

Pilgrims for Peace keeps hope that together we can traverse the road to a just and lasting peace for the Filipino people.

The priesthood

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
August 4, 2025

AUGUST 4 being a Memorial of St. John Mary Vianney, patron saint of priests, is a good occasion to review who a priest is and how he should be. St. John Mary Vianney (1786-1859), also known as the Cure of Ars, can provide us with a good idea about this since he was well known for his heroic priestly and pastoral work in a parish in France that resulted in a radical spiritual transformation of the community and its surroundings.

To be a priest is actually a profound calling to serve Christ and the Church that necessarily involves a deep relationship with God, a commitment to holiness, and a dedication to lead others to Christ. It is a ministry of sacrifice, love and availability to the people entrusted to his care.

With the sacrament of Holy Orders, the priest shares in the priesthood of Christ himself, that is, Christ as Head of the Church and not just a member of it. This is another proof that God shares his power with us since, in the end, we are meant to be his image and likeness, sharers precisely of his life and nature.

The priest, so ordained, should realize more deeply that he should transform himself into Christ, and to love and suffer as Christ did for everybody, and to see the things of the world through the eyes of Christ. His lifestyle should be that of total self-giving, unafraid of the effort and costs it involves. This, of course, would require a special vocation.

As such, a priest is expected to be a model individual, a living example of faith, love and holiness that should effectively inspire others to follow Christ. He has to see to it that people see and hear Christ through him. He is not just a good orator, an amusing comedian, a creative artist. Of course, it would be good he could integrate all these good traits but seeing to it that it is Christ that is seen and heard by the people.

This is, of course, a very overwhelming ideal for a priest to pursue. Thus, a priest should be so deeply rooted in prayer and to spend time with God that he can fairly say he is acting “in persona Christi capitis” (in the person of Christ as head of the Church). He has to realize that his formation – human, doctrinal, spiritual, pastoral, etc. – is a continuing affair, a till-death pursuit.

A priest should have a very deep love for souls, always making himself available to the people, offering guidance, comfort and support. He should give priority to the celebration of the sacraments, especially Confession which is a means of grace and healing. Of course, the daily celebration of the Holy Mass holds the most important duty for him.

If every person is supposed to be “alter Christus” (another Christ) since we are all created in God’s image and likeness which is what Christ is, the priest should be the first one to show it to the world, aware that he is called to be the very instrument of God’s love and grace.

To be a priest should be an all-time affair. Once a priest, he is a priest forever. He cannot say that he is a priest at certain moments of the day only when he celebrates the sacraments, or in certain situations and conditions in life. He is and should be a priest at every breath he makes.

What we can learn from St. Mary Magdalene

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
July 22, 2025

THE very first lesson we can learn from the life of St. Mary Magdalene is that no matter how big and ugly our sins are, God’s grace or gift of mercy is always there, more powerful than whatever damage our sins can inflict on us. It validates what St. Paul once said: “Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound.” (Rom 5,20)

We should never prolong our sadness over our mistakes, failures and sins. That would make the devil happy, since our sadness would make us a sitting duck to their evil tricks. We would not have the strength to protect ourselves.

Instead, even as we carry a heavy heart because of our sins, we should just follow the example of St. Mary Magdalene who showed greater love to Christ precisely because of her sinfulness that was forgiven. She wanted to make up, and did so with burning zeal.

As a consequence, she even received more favors from Christ. Among them is the fact that she became the first one to meet Christ after the resurrection, although our tradition maintains – and this is not explicitly mentioned in the Gospels – that Our Lady must have met Christ soon after his resurrection.

We have to reassure ourselves, based on what Christ has promised and has actually done for us, that there can be no sin that is too big for the grace of God to handle.

We have to remember that nothing happens in this life without at least the knowledge and tolerance of God. And if God allows some really bad things to happen, it is because a greater good can always be derived from them.

We just have to put ourselves in God’s side to tackle whatever crisis or sin plagues us. That is the real challenge we have to face. And just like what Christ did and continues to do to redeem us, we have to follow the formula he once spelled out: deny ourselves, carry the cross and then follow him. (cfr. Mt 16,24)

If we are willing to do that, then we can even gain a lot more than what we appear to lose and to suffer because of our sin. In other words, we can say that the bigger, the more serious the problem or the sin is, the bigger, plentier and stronger also would the grace God will give us. So, let us just be game and do our part of the bargain.

It’s not easy, of course. But neither is it impossible. It would really depend on how we see things. If we only consider the enormity of the problem, then we cannot help but feel overwhelmed and even get discouraged. But if we consider God’s abundant grace, even the impossible can be possible for us.

We need to educate ourselves always to remain calm and optimistic when faced with our persistent sinfulness, and just try our best to discern what God is showing us with respect to resolving that unfortunate condition of ours.

Yes, we have to learn to suffer. But let’s never forget that there is always the resurrection of Christ. Christ has already won for us the war against any form of evil. We just have to learn to be with him and not be so stupid as to do things simply on our own.

We have to strengthen our conviction that every sin we commit is an opportunity to grow in strength and quality in our spiritual life, in our love for God and others and the world in general. Yes, we need to develop a proper love also for the world. We have to conquer the world that will always be beset with the effects of our sins.

All the way to the gates of hell

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
July 11, 2025

THAT’S how willing we should go in our apostolic tasks if we truly dedicate ourselves, as we should, to Christ’s continuing work of human redemption. We should not be afraid of anything, the effort, sacrifices and all sorts of contradictions that may be involved along the way. We should do all we can, yes, even going all the way to the gates of hell if only to snatch a soul from entering there.

Christ already warned us that we will be like “sheep in the midst of wolves” in this world. In pursuing this mission, he told us to be “wise as serpents yet simple as doves.” (cfr. Mt 10,16) We should not be naïve, we should not be afraid to get dirty. We have to be tough and learn how not to be scandalized by anything in this life.

If we truly are good and saintly, we would not be scandalized by any evil that can hound us. It’s not that we are not affected by evil. Like anybody else, we are. At least, we would be annoyed and can get angry. We can even try to seek justice and retribution to anyone who might have done us wrong. But we would not respond evil with another evil.

Like Christ, we would know how to bear evil patiently. And more than that, like Christ we would be aroused to correct evil with charity, and even to love those who cause us evil. We would try to correct them with charity and seek their conversion. That is what is most important to carry out.

And even with those who have no more hope of conversion, like the evil spirits who already have made their definite choice to go against God and everything that comes from God, like Christ we would refuse to fall into hatred or any form of evil. We may have to defend ourselves against them, as we should, but we would not be baited to fall into lack of charity.

As Christ said, we have to love even our enemies. (cfr. Mt 5,44) So we have to be most careful when in our pursuit for goodness and holiness, we end up hating those who are not good and holy and who give us trouble.

That kind of goodness and holiness is not the goodness and holiness of God. They would be fake, and are based simply on our own gratuitous and unjustified ideas of goodness and holiness. It would be the goodness and holiness of the prude persons, the puritans, the self-righteous and hypocrites, etc.

We really need to learn how to suffer. The massive problem we have now is precisely that many of us do not know how to suffer. We complain and cry even at the slightest touch of suffering. We become sad and fall into a hard case of depression. Self-pity and idle passivity can dominate us, sinking us into a spiral of problems and predicaments.

Learning how to suffer is an art and skill that is available if we only care to notice. It’s all there as clear as noonday, its cause and meaning precisely defined, its antidote and vaccine abundantly provided. Our Christian faith sheds tremendous light on this mystery of our life. Christ is showing us the way, and is actually empowering us.

The most important thing to always keep in mind is do everything to bring souls back to God. We should not shy away from this mission, because God himself will do it with us if we would just care to cooperate with him.

The Lord’s Prayer

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
June 18, 2025

IN the Gospel of St. Matthew (6,7-15), the Lord’s Prayer or what is commonly known as The Our Father is given after Christ warned the people to avoid babbling when praying. He offered the Lord’s Prayer as the proper way to pray.

This is a good reminder for all of us to pause from time to time to see if indeed when we pray the vocal prayers, like this one or the other very popular one of the “Hail Mary,” we really would do them from the heart, meaning what we say, and attaining a real connection with Our Lord or with the Blessed Mother.

We cannot deny that we have the strong tendency to fall into routine and into simply repeating the words while our mind and heart are somewhere else or are simply blank. We need to be strongly guarded against this tendency of ours.

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, the Lord’s Prayer is “the summary of the whole Gospel.” It is considered as the fundamental Christian prayer, entrusted by Christ to his disciples, and now to us.

As the summary of the whole Gospel, the Lord’s Prayer covers everything that we Christians believe, making it a complete expression of our faith. And thus, it is also considered as the prayer of the entire Church, especially during the Holy Mass, where all the petitions and intercessions mentioned in the liturgy are connected.

That it starts with “Our Father” emphasizes the shared fatherhood of God for all Christians, whatever may be our differences. It calls for unity despite our unavoidable differences and conflicts in our earthly affairs.

One very significant part of that prayer is its emphasis on forgiveness both from God and from one another. It highlights the importance of having the will of God being followed and lived by us here on earth.

For us to pray properly, it would be good to find a comfortable place where we can focus and feel comfortable. This can be a corner in a church or some quiet place or where there is some calm and beautiful connection with nature.

It’s also important that we prepare our mind and heart so that they can have the proper focus on God. This can be done by paying attention to the words of the prayer and their meaning. It would also be good be if we can connect the words of the prayer with our thoughts and feeling. Thus, some moments of meditative consideration of the words would be most appropriate.

If done in a group, the Lord’s Prayer and other vocal prayers can truly become a very powerful tool where our praises and supplications can assume a tremendous effect on everyone. We can also add that we should feel free to add our very own personal expressions of prayer, showing how involved we are in our prayers.

If we carry out these indications regularly, we can really say that we are praying properly which should lead us to an increased faith, a deeper relationship with God, a sense of peace and even physical and psychological well-being. It can also help us in our decision-making, emotional healing, and a stronger sense of purpose. Indeed, it can help in alleviating stress and anxiety since prayer gives us a sense of support and hope.

Our spiritual and Christian life would be more consistently lived, and our gradual transformation into “another Christ” takes place, aligning our desires and thinking with God’s will.

Expect suffering if we follow Christ

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
June 6, 2025

THAT’S how the cookie crumbles. If we choose to follow Christ as consistently as possible, we should expect suffering along the way and at the end. In fact, suffering would be an abiding companion in our life.

We can draw this conclusion from that gospel episode where Christ asked Peter three times if Peter loved him. (cfr. Jn 21,15-19) After Peter professed his love for Christ in a most fervent way after being asked for the third time, Christ told him what would happen to him.

“Amen, amen I say to thee, when you were younger, you girded yourself, and walked where you wanted. But when you shall be old, you shall stretch forth your hands, and another shall gird you, and lead you where you would rather not go,” Christ told him. “And this he said, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him: Follow me.” (Jn 21,18-19)

What can immediately come to mind is that to be truly in love with Christ and to follow him as we should, we should not be surprised if suffering would come our way. In fact, we have to expect it and be prepared for it, understanding it as the clearest sign of love, of being with Christ. A love without suffering is not true love.

And this suffering comes in the first place from our own selves, from our own wounded flesh that would always try to go on its own way and law even if it goes against our very own nature and against God’s law. This predicament will always be with us all the way to our death, no matter how determined we are in trying to live a holy and chaste life.

Besides, we have to contend with the many problematic things in this world – a lot of misunderstanding, persecution, injustice, etc. And there’s also the devil who will never take a break from tempting us. He will always cling to us like a leech.

We need to be clear about this truth of our faith. If we really want to truly love, we should be willing to suffer out of love for God and for all souls. We need to realize that the willingness to suffer is the ultimate proof that our love is genuine. Love should not just be a matter of goodwill, of benevolence, of doing some good to others. It has to go all the way to an eagerness to suffer for the others.

This is what Christ has done for us and has commanded us to do. Being both God and man, Christ should be seen by us as the epitome of true love which is the very essence of God that is also meant for us since we are supposed to be God’s image and likeness.

In showing us that love where the willingness to suffer is highlighted, St. Paul made this description of Christ: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.

“Rather, he emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2,5-8)

We have to be willing to suffer the way Christ suffered for all of us. That is what true love is. No wonder that Christ himself said: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn 15,13)

Never surrender

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
May 30, 2025

THIS is the attitude to have in the face of our unavoidable weaknesses and temptations and the consequences they bring. We should just get up after every fall, say sorry for every mistake and sin we commit, continue asking for grace and polishing our virtues and skills in the ascetical struggle, and just move on. God always understands, always forgives, and is eager to help us in every way if we would just be receptive to him.

In the gospel, we read this warning and the reassurance of divine mercy from Christ: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice, and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” (Jn 16 20) All we have to do, as what Christ suggested, is the following: “If you ask the Father any thing in my name, he will give it to you.” (Jn 16,23)

We should make our weaknesses, mistakes and sins a strong reason to go back to God rather than to run away from him. They can be made to show our greater faith and love for God. As a psalm would put it: “Put your hope in the Lord, for with him is mercy and fullness of redemption.” (130,7)

Let’s be like that sinful woman who barged into a party where Christ was invited by a self-righteous host. She paid great homage to him which made the host to be critical of Christ for allowing a sinful woman to do what she did. To which, Christ told him: “I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Lk 7,47)

We should always strengthen our faith in God’s ever-ready mercy and compassion. Of course, we should also try not to abuse God’s goodness, even if we know that despite our best efforts we still end up abusing it just the same. But whatever happens, we should just go back to God. That’s what matters in the end.

We need to strengthen our spirit of divine filiation – that God is our father who is all merciful and compassionate, who is all willing to do anything for us just to get us back to him.

We should just move on, not wasting too much time to lament over our mistakes and sins. To be sure, life still has a lot more to offer us, and it’s up to us to face the new challenges that actually offer us new opportunities.

Thus, we have to learn to be resilient, knowing how to re-invent ourselves to tackle more effectively these new challenges and opportunities. Let’s remember that if one door closes, another one opens. Let’s recover our zest for life. And if need be, let us just grin and bear it, never allowing our smile and sense of humor to disappear.

Let’s remember that God is always in control, and that with him everything works always for the good, including things that can cause us great pain and suffering. Thus, the first thing to recover and to keep strong and vibrant should be our spiritual life, our life of faith, hope and charity, our piety, our prayer and spirit of sacrifice.

We already have all the means to protect ourselves, defend and conquer the bad spirit that can insinuate itself into our life. We have God’s word, we have the sacraments, we have the edifying life-testimonies of saints and many other holy men and women, including those who are still alive.

Honoring the Life of Pope Francis

A PEPP Statement on the passing of Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome
April 25, 2025

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform is profoundly saddened by the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis on this solemn Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88.

A man of compassion and humility, Pope Francis—affectionately called “Lolo Kiko” by Filipinos—devoted his life and ministry to the service of the Lord. He inspired millions of people around the world by his prophetic pronouncements, especially in defense of the poor and the oppressed.

He strongly condemned economic policies that deepened poverty, inequality and environmental degradation, stressing that occasional acts of charity are not enough. In his message for the World Day of Peace last January, he reminded us that the earth and its resources are meant to be used, enjoyed, and preserved by everyone, not just by a privileged few. He also appealed to richer nations to cancel the foreign debts of poorer countries, in recognition of the ecological debt owed by the former to the latter.

He consistently advocated for the welfare of refugees, the liberation of prisoners of war and political prisoners, and the protection of marginalized peoples. He denounced war and all forms of violence, upholding the inherent dignity of every human being. During his Easter message on Sunday, April 20, he called for a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages, and food for the starving. Embracing the Gospel call to be peacemakers, he urged us to tear down the walls of division and build a community of peace rooted in justice.

His Holiness saw these as the true weapons of peace that can shape a better future.

May this time of mourning move us to reflect on the life of Pope Francis, who acted justly, loved mercy, and walked humbly.

Let us follow his example and heed God’s call to be instruments of justice, peace, and the protection of human rights for our fellow countrymen.

Issued and signed on this day, 25th of April 2025.

(Sgd.) Archbishop Emeritus Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ, D.D.
Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro City
Co-chairperson, PEPP

(Sgd.) The Rt. Rev’d. Rex B. Reyes, Jr.
Episcopal Church in the Philippines
Co-Chairperson, PEPP
Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF)

(Sgd.) Bishop Emeritus Deogracias S. Iñiguez, Jr., D.D.
Diocese of Kalookan
Head, PEPP Secretariat

(Sgd.) Sr. Mary John D. Mananzan, OSB
Office of Women and Gender Concerns-Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (OWGC-CMSP)

(Sgd.) Rev. Dr. Aldrin M. Peñamora
Executive Director, Peace and Reconciliation Commission-Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PARC-PCEC)

(Sgd.) Ms. Minnie Anne M. Calub
General Secretary, National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP)

A right path towards achieving peace based on justice

A Statement on the arrest of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte
March 18, 2025

Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them. (Ps. 10:17-18)

After years of crying out for justice, the families of victims of extrajudicial killings during the administration of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte held higher their hopes on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. On that day, the International Criminal Court (ICC), through the Philippine National Police, served the warrant of arrest to the former president for crimes against humanity.

The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP), joins all people of goodwill in welcoming former Pres. Duterte’s arrest. This is a significant step towards justice for victims of drug-related killings – many of whom were denied due process and, ultimately, the right to life. This marks progress towards accountability, upholding of human rights and God’s gift of human dignity. The arrest is a signal to ending the culture of impunity prevalent in the country.

It is also a right path towards achieving peace based on justice.

During his stint as mayor of Davao City and as president of the Republic, Duterte waged a bloody “war on drugs,” purportedly to eradicate criminality and the illegal drug trade, which he framed as a threat to the safety of Filipinos. However, this campaign resulted in thousands of deaths, disproportionately affecting the poor and marginalized. Their families, already burdened by grief, were pushed deeper into poverty as many victims were breadwinners. Furthermore, among those killed were children – whom Duterte and his chief drug-war implementer, Sen. Bato Dela Rosa, dismissed as mere “collateral damage.”

Human rights advocates repeatedly condemned Duterte’s campaign of mass killings, urging him to address the underlying issues that drive people into drug abuse and criminality. Duterte could have looked into widespread poverty, unemployment, lack of access to social services, the inequitable distribution of resources, corruption, and bad governance. There are also the roots of unpeace. His refusal to heed these calls has now led to his reckoning, as he is now facing the bars of justice for the lives his drug war took, lives he was sworn to protect.

One must recall that former Pres. Duterte unilaterally terminated the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in November 2017. Consequently, he declared the latter, as well as the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), as “communist-terrorist organizations.” After the termination of peace negotiations, he released Executive Order 70, formed the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), and launched an all-out war against the CPP-NPA-NDFP and “communist terrorist front organizations”. This resulted in rampant red-tagging, filing of trumped-up charges, tokhang-style extrajudicial killings like the “Bloody Sunday” of 2021 in CALABARZON, and other violations on human rights and international humanitarian law. Duterte’s inhumane project included the indiscriminate bombing of communities. The situation worsened when the Legislative bodies, upon his prodding, passed the vague Anti-Terrorism Law (ATL).

As peace advocates, we continue to stand in solidarity with the families of the victims and affirm the sanctity of human life through human rights. We also reiterate our unwavering call for the resumption of the GRP-NDFP peace process and the government of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to abolish the NTF-ELCAC and other laws like the ATL, which are impediments to the peace process.

May this be a time to bear one another’s burdens, demonstrating through our prayers and actions the Lordship of Jesus Christ on earth. Let us pray and participate in ensuring that God’s justice and righteousness will prevail in the verdict of Duterte’s upcoming trial, revealing how the Lord of all despises evilness, especially the mistreatment of widows and orphans (Exod. 22: 22-25).

Issued and signed on this day, 18th of March 2025

(Sgd.) Archbishop Emeritus Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ, D.D.
Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro City
Co-Chairperson, PEPP

(Sgd.) The Rt. Rev’d. Rex B. Reyes, Jr.
Episcopal Church in the Philippines
Co-Chairperson, PEPP
Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF)

(Sgd.) Bishop Emeritus Deogracias S. Iñiguez, Jr., D.D.
Head, PEPP Secretariat

(Sgd.) Sr. Mary John D. Mananzan, OSB
Office of Women and Gender Concerns-Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (OWGC-CMSP)

(Sgd.) Ms. Minnie Anne M. Calub
General Secretary, National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP)

What to do when tempted

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
March 8, 2025

OBVIOUSLY, the thing to do is to immediately go to Christ who will show us and empower us with the proper way to deal with the many temptations in our life. We should never just be by ourselves when these temptations come, thinking that we can rely solely on our own strength. Such thought definitely would come from the tempters themselves – our wounded flesh, the world’s allurements and the devil himself.

When we find this recourse to Christ difficult to do, we should just force ourselves to be humble, always acknowledging our helplessness before the forces of evil, and begging our Lord to help us. This way we can even convert these temptations into golden occasions to grow in our spiritual life. St. Paul said so in so many words: “In all things God works for the good of those who love him.” (Rom 8,28)

It’s only when we refer these temptations to Christ that things get clarified. Let’s remember that temptations will always make use of something desirable, anchored on some good and true things which are subtly and deceptively distorted and corrupted.

They will always appeal to our weaknesses. Thus, if we would just use a little bit of common sense, temptations can offer us some advantage since they point to us where our weaknesses are, where we have to focus our efforts to correct.

In a sense, temptations encourage us to develop the virtues that are affected by them. They remind us to be always humble and to ever depend on God rather than on our powers alone.

And so, we have to work hard in building up this relation with God if we want to keep some safe distance away from temptations. If our love for God is hot, the devil and the other tempters will find it hard to get near us, just like a fly would not get close to a hot soup.

Our usual problem is that we tend to be by ourselves when temptations come, and to rely simply on our powers which actually are already heavily compromised since our wounded flesh is an ally of the enemies of our soul. We always have a Trojan horse in our personal lives.

Without God’s grace we simply cannot do anything except to fall, if not soon then later. It would just be a matter of time. But when we are with God, we get to see the whole picture, and can distinguish the poison embedded in the many good, beautiful, true and sweet things that the temptations come with.

From there we would know what strategy to take. Very often, what can be effective is simply to ignore the temptation and to pour scorn on the evil spirits behind the temptation. This is effective if in the first place our spiritual life is healthy, with faith and love for God and for souls vibrant and strong.

But then when such faith and love is not that strong, the temptations can gain some foothold in us. When we notice this, our reaction should be just to stay calm and not to dare to get overexcited. When there is a storm around, we usually would stay home or at a safe place to ride it out, and avoid going around.

The same with this particular case of temptations gaining some foothold in us. It simply means that God is allowing these temptations to come to show us where we are weak, and therefore where we should do something about.

Living out the spirit of EDSA: A call to the Church people

A statement by One Faith. One Nation. One Voice.
February 24, 2025

As followers of Christ, we are called to be bearers of truth, justice, and righteousness. Our faith is not passive; it demands that we take a stand against oppression and work for the liberation of the poor and the marginalized. The spirit of EDSA People Power 1 is a testament to this call – a powerful reminder that when people are united in faith and purpose, they can overcome even the most entrenched forms of tyranny.
The victory of EDSA was not just a political triumph; it was a moral and spiritual awakening. It showed us that courage, compassion, and solidarity could break the chains of dictatorship. People from all walks of life – rich and poor, religious and secular, young and old –  came together with a shared hope: to reclaim their dignity and restore democracy. This was more than just an act of resistance; it was an expression of love for our country, fueled by faith in a God who sides with the oppressed.

Yet, decades later, we find ourselves confronting the same forces of greed, deception, and repression. The same powerful family that was unseated by the people now holds the reins of government once again, perpetuating a system that keeps millions in poverty, silence, and fear. The biblical mandate for justice has never been more urgent. Proverbs 31:8-9 commands us:

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."

As a Church, we cannot be neutral. Silence in the face of injustice is complicity. The prophetic tradition of our faith calls us to be the voice of the voiceless, to expose lies with truth, and to resist evil with love. Living out the spirit of EDSA means more than remembering history – it means embracing a continuing commitment to social transformation.

We must educate ourselves and our communities about the realities of injustice, the distortions of history, and the threats to democracy. Let us root ourselves in Scripture and in the social teachings of the Church so that our faith informs our activism.

The struggle for justice cannot be fought alone. Just as EDSA was a collective movement, we must build communities of resistance and hope, standing together in the fight against corruption, disinformation, and oppression.

Faith without works is dead (James 2:26). Our commitment to Christ must manifest in concrete actions – advocating for human rights, supporting the poor, exposing lies, seeking accountability for misdeeds, and challenging the systems that perpetuate suffering.

The challenge is before us. Will we remain passive in the face of oppression, or will we rise as a prophetic voice for justice and righteousness? The spirit of EDSA is alive whenever we choose to act in faith, speak truth to power, and build a nation where justice and peace reign.

Let us stand together – for God, for people, for truth, for freedom.

"Blessed are those who fear the Lord"

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
February 13, 2025

THAT’S from Psalm 128,1. The verse is often used as a responsorial psalm in many of the Masses during the year. And it definitely talks about a healthy kind of fear that is nothing other than a gift of the Holy Spirit. It’s a fear that protects and prevents us from offending God through sin, through disobedience to his loving and saving will for us.

We have to know when to be afraid and when not. We have to distinguish between a good fear and a bad fear, a healthy one and a sick one. We need to know how to handle and deal with our fears that are unavoidable in our life.

Fear is an emotion that we need to educate also. It just cannot be on its own, guided only by our spontaneous judgments and reactions, and appearing when it’s not supposed to, and not appearing when it’s supposed to. It has to be grounded and oriented properly, expressing the sublimity of our dignity as persons and children of God.

We need to fear because that is what is proper of a child of God as we all are. There’s always a healthy kind of fear involved in any relationship that is based on love and respect. It is the fear of not offending the other party. And this is much more so if the other party is superior to us. If the other party is God himself, then this filial fear is absolutely needed.

Besides, such fear can trigger a series of good effects. A passage from the Book of Proverbs affirms this. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (9,10) Pope St. Gregory the Great, in explaining the dynamism of this filial fear, says:

“Through the fear of the Lord, we rise to piety, from piety then to knowledge, from knowledge we derive strength, from strength counsel, with counsel we move toward understanding, and with intelligence toward wisdom and thus, by the sevenfold grace of the Spirit, there opens to us at the end of the ascent the entrance to the life of Heaven.”

With this fear of the Lord, we acknowledge we are creatures who are always dependent on God. This is what is called the ‘poverty of spirit’ that figures in one of the beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in the spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

It’s this fear that we should foster, especially these days when we see a lot of people who are not afraid anymore to offend God. Though to be fair, we can also say that many do not fear God anymore because in the first place they don’t know him. No one fears what he doesn’t know.

We have to acknowledge some facts that we can gather nowadays. Like, there definitely is a lack of religious formation among many people, especially the young ones. This is aggravated by the fact that the reception of the sacraments is getting less and less. There is also a shortage of vocations and the rate of fidelity and perseverance to one’s vocation is low.

There is also a loss of the sense of sin even among Christians. And those who appear to be Christians often lack consistency with their faith when scrutinized. There definitely is a great need for catechesis and pastoral accompaniment.

Let’s hope that we can properly tackle these issues that should lead us to have a holy fear of God.

Baybay's rising hope: Doves of peace and a brighter future

By Pastor AL MAGNO TINIO
February 8, 2025

On February 7th, 2025, under the clear Leyte sky, a breathtaking spectacle unfolded.  More than a ceremony, it was a testament to the indomitable spirit of Baybay City.  As white doves ascended, their wings catching the sunlight, they carried with them not just feathers, but the hopes and dreams of a community reborn.  These weren't mere birds; they were living symbols of purity, cleansing the city of the past's shadows and ushering in a new era of peace.

This declaration of Stable Internal Peace and Security Condition (SIPSC) marked a pivotal moment, a victory hard-earned through shared sacrifice and unwavering commitment.  It was a profound acknowledgment of the resilience of the Baybayanons, their strength forged in the crucible of conflict.

The ceremony itself was a symphony of emotion: palpable relief, cautious optimism, and a profound sense of gratitude.  Mayor Jose Carlos L. Cari's words, heavy with the weight of years spent striving for peace, resonated deeply.  His voice, a chorus of thanks to the Philippine Army, the Philippine National Police, and the DILG, echoed the collective sentiment. Their collaboration, a powerful embodiment of the "Whole of Nation Approach," had yielded a harvest of hope.

Brigadier General Noel A. Vestuir's commendation was more than a formality; it was a heartfelt tribute to the sacrifices made.  His words, "The declaration… signified our hard-earned victory of winning the peace in which some of us offered the ultimate sacrifice to achieve," resonated with a poignant blend of loss and triumph.  The unspoken stories of bravery and loss, carried on the wind alongside the doves, served as a solemn reminder of the price of peace.  Yet, amidst the sorrow, a brighter future emerged, painted in the hopeful white of those soaring birds.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Pledge of Commitment was not merely bureaucratic; it was a sacred promise, a collective vow to safeguard the delicate bloom of peace. This promise, carried on the wind, whispered a hope for a transformed Baybay City – a city where children's laughter would finally silence the echoes of conflict.

This SIPSC declaration is not an ending, but a glorious dawn after a long, dark night. It stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of the Baybayanons, a beacon of hope illuminating a future where peace and understanding reign supreme. The path ahead may hold challenges, but today, in Baybay City, hope takes flight.  The doves' ascent is a potent visual metaphor for the boundless possibilities that lie ahead – a city liberated from conflict, empowered to build a better tomorrow.  A tomorrow where children play freely, and families plan for the future without fear.  In Baybay, the future is not just bright; it is soaring.

Demonic attacks on the rise

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
February 3, 2025

THIS should be no surprise to us. With the way things are now – new technologies offering more temptations than real advantages, and people spiritually and morally impoverished – what can we expect? That’s why requests for exorcism and deliverance have dramatically increased these days, not to mention the increasing cases of mental illness, psychological disorders, suicide, etc.

We should never take the devils for granted. They are always around, ever scheming and plotting against us in many, many ways, and often in a manner that is so subtle that we may not even notice them. As St. Peter would put in his first letter: “Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” (5,8)

We should never consider the devils as a myth, or as some kind of literary device only to highlight a point in the drama of our life. They are as real as you and me. Our problem is that we think lightly or, worse, falsely of them. And so, we become completely unprepared to deal with their antics.

But in spite of that unfortunate fact of life, we should remember that the devils cannot do anything against us unless allowed by God. And if allowed, it is because God in his mysterious providence can always draw a greater good from any evil the devils may cause in us.

We need to have a good grip on this rapidly emerging menace. And the first thing to do is to entertain the possibility that indeed these people who are disturbed by evil spirits are both mentally sick and demonically bothered.

Yes, while it’s true that the predicament can be an either-or proposition, we should not dismiss the possibility that it can also be a both-and one. Not just disjunctive, but also conjunctive. Let’s remember that the devil is always around. It’s not paranoia to be always alerted of the devil’s existence and his constant efforts to destroy us, usually in very sweet ways.

It would be good if we level up in our knowledge of psychology. This field of science is getting to be more and more relevant these days. It cannot anymore be the exclusive interest of some people. Everyone should know at least the basics of psychology and from there start accumulating relevant helpful information.

But we should never forget that the psychological and mental mechanism of a person is steeped in his spiritual dimension that can lead him either to the supernatural or infranatural world. It cannot be studied from the point of view of empirical science alone. It has to input the truths of faith to enable it to cope with the full range of its possibilities.

This is a point that should be taken more seriously these days. The complicated challenges of our times that have brought about many good things and also many bad things cannot but make this kind of demand. We have to take our faith more seriously, assimilating it in our system and making it the guide and shaper of our lives.

With our faith, we have the answer to all the questions, the solution to all our problems, even if the answers and solutions it offers may not be the ones we want. But they are the answers and solutions that God himself gives, and not just us.

Faith is the great healer, the constant pacifier, because it brings Christ into our lives, Christ who heals and who constantly tells us, “Do not be afraid...” We should bring our faith to bear on our sciences and on our other sources of knowledge.

“Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord”

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
December 25, 2024

THAT’S the Good News of great joy for all of us! Let us take time to savor the significance of Christmas so that whatever happens in our life, however the twists and turns of life may take us, we are assured that we have a Savior who will take care of us in all our conditions, whether good or bad.

In one of the readings of the Mass for Christmas, from the Letter of St. Paul to Titus, we read the following assurance: “The grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope and appearance of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.” (2,11-14)

May we never give in to the subtle tricks of the enemies of our soul – our wounded flesh, the allurements of the world, and the devil himself—who would urge us to fall into discouragement, despair and hopelessness. We have everything that we need to be what God wants us to be, despite whatever failings we will always have.

But let’s go through some process of lifelong training under Christ’s guidance, if not with Christ himself, so that we would learn to live as true children of God as God wants us to be. In this regard, let us learn how to deal with our weaknesses, temptations and all evil and negative things we have to contend with in this life.

That Christ allowed himself to be tempted (cfr. Lk 4,1-13) means that he wants us to know how to deal with temptations. As we can see in that episode, the temptations the devil played on Christ involved good things but poisoned with a bad intention. Temptations are always like that – they will always be based on something good since evil cannot exist without being anchored on something good and true which it tries to distort and corrupt.

Like Christ, what we should do is to clarify the real intent and purpose of the good and the true that the devil and the tempter want to distort. This can only happen if we refer the temptation to God himself, and not just to ourselves and much less to the tempter himself. In the temptations of Christ, Christ clarified things to the devil.

Once we realize the real intent of the good and the true that the tempter uses with deception, let us make use of the very urgings and promptings that the temptation provokes in us to pursue the real intent of the good and the true as defined by God and described by the many instrumentalities we have in the Church.

Indeed, temptations can occasion a great good if we would only know how to see the good and the true that they try to distort, and then channel their urgings to do the real good and the true as defined by our Christian faith.

To be sure, this way of reacting to temptations will give us peace and joy, and a drive and a zeal to do good. It will start to heal our spiritual and moral weaknesses. In a sense, temptations, if dealt properly, can be a great gift!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Clemency is closing a bitter chapter

A press statement of the Ecumenical Bishops’ Forum (EBF) on Mary Jane Veloso clemency
December 10, 2024

After close to fifteen years of imprisonment, the Ecumenical Bishops’ Forum joins other groups in urging the Philippine Government to grant full clemency to the detained mother of two boys – Mary Jane F. Veloso. This, after the Indonesian Government agreed to the repatriation of Veloso to the Philippines. Meanwhile, those responsible for Veloso’s arrest after she was arrested as a “drug mule” at an Indonesian airport were also arrested and jailed.

Mary Jane F. Veloso has long become the living symbol of what Filipino overseas workers undergo while seeking a job elsewhere and after they land a job. They endure a myriad of suffering at the hands of merciless persons who take liberties of their gullibility while seeking overseas employment.

We rejoice at the magnanimity of the Indonesian Government and the diplomatic efforts of the Philippine Government. We hope that the Philippine Government will complete the joy of the family by extending full clemency to a person vexed so wrongly and for a long time. The season of Advent calls for such. She has endured a lot. Lessons from her have been drawn. We congratulate the Indonesian and Filipino lawyers including the National Union of People's Lawyers who provided legal assistance to her as well as the migrant advocacy groups and other supporters of Mary Jane around the world.

“He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows generously will also reap generously.” (2 Cor 9:6)

Issued and signed on this day 10 December 2024.

BISHOP Ciriaco Q. Francisco, (Ret.) UMC
Co-chairperson, EBF

THE RT. REVD. Emelyn Gasco-Dacuycuy, IFI
Co-chairperson, EBF

THE RT. REVD. Dindo de la Cruz Ranojo, IFI
General Secretary, EBF

BISHOP Joel E. Tendero, UCCP
Treasurer, EBF

BISHOP Emeritus Deogracias S. Iniguez, Jr., DD.
Auditor, EBF

About the end of the world

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
November 26, 2024

IT’S understandable that since we are now at the end of another liturgical year, the gospel readings focus on this truth of our faith  – that both time and the world will end. Thus, in one gospel episode, Christ was asked about the signs that such end would be approaching. (cfr. Lk 21,5-11)

Thus, Christ responded: “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them!” Looks like we are seeing these things nowadays. There are some people who are posing as the very son of God, etc. Let’s be warned.

Then Christ continued: “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified’ for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” There we have a clear indication of what to expect and the appropriate attitude we should have toward it.

Finally, he said: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.”

We should be prepared for this eventuality by making sure that we are guided always by our faith and the almighty and merciful providence of God, instead of allowing ourselves to be played upon by our fears and worries. We should be eternity-ready. That is to say, prepared to see God during our judgment and eager to be with God, fully identified with him for all eternity.

In this regard, we should rather be aggressive in our pursuit of our ultimate goal, the proper attitude to have in this life. Of course, we should first of all have a clear vision of our goal in life, knowing how to translate that goal into stages, and then let’s stir up all our faculties to achieve that goal.

We can take St. Paul’s words as some kind of inspiring slogan: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” (1 Cor 9,24) Yes, our life is like a race. The Letter to the Hebrews said as much: “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us...” (12,1)

The good thing about this attitude is that it engages our faculties properly and helps us avoid getting lost, being held hostage by the allures of this world, wasting time, etc. We would always be on the move, and would know how to put order in our daily activities, knowing the right priorities, etc.

And what is the ultimate goal that we should pursue? None other than that we become another Christ, if not Christ himself, ‘alter Christus, ipse Christus.’ This is simply because we have been created by God to be his image and likeness.

That image and likeness of God is Christ who as the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity is the pattern of our humanity, and as the Son of God who became man, is the redeemer of our damaged humanity.

Our creation is God’s project before it is our own. It is a work in progress that requires our cooperation precisely because as image and likeness of God, we have been endowed with intelligence and will that would enable us to correspond to God’s creative and redemptive action on us.

“My kingdom is not of this world”

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
November 22, 2024

WORDS of Christ in response to Pilate’s question, “Art thou the king of the Jews?” (Jn 18,33) That was when Christ clarified who he really was, and yet the poor Pilate and many of the Jews of that time could not get it.

These words are part of the gospel reading for the last Sunday of the liturgical year which is dedicated to Christ as King, the real King. (cfr. Jn 18,33-37) They remind us that our kingdom is not in this world. It is where Christ as our true King is – that is, in heaven from where we really originated and to where we are supposed to be destined in our definitive state of life.

These words remind us that our earthly life is a test whether what God wants us to be – that is, to be his image and likeness, sharers of his divine life and nature – is also what we ourselves would want to be. This test actually takes place every moment of our earthly life. We are made to choose whether we would like to be with God through Christ who is the “way, the truth and the life”, or to be by ourselves only.

We should always be aware of this test and should try our best to make the proper choice, avoiding getting lost and swallowed up by the drama of our life here on earth. And so, we should sharpen our awareness of the real purpose of our life here on earth as we go through the varying situations, conditions and circumstances of our life.

We should be excited and eager to reach our real destination. And reaching it should not be a problem since we have been given all the means to achieve it. What can help is that at the end of each day, we remind ourselves of the real end and purpose of our life, and then examine ourselves how we are doing to approach that end.

We should develop a keen send of the real end and purpose of our life. This is unavoidable and indispensable. Even in our ordinary affairs, we take it for granted that we ought to have some idea of the end or purpose in mind before we move.

There should be at least the sensation that we are getting nearer it, knowing that one day more or one year more in our life is actually one day less or one year less in our life too. We should just be ready since we would not know when the zero-balance of this consequential equation would take place.

To get the sensation that we are getting closer to our final destination means that we are realizing that we are becoming more and more like Christ, who is the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity. He should be the king, the everything for us.

Thus, we have to learn how to submit everything to him, especially our inmost self – the heart, the will and mind together with the emotions, feelings, etc. That is how we make Christ our king.

We are supposed to be ‘alter Christus,’ the goal and ideal that is meant for us, though we need also to do our part, free beings as are, to achieve that status. God, our Creator and Father, wants us to be that way, though he does not impose it on us without our consent that should also be shown with deeds and not just with intentions or words.

Even Christ had to pray

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
October 28, 2024

IT’S worthwhile noting that even Christ had to spend the night praying before he made that big decision of choosing his 12 apostles among the many disciples that he had at that time. (cfr. Lk 6,12-16) This could only mean that for Christ to be completely in union with the will of the Father, he had to pray.

There should be no doubt on our part that we too should learn how to pray not only from time to time but rather all the time, if we want to be completely in union with the will of God as we should. Christ is showing us the example, and we should just try our best to follow it. It’s what is proper to us.

Prayer should be like the breathing and the beating of the heart that we need to keep ourselves spiritually alive. It’s what would enable us to enter, start and keep sharing the very life of God as we are meant to do. Without prayer, we would put ourselves in an anomalous condition as we separate ourselves from the very source of our true identity and dignity.

We have to learn to pray all the time, converting everything into some form of prayer by doing it always with God and for God and not just by ourselves, motivated only by some earthly and temporal reasons. This is always possible and practicable because God has designed everything as a form to connect ourselves with him. It’s up to us to follow that design or not.

Ideally, everything should be an act of prayer, whether we are doing our sacred or mundane duties, whether things are good or bad for us, whether we are alone or in a crowd, etc.

Prayer should not be understood only in its sacred, solemn mode. It can lend itself to all the situations and circumstances of our life. It is practicable in any situation. We just have to develop the proper discipline which, of course, will require some training.

And just like any training, it at first has to be taught under a controlled environment. That is why, at the beginning we were taught as children to recite and put into memory some vocal prayers. We may not understand everything said there, but that at least initiates us to the practice of prayer.

Then further steps ought to be made. We have to learn how to exercise our faith, how to meditate and contemplate, how to find a proper place, time and even posture for it. And then how we can have presence of God the whole day, the rectitude of intention in all our actions, the habit of offering everything to God, and literally of conversing with God and discerning his will as we go on with our daily activities.

Let’s remember that without God who is our creator and source of all good things, we can only do evil. We would be like a branch cut off from the vine. We may manage to give an appearance of life and goodness, but without Him, we actually have and are nothing.

We have to be constantly aware that we cannot be simply on our own. We need God and we need to be with everybody and everything else. We have to overcome our tendency that we can afford to be isolated. We should never forget that we are always in communion and we need to make that communion alive and healthy. Prayer does that for us!

We are light-bearers

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
September 23, 2024

WE have to be more aware of this great responsibility of ours if we are to be consistent with our Christian identity. We should not be shy or afraid to show our Christian identity to everyone. Let’s show it in such a way as to inspire others to follow and love Christ.

Christ himself told his disciples: “No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.” And he continued: “For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.”

To top it all, he said that depending on whether we fulfill or fail to carry out this duty, there definitely would be serious consequences, for this is what Christ said in this regard: “To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away.” (cfr. Lk 8,16-18)

And so, we just have to be more aware of this most important duty that is actually incumbent on everyone of us, and not just on some special people. We know that we are all interrelated, obviously not biologically that only has a limited scope, but definitely to a large extent, politically, economically, socially, etc. The fact that we all live in the same one world somehow makes us all interrelated.

But there’s actually a more radical basis of our interrelation. And that is that we are all creatures of God, children of his, meant to be the people and the family of God. It is a relationship that is spiritual more than material, forged by a supernatural principle and not just something natural.

This basic truth about ourselves gives rise to the duty that we have to help one another spiritually more than anything else. It is in our spiritual bond that actually gives rise to all our other relations with everybody else according to the different aspects of our nature.

This is what is meant by our duty to inspire others. Etymologically, the word ‘inspire’ means to breathe into. And it definitely is not only air that we should breathe into others. We have to breathe a spirit that in the end is nothing other than the spirit of God, who is the original inspirator.

Obviously, we have to see to it that that we inspire others properly. And by that, we mean that the spirit we ‘breathe into’ the others even by our mere presence or by our words and deeds, should be the spirit of God.

And so, the question to ask ourselves at the end of the day is whether in all our dealings and transactions, the effect of the spirit of God which is charity was made, that is, that we managed to inspire, motivate and edify others.

Inspiring, motivating and edifying others are certainly not a result of a mere gimmick or ploy, a fruit of one’s intelligence and cleverness alone. These can only happen when we are vitally united with God whose essence is love. These are primarily a spiritual affair, driven by divine love.

Thus, when we say that the others should be left inspired, motivated and edified by us in all our dealings, we need to understand that we achieve those goals always in Christ, with God’s grace, and not just by our own human powers, though all these human powers should also be harnessed at the instance of grace.

Good governance and visioning

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
August 22, 2024

THAT gospel parable about a king who gave a wedding feast for his son (cfr. Mt 22,1-14) reminds us that we should be ready when God calls us to himself. In that parable, the king was frustrated because all those whom he invited refused to come. And so, he ordered his servants to call whoever they would meet in the highways and byways. Still, he expected that those who would come would at least be properly dressed.

This means that we should truly be prepared for the eventual call and invitation that God would give us so we can be with him as he wants us to be. In this regard, we have to know how to “govern” our life such that at any time we would be ready for this eventuality.

Yes, some art of good governance over our life should be learned. We just cannot be at the mercy of chance and fortune. We need to know and be constantly aware of the real and constant purpose of our life, and arrange our life in such a way that that purpose is always pursued.

Just like in any serious business enterprise, there has to be goals set, short-term and long-term plans made, regular reviews, auditing and pertinent modifications made. We should have the sensation that there is progress in the pursuit of the real purpose of our life. Of course, when we notice that the “balance sheet” at any given moment of our life shows a red rather than a black, we should immediately do something to correct it.

Knowing that the real progress in our life is ultimately measured in our love for God and for others, we should somehow try to echo some lyrics of an old Spiral Staircase song which goes this way: “I love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow!”

We should have a clear vision of our ultimate and definitive eternal destination and able to relate everything in our life to that goal. For this purpose, we should develop the practice of making daily examinations of conscience.

In our spiritual life, it is important that we settle accounts with God regularly. In fact, saints and the Church herself have recommended that we make a daily examination of conscience just before going to bed.

This practice can only mean that we understand that our life is not just a natural, material, individual or social affair. Or that it is simply our own life. It would show that we know that our life is a life with God and with others, pursued and developed in the spiritual and moral spheres more than anything else.

We need to do some accounting of it not only for our own interest, but also and more importantly for the sake of God and of the others. It would show that we understand that our human acts – those that we do knowingly and freely and thus we are responsible for them – either lead us to our proper end or not. Thus, we understand that our human acts have a moral dimension and therefore need to be assessed by us.

It would also make us aware of our most basic duty as children of God to pursue our own personal sanctification and to cooperate in the continuing work of God’s redemption of mankind through personal apostolate.

This way, we can somehow feel secure that at any given moment we would be eternity-ready, prepared to see God for judgment when he would finally call us to himself!

Marriage and divorce

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
August 16, 2024

“SOME Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?’” (Mt 19,3)

This is the opening passage of the gospel of the Mass on Friday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time. It brings out the question of marriage and divorce that now is being hotly discussed in many parts of the country.

Some proponents of divorce claim that we seem to be backward since we are practically the only country that does not have a divorce law yet. It’s an argument that does not really need any serious attention. Truth is, we should be very proud that we do not have a divorce law, since divorce is from beginning to end an anomaly.

Divorce clearly goes against the very nature of marriage that is validly entered into by a couple. It breaks something that is supposed to be lifelong, regardless of the things that can take place in it.

As the couple vowed on their wedding day, they committed themselves to be wedded to each other “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”

Of course, the nature of marriage is defined not by us but by God, the Creator. And as Christ himself said it clearly, when a marriage takes place, “a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, a man must not separate.” (Mt 19,5-6)

Perhaps to explain it in more common language, we can say that in marriage it is presumed that it is love that motivates the couple to enter into it. And by definition, love is total self-giving which, in this case, since it involves the use of the body which cannot be shared with anybody else once it is given to one spouse, can only be entered into by one man and one woman and for a lifetime.

The difficulties and challenges the couple meet in their marriage are always to be expected. They always come, one way or another, in one form or another, whatever one’s state of life is. But if the couple is animated by their Christian faith, they know that these difficulties and challenges are the occasions and reasons for their love to grow even stronger and more meaningful.

The nature of marriage can be defined by just looking at it, discerning what it is supposed to be, what its purpose is, etc. It’s based on the nature itself of man who for his proper development needs an institution to perpetuate himself and his descendants in a way fit for his dignity.

And this can only be marriage as it is known up to now – a life-long commitment between a man and a woman, based on the fullness of love that includes the use of the body.

We are capable of entering into this commitment, and this commitment also in turn helps in developing us toward full human maturity. We are capable of this commitment because in spite of our changing conditions there is something in us – precisely our spirit, our soul, our heart and will – that enables us to remain constant and consistent even as we face varying circumstances.

That is why, more than our bodily senses and powers, we really have to take care of our spiritual faculties, because they are the main engine for our development and our fidelity in our commitments.

Let’s be ready to carry Christ’s cross

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
August 8, 2024

IF Christ is the pattern of our humanity, then we have to be ready to carry his cross which is his ultimate expression of love for us. To carry his cross is the ultimate way we can identify ourselves with Christ as we should.

We should not be afraid of the cross in whatever form it may come to us. If we carry the cross with Christ, we know that all our suffering has a positive and favorable aspect. It’s not all entirely bad and negative, though in itself it will always be bad. But if viewed and lived through our Christian faith, there is something in it that can give us a greater good. We may refer to this advantageous aspect of suffering as the happy Good News or Gospel of Suffering.

Our pains and suffering are always the result of sin, ours and those of the others. They are the necessary consequence of our separation, whether temporary or permanent, from God from whom all good things come. (cfr. Ps 16,2; James 1,17) We may not be the direct cause of our own suffering, but in this world, we cannot escape the effects of sin, and so we must be ready for them just the same.

We have to remind ourselves that we are not meant to suffer. Our original as well as our ideal definitive state in heaven excludes suffering. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, were in the state of original justice, where everything was in order and in harmony. No pain and suffering touched them, until they fell into sin.

And as the Book of Revelation would put it, in our definitive state of life in heaven “He (God) will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (21,4)

In this life, we have to expect and be prepared for the unavoidable pain and suffering. And this means that whether we are guilty or not of our pains and suffering, all we have to do is to go immediately to Christ who shows us how to handle our pains and suffering and who is ready to forgive us if ever we are guilty of suffering.

If we really want to truly love, we should be willing to suffer for the others out of love for God and for all souls. We need to realize that the willingness to suffer is the ultimate proof that our love is genuine. Love should not just be matter of goodwill, of benevolence, of doing some good to others. It has to go all the way to an eagerness to suffer for the others.

This is what Christ has done for us and has commanded us to do. Being both God and man, Christ should be seen by us as the epitome of true love which is the very essence of God that is also meant for us since we are supposed to be God’s image and likeness.

We have to be willing to suffer the way Christ suffered for all of us. That is what true love is. No wonder that Christ himself said: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn 15,13)

It is this willingness to suffer that would show how, like Christ, we can go all the way to giving ourselves completely to everyone, irrespective of how they are. That is also why Christ commanded us, as an integral component of true love, that we even love our enemies.

The monster of wokeness

By LANCE PATRICK C. ENAD, lancivspatricivs@gmail.com
July 24, 2024

Last July 22, 2024, Cebuano speaking social media blew up with denouncements of how an entitled man dressed as a woman publicly embarrassed a waiter and made the waiter stand for two hours just because the waiter referred to the transvestite, Mr. Jude Bacalso, as "Sir." Of course, people were quick to jump into the bandwagon of condemnation -and rightly so. What many don't realize however is that such brazen entitlement is a logical consequence of either tolerating or supporting wokeness.

Wokeness is the popular term for Adaptive Marxism. Marxism in its original form simplified reality into economic class struggle: the class struggle between the oppressor, the bourgeoisie and the oppressed, the proletariat. Adaptive Marxism, however, without economic paradigms, shifts the class struggle into whatever it has. For example, third wave feminism (first wave feminism which simply advocated for equality is acceptable) holds that all of reality is a gender class struggle between the oppressor (men/patriarchy) and the oppressed (women). And so, if there are any problems in the world it is because of being oppressed by men and if there is going to be any solution, it is going to be the domination by women. Another version of Adaptive Marxism is Critical Race Theory (eg, Black Lives Matter movement). For Critical Race Theory, all of reality is basically a class struggle between the oppressor -white people- and the oppressed -colored people.

The LGBTQ+ ideology and transgenderism is a category of Adaptive Marxism or Wokeness. Reality, therefore, is the struggle between the oppressor (homophobes and transphobes -which is anybody who disagrees with this ideology) and the oppressed (Homosexuals and/or Transgenders). This is why, in order to be liberated, those who profess this LGBTQ+/ Transgenderist ideologies hold that they need to assert themselves. So now, as in countries like Canada, the US, and the west in general, there are legislation which allows transgenders to legally change their biological sex, there are laws that criminalize refusing to use their preferred pronouns and identified genders. In short, institutionalized madness.

In the Philippines, this is basically pushed forward by things like SOGIE bill, the public celebration of pride month in schools and establishments, and by a general toleration by people, and by support by mainstream media. Heck even newsrooms reporting on the debacle are even using “her” to the transvestite man.

This is why people like that transvestite have the nerve to publicly embarrass a waiter for 'misgendering' him by calling him sir. He has the nerve to commit such brazen profanity because he believes he is in the right because of his transgenderist LGBTQ ideology being tolerated by society, being supported by Media, and not being opposed by voices that should. Politicians who want to be voted for do things to make themselves relevant to by fostering this ideology by sponsoring pride month celebrations, etc. People who should be speaking out against this like the clergy, are not doing so.

Anyone with common sense can see that just because a man had a surgery to make himself like a woman, does not make him a real woman. Anyone with a common sense can see that this ideology is a distortion of reality -which is what you get from an anti-metaphysical philosophy.

In short, people shouldn't be shocked.

People who have tolerated Transgenderism and LGBTQ should not be surprised at this. They have fed this monster by their tolerance and they should not be surprised how big it has grown.

We have been fed with Wokeness by main stream media, by ideologues, in small quantities until we no longer find wokeness repulsive. People need to wake up - you can say this is the real wokeness, lol. People need to realize that wokeness is poison. Wokeness is anti-christian. Wokeness is Satanic.

Do not tolerate sodomy. Do not tolerate any form of Adaptive Marxism. Do not support establishments that support LGBTQ ideology. Oppose degeneracy. Fight against the poison of wokeness. Fight against any ideology that tries to nullify the laws of God. Fight for the social kingship of Christ. Ave Christus Rex.

How to enter God’s kingdom

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
June 27, 2024

CHRIST said it very clearly. “It is not anyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Mt 7,21)

Indeed, we always have to be open to God’s will and ways that oftentimes can be quite challenging and unattractive, since they demand everything from us. They require a lot of sacrifice. We just have to realize as quickly as possible that this is the language of real love. God gives us his all. We should also learn to give our all to him. As a saying goes: Love is repaid with love.

This truth of our faith is somehow highlighted when Christ gave this apparently harsh response to somehow who expressed his desire to follow him. “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” (Mt 8,20)

When we truly love and follow Christ, we would have complete trust in his will and ways, regardless of the cost it asks of us. We know that his providence never fails. And the unavoidable suffering we can encounter along the way are actually golden occasions for us to learn some precious lessons, to grow in some virtues, and in the end to make ourselves more and more like Christ which is actually the purpose of our life here on earth.

We should just be ready for wherever God’s providence would take us. We have to be open to it all the time. Even as we make our plans and pursue them truly as our own, we should not forget that nothing in our life is actually outside the providence of God who can adapt himself to us, even in our worst situations and predicaments, and still lead us to himself.

Let’s always remember that God’s will is the source of everything in the universe. The whole of creation in all its existence, unity, truth, goodness and beauty starts from God’s will and is maintained by it. The entire range and scope of reality – be it material or spiritual, natural or supernatural, temporal or eternal – is “contained” there, not only theoretically but in vivo.

The task of looking, knowing and loving the divine will, therefore, has to be made more known by us, because we tend to simply have a superficial knowledge of God, restricting him to some sentimental considerations or to some images we form of him in our mind. Hardly would we get to know what he wants us to do in any given moment, if we are mainly guided by sentimental considerations and visual or conceptual images of him.

Getting to know and do God’s will is what actually would comprise the very substance of our relationship with him. That’s simply because that is what love is all about, what it entails, which is the very essence of God, as St. John affirmed (Deus caritas est). Love is deeds and not just sweet words or feelings. Real love is deeds done to correspond to God’s will for us.

We need to develop the proper attitude toward God’s will. We should first be aware that there’s such thing as God’s will, and not just God’s image. We should cultivate the desire to know, love and obey it until we can make as our own Christ’s very attitude toward his Father’s will, “Not my will, but yours be done,” and Mary’s words, “Be it done to me according to your word.”

Sanctifying sex

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail
June 5, 2024

THAT may sound like an impossible and quixotic thing, but truth to tell, not only would it be possible and practicable, but also and more importantly, it is an indispensable duty of ours, failing in which would be tantamount to degrading ourselves to the animal level, not to mention the ultimate failure of ours when we miss the real purpose of our humanity which is to be God’s image and likeness, sharers of his life and nature.

We are reminded of this duty in the gospel reading of the Mass on Wednesday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time where Christ told some Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection that “when they (all of us actually) rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven.” (cfr. Mk 12,18-27)

In other words, sex only has a temporal value. In our definitive state of life in heaven, when we are truly identified with God, we can still be male and female, but there would not anymore be any use for sex whose main purpose is to cooperate with God in creating another person.

In short, in heaven there is no more reproduction. The population is fixed, so to speak, and as Christ said, we would be behaving like angels, still with our bodies but which would already be completely spiritualized. That is, our bodily dimension with all its biological and other earthly components would be completely infused with the spirit of God, which is the spirit of love.

In our earthly life, we need to understand that sex has an important role to play. And that is, for us to cooperate with God in the making of man, something that should only be done only in the context of a lifelong commitment of marriage since the making of man and its indispensable need to be taken care of as human persons who are God’s image and likeness would require such commitment.

To sanctify sex means to understand its purpose and use according to God’s will and law about it. It should be trained to behave according to God’s will and law about it. But given our wounded nature, where it is very vulnerable to just follow the blind and erratic ways our hormones and other earthly factors, we really need God’s grace, first of all, and our all-out effort to attain its ideal condition.

Given how difficult this task can be, we have to understand that we may have to resort to some extraordinary means to keep our sexuality in its proper condition. In this regard, a saint once said: “To defend his purity, St. Francis of Assisi rolled in the snow, St. Benedict threw himself into a thorn bush, St. Bernard plunged into an icy pond…” (Escriva, The Way 143)

Indeed, we should not be surprised if we need to make use of some extraordinary means to keep ourselves on the right path with respect to how to sanctify sex. Sex should be a clear expression of love of God and of neighbor.