Hey, sex is sacred!

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
January 1, 2019

THAT’S right. Sex is sacred. We should not play around with it. It is serious business, infused with a very serious mission. We should not trivialize it.

Of course, it is easier said than done. The naked truth is that given our wounded condition and the current state of affairs, sex for mere pleasure exercises such tantalizing influence on all of us that we find it hard to resist its allurement.

Why, even highly respected people including some cardinals, bishops and priests are accused of some sexual shenanigans. Of course, these are just accusations and allegations. We have to presume innocence of the accused until proven guilty. But that such accusations are made can only tell how problematic sex is to us.

Also, the other day, a niece of mine who works in a hospital was distressed in telling me that she had to handle a case of a 12-year-old girl giving birth. It’s now common among teeners to have boyfriends and girlfriends. We can only imagine the extent of this problem that is yet to be reported.

We cannot exaggerate the fact that nowadays, this problem regarding sex has become a real scourge and a case of infestation. Pornography is rampant and easily accessible. Sexual sins are not anymore confined in the mind and in the intentions. They are deeds and it seems that they have become the new normal. You meet at random a man in the street, and most likely he is afflicted with some sexual aberration.

This is the reality on the ground. Just the same, no matter how bad things look and actually are, there is always hope. We just have to be realistic in carrying out the duty of proclaiming the sacredness of human sexuality and of helping people in developing and living the virtue of chastity.

In this regard, we should try to explain with gift of tongue and in ways adapted to the concrete conditions of the persons concerned, why sex is sacred. We should avoid doing it in such an idealistic way that would scare or turn off people rather than help them gradually not only to have a correct understanding of the nature and purpose of sex, but also start being serious in living a chaste life.

This is, of course, no easy task. We need to be tough, persevering and constantly creative in carrying it out. There are many fronts to face. On one hand, we have to proclaim, to be positive, to highlight the beauty of sex according to God’s plan and its benefits to us if lived in true love and chastity.

On the other hand, we have to teach people how to defend themselves against the temptations and how to handle their weaknesses. We have to be adept in teaching them the spiritual and supernatural means as well as the human means for this purpose.

We need to remind everyone that sex is part of our God-given nature and is entrusted with the most delicate and intimate mission of cooperating with God in the creation of another person. Trivializing it and misusing it is actually an act of going against our nature. We dehumanize ourselves by doing so. By misusing it we become more like dogs than human persons.

The art of prayer and self-discipline, interior struggle and spirit of mortification have to be taught. Frequent confession and regular spiritual direction, where brutal sincerity is a must, should be encouraged. All these done in a friendly and confidential manner.

Last but not least is the great help that a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother most chaste, can give us. The Marian devotion is a strong shield against sexual temptations.

Avoid tempting God

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
December 14, 2018

IT was nice to learn about Blessed Bartolo Longo (1841-1926) who, as the Wikepedia puts it, “was an Italian lawyer who has been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church. He was a former satanist who returned to the Christian faith and became a third order Dominican, dedicating his life to the Rosary and the Virgin Mary.”

Other sources provided some more information about him: he was orphaned early in life, he was involved in the nationalist movement of the time that was anti-Catholic, he became a Satanist in his 20’s, he went into the occult, attended in séances, experimented on drugs, participated in orgies... There’s a lot more, but let’s spare ourselves from more unpleasant things.

But since all these did not give him peace, but rather a lot of problems including psychological and emotional ones, leading him to depression, he sought some relief and eventually was led back to the Catholic faith. Later, he became so deep a devotee of the Holy Rosary that St. John Paul described him as a man of the Rosary during his beatification.

His story, for sure, will elicit very reassuring responses from us who often wonder how we can become a saint as we should when we are hounded always by our weaknesses, temptations and sin itself. Sometimes, we think that to become a saint is impossible and that stories of saints are more fantasy and fiction than real. Or at best, saints are very special people who never went into really bad things.

Somehow, his story reminds us that God and his grace can take on anything we can mess ourselves in. There is always hope. As St. Paul said, “where sin has abounded, the grace of God has abounded more.” (Rom 5,20) His story calls to mind that as said in the Book of Ezekiel, God does not take delight in the death of the wicked but in his salvation. (33,11)

The writer Oscar Wilde also put it so succinctly: “Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future.” In other words, we really have no reason to fear and to worry too much over our delicate condition here in this world.

But for all that, we should also be careful not to fall into the opposite side, which is presumption, or tempting God. That is to say, we can fall into the trick of the devil who can suggest to us that since God is very powerfully merciful and can forgive us our sins no matter how grave they are, then we can just go on sinning, or exert no adequate effort to avoid sin and temptation.

We have to be wary of the wiles of the devil who is good in the rebound if at a certain moment his initial attempts to tempt us fail. Tempting God by putting him to some test, or by presuming that he will forgive us anyway no matter what, is a grave sin and represents a big success for the devil.

Remember the devil tempting Christ himself. “The devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, and they will life you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: Do not put the Lord you God to the test.’” (Mt 4,5-7)

This is what tempting God is all about. When we are tempted by the devil, or by the world, or by our own selves, let’s never put God to the test by rationalizing that since God is all merciful, he will always forgive me if I fall to this temptation, or that he will not mind if I sin.

A Statement of Unity on the Respect, Protection and Fulfillment of Human Rights in the Philippines

Human Rights Congress
06-07 December 2018
Leong Auditorium, Ateneo de Manila University

We, human rights advocates from government and civil society organizations, coming from diverse geographic locations, ethnicities, sectors, and ideological positions, on the historic occasion of the 70th year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, hereby unite these urgent circumstances with the following points of solidarity:

1) We affirm and uphold the fundamental human rights of every person, as enshrined in the Philippine Constitution, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and other human rights instruments as well as the role of the State in protecting and fulfilling these rights as duty-bearers;

2) We recognize the complexity and intersectionality of human rights with other basic and cross-cutting issues such as poverty, gender, climate change, peace, and migration;

3) We are alarmed at the worsening human rights situation in the country, exemplified by the thousands of lives lost and damaged in extra-judicial killings; the extension of Martial Law in Mindanao; and the militarization of Marawi City and the country sides;

4) We condemn and continued undermining of the democratic institutions and instruments that protect human rights, such as the Commission of Human Rights, the justice system and media;

5) We denounce the strengthening of a culture of impunity, especially among armed duty bearers; and

6) We deplore the glorification of violence against actors such as government critics, women, and the church as a State discourse, and the silencing of human rights defenders.

Thus, it is with one voice that we call on the State to immediately and comprehensively act on the following:

1) Focus its efforts on addressing basic issues of poverty, inequality, and the people’s lack of access to State services such as justice, education, health and decent employment;

2) Ensure the accountability of public officers and duty bearers, starting from the highest echelons of the State, in upholding, respecting, guarding, fulfilling and monitoring human rights in the country;

3) Protect the human rights of all, especially of the most vulnerable, the invisible and the marginalized such as the poor, the indigenous peoples, women, and children, and their right to live in dignity and to nurture their ancestral domains and resources;

4) Safeguard human rights defender coming from government, civil society organizations, educational institutions, faith-based groups, farmers, sectoral leaders, artists, environmental activists, and journalists;

5) Defend and expand democratic spaces and sites for discussion and dissent, instead of threatening them;

6) Include multiple and diverse voices and positionalities in governance, policymaking and public discourse;

7) Empower local communities as safe spaces for human rights to be enjoyed;

8) Dismantle the culture of impunity among the police, military, and para-military and vigilante groups, and enforce respect for the rule of law in communities;

9) Strengthen, not weaken, national and international instruments for the protection of human rights;

10) Apply the full, speedy and just force of the law in arresting, investigating, and charging and convicting human rights violators;

11) Promote a just, humane, and lasting peace in Mindanao that is based not on institutional violence such as terrorist tagging, torture, and illegal arrests but through the immediate lifting of Martial Law, the resumption of peace talks; the full rehabilitation of Marawi City; and grounded, comprehensive, participative, and culturally-sensitive strategies.

In turn, we recognize our role as human right advocates, and hereby commit to:

1) Oppose the legitimization of State violence and war against the poor, exemplified by the sham “war on drugs”;

2 Fight the culture of silence, fear and stigma that prevents the reporting and documentation of human rights violations;

3) Harness the power of governance and elections to institute genuine change, and challenge political leaders to deliver a rights-based platform to their communities;

4) Increased vigilance, courage, unity of thought and action, openness to engage in partnership with like-minded stakeholders, within and outside the country, and including State actors, to advance human rights and increase the ranks of human rights champions.

To these principles we agree and commit ourselves on this 7th day of December 2018.

2018 Human Rights Congress Participants

‘Make friends with dishonest wealth’

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
December 2, 2018

VERY intriguing words of Christ, indeed! (cfr Lk 16,9) We need to go slow, keeping a good grip on our reflex reaction, to know what Christ really meant by them. Otherwise, we can easily misinterpret these divine words.

To be sure, Christ did not say that we should generate our wealth in a dishonest way. “No servant can serve two masters,” he said. “You cannot serve God and mammon.” We should avoid dishonesty.

What Christ really wanted to say was that since we cannot avoid dishonest wealth given our wounded and sinful condition that often leads us to be dishonest, we just have to make sure that we use that dishonest wealth properly while trying to eliminate dishonesty wherever it is found.

In another part of the gospel, he already warned his apostles, and us, about the naked reality of our life in this world. “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Mt 10,16) In short, we have to learn to deal with this condition. We are not yet in Paradise.

Christ wants us to know how to cope with this ugly condition of our life here on earth, and even convert it into something that is good, purifying and redeeming. What usually happens is that the so-called “good people,” or those who want to follow Christ or who want to be holy, get so idealistic that they would be at a loss as to how to deal with the ugly reality of our earthly sojourn.

Thus, he made this reproach: “The sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.” (Lk 16,8) These words were spoken after Christ in a parable commended the shrewd manager who made some arrangements after he was given notice of being fired.

Of course, using dishonest wealth properly can be done in many ways. One could be that it has to be returned to where that wealth rightfully comes from. If that is not possible anymore for one reason or another, then it can be used to atone or to make up for whatever damage the dishonest way of acquiring may have caused.

Thus, in that episode of Christ meeting the rich chief tax collector Zaccheus, Christ again commended the rich man for what the tax collector did with those whom he may have cheated. (cfr Lk 19,1-10)

“Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount,” said Zaccheus. And Christ answered: “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Lk 19,8-10)

Or that dishonest wealth can be used to do some good or to promote the common good of society. In all of this, we should try our best to undo any practice, system, structure, culture or lifestyle that generates this dishonest wealth.

We have to be realistic in dealing with the actual realities of our life. This does not mean that we have to make compromises in our morality. In fact, given the unavoidable unpleasant things in life, we have to be most clear and sharp in distinguishing between what is good and evil, what is moral and immoral.

Only in this way would we know how to deal with dishonest and sinful practices in this life. It would be good to review the principles to guide us regarding the distinction between formal, that is, intentional cooperation in evil, on one hand, and material cooperation, on the other hand. We need to be experts in the latter, given the facts of life.

Priests and paradigm shifts

By LANCE PATRICK C. ENAD**
November 29, 2018

In the battle of ideas between so-called “conservative” and “liberal” Catholics, I am inclined to think that most points of disagreement are questions on emphasis and that the fundamental and mutually exclusive points of disagreement are very few.

If some of you were born and raised during or before the 60’s, you might notice that there is a big difference in how priests behaved then and now. Many would perhaps recall that they always ran around in the sotana and that they were rather somehow austere. It would be rare to find a priest today running around in the sotana or even the clerical shirt and seem to behave like everyone else.

It is, I suppose, providential that the sex abuse controversy in the U.S. exploded during the year for the clergy and the consecrated life. This event seemed to be cataclysmic enough to evoke reaction from the Church – which I hope is one of troubleshooting and purging. This invites us to review our theology of the priesthood.

In my conversations with a local theologian with an international caliber, we spoke of the theologies on the priesthood – sacerdos and presbyter, St. Alphonsus de Ligouri, St. John Chrysostom, Vatican II. He mentioned how lofty Chrysostom’s theology on the priesthood is – set-apart, sacred, special- and how these ideas can be dangerous since they foster clericalism. He also noted the shift on the theology on the priesthood after Vatican 2.

He noted that there are things that are not necessarily mutually exclusive and how some seemingly disagreeing thoughts are matters of emphasis.

Here, I would like to note that the theology of the priesthood before Vat. 2 has been widely influenced by the thoughts of Chrysostom or similar to his. To my liking, this school of thought seems to emphasize in the priestly life a deep kind sanctity necessary for priests – which I believe, take its roots from the Old Testament, from the demands of the priestly life imposed on Aaron and his sons. Hence the 1917 canon law powerfully insists that “Both the interior and exterior life of clerics must be superior to the laity and excel them by the example of virtue and good deeds.” “The rite of ordination before the liturgical reforms then would also emphasize phrases like “imitate what you handle (the sacred).” We can see here that this kind of the theology of the priesthood somehow emphasizes this necessity of the sanctification of the priests and that this kind of thought, although with some disadvantages, disciplined priests back then, gave them a solid spiritual and ascetical program.

It is not my intention to discuss and convince you, dear reader, to adhere to the same thoughts on the priesthood I am seem to prefer since I am still praying and studying about that. Nor do I wish to present a comparison and contrast between one school of thought and another. What I do wish to tell you is that no matter which wing you wish to side, provided that it has nothing against the Faith, there are things which need to be emphasized if we wish to reform priestly life.

Prayer, Penance, a solid ascetical life, etc. need to be emphasized. St. Pius X, the first pope to be canonized since the council of Trent, after St. Pius V, used to say that the two necessary qualities of a good priest are outstanding holiness and solid doctrine – these need to be engraved on rock.

No matter if you want to emphasize that the priest is a shepherd, or that a he must smell like his sheep, or that a he is so special since only he can transubstantiate, only he can act in the person of Christ – not mutually exclusive- we need to emphasize the need for priests to be holy, very holy. A priest preaching a retreat to us seminarians once told us: “better a holy husband than a bad priest.” A nun giving a talk to seminarians once said: “being just a priest and a holy priest are two different things.”

For the six years of my seminary life, to my despair, these things are not really emphasized. To my despair, I hear seminarians openly and pleasurably having impure conversations. To my frustration, I have heard that some seminarians were living in mortal sin for months, that they had no regard for the spiritual life. To my sadness, I hear of priests keeping mistresses or boyfriends – hopefully false. Sadly, it seems that some priests pray the office no more, do not do mental prayer, and do not studying. Sanctity and Solid doctrine need to be emphasized no matter which camp you are in.

If we want to avoid sex abuse scandals and anything that may disfigure the Church, we have to continually remind ourselves of these things.

**Lance Patrick Enad y Caballero is a seminarian in San Carlos Seminary College, Archdiocese of Cebu, Philippines. Instaurare omnia in Christo! lancivspatricivs@gmail.com

Statement on the 9th year of the Ampatuan Massacre

By HUSTISYA
November 23, 2018

Hustisya (Victims United for Justice) joins the families of the victims of the Ampatuan massacre, in the continuous call for justice nine years after one of the worst massive attacks on journalists and civilians in our history.

Nine years of the pain and suffering is immeasurable for all of us who seek justice. This is doubled by the fact that however prominent this case may have been, it has also become one of the stark realities of injustice and impunity in this country – that, the powerful can simply take away the lives of many, and it will always be easy for them to get away with it.

We join you in remembering the 57 civilians, 32 of whom were journalists. Let us together recite and cry out their names. We refuse to accept they are mere figures. They have names, their lives were gruesomely taken away from them. They deserve justice.

As in the words of a daughter, Reynafe Castillo, “Siyam na taon na ang nakaraan subalit nananatiling buhay sa alaala ko ang karumaldumal na pangyayari sa Ampatuan massacre. Mga bangkay na walang mukha dahil sabog ang bungo, naaagnas at nangangamoy, iyong amoy na dikit sa buong katawan mo (Nine years have passed but the gruesome Ampatuan massacre remains alive in my memory. Bodies without faces because their skulls were crushed, decomposing and, the kind of smell that sticks to your body).”

We remember the continued disappearance of Reynaldo Momay, Reynafe’s father, the 58th victim of the Ampatuan massacre, whose body has yet to be found after the incident.

“I remember myself opening the cadavers one by one, looking intensely as I look for my father. My husband and son were with me along with our relatives. Fear was out of sight at that moment. All I know, I want to find him and give him decent burial and to have closure,” recalled Reynafe, lamented Reynafe.

Such is the same sentiment of the thousands of victims of extrajudicial killing under the Macapagal-Arroyo regime, only to be insulted and mocked by the comeback of then wheelchair-riding and now catwalking former president and current House speaker Arroyo. The Ampatuans, a known ally of Arroyo, remain a powerful warlord family in Maguindanao and in Mindanao. Zaldy Ampatuan enjoys favorable conditions even while in jail.

Both the hands of the perpetrators – the Ampatuan’s private armies and state forces which were enabled and allowed by the government to act as protectors of landlords and warlords – and that of the Ampatuans and Arroyo are both filled with blood of the victims of the carnage.

We are in solidarity to the families of the victims of the Ampatuan massacre. Nine years after, the killings continue, more brazen and brutal. The more recent victims of killings, from the Noynoy Aquino regime to the Duterte regime – activists, farmers, indigenous people, victims of the drug war, civilians and rights defenders – now join you as you cry for justice.

It is true, that families of victims sound like broken records as we gather, cry for justice and remember our loved ones every year. But we will not simply let go of this plight as long as the killings continue. We shall continue to do so, knowing this is how many will hear their plight, and to speed up the attainment of justice. One day, justice will be on the side of the victims.

Ipagpatuloy ang laban para sa katarungan sa mga biktima ng Ampatuan Massacre.

The diabolic in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

By LANCE PATRICK C. ENAD*
November 15, 2018

Coming home from the seminary for a short break allotted for the Solemnity of all Saints and the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, I was surprised to see a very popular series in Netflix – the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The advertisements were everywhere and I found the trailer rather charming.

Like most movies nowadays, it came advocating for transgenderism, it was somehow sexualized, it appeared to normalize sinful behaviors like adultery, it somehow made courtship without heading towards marriage a normal thing, and most of the filth you find in films nowadays. Setting that aside, as though this moral decline is an inevitable reality we have to face -as though-, the series overall was charming. There are however, some concerns that must be noted because of its clear relationship with the diabolic.

No doubt, the series was influenced by Satanism –this is quite clear in the blasphemous lines, in the scenes when almighty God is mocked, in the scenes where Holy Mother Church is mocked. Nevertheless, I feel that these things I will mention are things serious Catholics –all should be- should know.

1. Demons are lauded when their names are mentioned. Outside the context of exorcism, one should be cautious with mentioning demonic names. It would be interesting here to note that most horror movies mentioning demonic names are actually real demonic names. According several notable exorcists (Fr. Chad Ripperger being one of them), demons are exalted whenever their names are mentioned.

One of the exorcists of the diocese I’m from would even go as far as never using the names of the demons even if revealed when exorcising since he still believes it gives them some sort of honor even in the context of exorcism. In the series, there was a liberal and almost natural mentioning of demonic names –“for the love of Lucifer,” “praised be Satan,” etc. This somehow inclines me to think that this series’ involvement with the diabolic and satanism is not merely for the purposes of making this series but may even run deeper -to an alarming level.

2. Demons are afraid of the Most Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Despite the countless casual mentioning of demonic names in the series, never was there a mention of the name Jesus Christ or the Blessed Virgin Mary. There are statements who clearly allude to the God of the Bible –“the false God”-, or to Holy Mother Church –“the false Church”- but they would never dare to mention the Holy name of Jesus. This made me consider many things concerning the series and the diabolic.

For one who comes from the Archdiocese of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (Cebu), I am particularly happy. It is an honor to be under his banner. This also brought to mind some particular benefits of the devotion to the Holy name of Jesus. It was said that a recitation of the Jesus Prayer is already enough to burn demons –Blessed be His Holy Name!

3. Nudity. There are considerably sexualized scenes in the series portraying immoral sexual behavior or plain nudity. This brought to mind a talk given by Ven. Fulton Sheen concerning the Diabolic. In it, he mentioned that one of the signs of the diabolic is the love of nudity. It is particularly interesting that he mentioned that a friend of his who was a hospital chaplain witnessed some mentally ill and possibly possessed people stripping themselves when he comes with the Blessed Sacrament. He also recounted the story of our Lord expelling demons from a man in the Gerasene territory. This should make us consider that perhaps we are truly dealing with the diabolic here.

4. Absence of Love. The relationship between the followers of the “Church of Night” and the “Dark Lord” is by no means a relationship of love- it is slavery. It always seemed to be more of a business deal rather than a covenant of love. It is only in our Lord Jesus Christ that we can have a relationship of love –a love affair- with God – a loving (Agape/ Caritas) relationship with Love himself- Jesus Christ. This brings to mind very powerful words of Reinhald Schneider, addressed to the Father, mentioned by Pope Benedict XVI in his book ‘Jesus of Nazareth’: “Evil lives in a thousand forms; it occupies the pinnacles of power… it bubbles up from the abyss. Love has only one form –your Son.”

In light of all this, what ought we to do? Perhaps we could begin by reverent mentioning, by means of ejaculatory prayers, the Holy name of Jesus as we go about our occupations. One prayer I would recommend would be the Jesus prayer although the name of Jesus is itself a prayer already.

We could also begin to form a habit, a virtue that compels us to make acts of reparation whenever our Blessed Lord is offended or when the Devil is lauded. We should remove from us all occasions of sin especially sins of the flesh –which according to Our Lady of Fatima is the most successful means the devil uses to bring souls to hell, to remove us from the love of God and to enslave us.

I don’t believe I am in the position to tell Catholics not to watch the series. What I will say is that there are some serious things –diabolic- involved here. This should be enough to warn us to be cautious with anything related to the devil and this should hopefully encourage us to deepen our love for our beloved Jesus.

*Lance Patrick Enad y Caballero is a seminarian in San Carlos Seminary College, Archdiocese of Cebu, Philippines. Instaurare omnia in Christo! lancivspatricivs@gmail.com

Sensing the Sacred

By L.P. ENAD*
November 7, 2018

It has been rather alarming that in recent years, if I'm not mistaken, there seems to be unhealthy practices connected to the solemnity of all Saints and the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed.

I have noticed, at least in the cemetery my relatives rest, that there are some families who have been accustomed to stay in their family mausoleums all throughout the day – some would even go as far as spending a night or two in there. That does not seem to be a problem. The problem comes when those two holy days and those holy places we call cemeteries are used for social activities – when mausoleums become places for picnics, for idle talk and gossip, for boisterous laughter, and for some, used for drunkenness -"tagay."

To some, these activities seem commonplace and not at all disturbing. It is, however, important to remember two important phrases: Sacred Time and Sacred Place.

Sacred time. It is rather important to insist that the Solemnity of All Saints and the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed are times of prayer, times to offer suffrages for the souls in purgatory. Turning these times into times of social gatherings, picnics, boisterous laughter, levity, and drunkenness does not help in creating an atmosphere of prayer. I believe the saints who want us to join them and the souls in purgatory who want us to pray for them are pleased to find us acquiring virtues of silence, fasting, and temperance during these times and I’m sure they would be disappointed to find us wallowing in vice and all sorts of things that do not contribute to the spiritual life. These times are also times to sober up and meditate on death and realign our lives to the path of salvation if we find ourselves in the path of perdition or to persevere in the way of perfection if we find ourselves in this path already.

Sacred Place. In the rites of the Church, there is a distinction between a mere blessing and a consecration. Houses are blessed; churches are consecrated. Rosaries are blessed; Chalices are consecrated. One of the places that is so important it deserves a consecration is a cemetery. They are not sanctified by just any priest but always by a bishop or his delegate. The Church has high regard for the place where the bodies of the faithful departed rest as they await the resurrection on the last day. Knowing this should bring to mind the sacredness of cemeteries. These are not just yards where we can have a barbecue, where we can set up an inflatable pool, where we can gossip and talk idly, or where we can have a drinking session that would probably end with each one getting a hangover or vomiting all over the place. We do not do profane things in holy ground. We do not do picnics in holy ground. We do not do social gatherings, get-togethers, or parties on holy ground. Keep sacred places holy.

True enough, family, the meeting of relatives who are far away from each other for the rest of the year is important. Drinking too plays a significant role in our culture as much as picnics, get-togethers, and family reunions do. This, however, is a matter of ordering our values. Do we consider picnics, excursions, get-togethers, reunions more important than God? Do we consider these more important than the very reason we celebrate all saints and remember the dead? As far as I’m concerned God, the sacredness of times and places are of greater value, of greater importance compared to our get-togethers, picnics, et cetera – these are no doubt important for us Filipinos but should not be more important than the observance of sacred times and places. Our time for bonding and socializing should not dim the primacy and centrality of God.

◄◄home I next►►