Blog & Pastor Letters

There is so much talk about love that it is easy to find tons of material on the subject. From movies to fiction novels, we discover the human ability to love and be loved. The beauty of human love is deeply appreciated when love is unconditional and from the heart.

Hatred often creeps into human life and things do not add up as expected. The world today needs love as we see pictures of violence and terrible inhuman acts perpetrated by human beings capable of loving and being loved. It is even more worrisome when religion is used as a cover wreaking havoc on the weak, the innocent and destroying the defenseless.

Unfortunately, the story is not always that way.

My position is that religion is supposed to make you a better person but then, when something is wrong with your practice do not blame the religion per se. The book of Exodus should be read with the background of suffering in Egypt of God’s chosen people. For over four hundred years, they labored as slaves under harsh conditions, until God saved them through Moses.

In today’s first reading, God is urging them to consider acts of kindness to aliens, widows, and orphans. “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry.” God is encouraging the Israelites to be kind, considerate, and merciful to these categories of people and indeed to their neighbors who look different than them.

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In October 2014 Pope Francis convened a Synod on the Family to discuss contemporary issues affecting the Catholic family. The first session started that October 2014 and the final session ended on October 2015. At the end of the first session, Pope Francis canonized Pope Paul VI, the pope who gave us the encyclical Humane Vitae (On Human Life) in 1968. In April 2014, Pope Francis canonized Pope John XXIII in recognition of initiating the Second Vatican Council in 1963. He also canonized Pope John Paul II in answer to a miraculous intercession. Pope Francis requested the intercession of these popes for the success of the synod on the family.

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When I was young, my grandfather was fond of me. Over time, I got to love him and craved being around him. All we did was talk frivolously and laugh. He would tell me baby stories to keep me happy. And before you ask about my grandmother, she was a bundle of joy as well. She died some years ago at 90. My grandfather has since died at the age of 100.

As our bonding period progressed, I used to ask why he was not as fast enough as I was. He would tell me it was due to his age. I would run away from him and expect him to catch me, but he could not. Later, on as I began to grow older, I started to seek my independence away from him. He would call me, but I would hide. He would send me to do something for him; I would promise to do it but I would not. He would run after me, yet I always ran faster than him and hid. One day, he told me, “When you grow older, you will understand how old people feel about their grandchildren not listening to them.” Now I understand.

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When you consider what teachers go through in class, you will appreciate them for who they are. They teach, listen, and they are patient. A few times in their teaching career, they feel like they are in the wrong profession when they meet annoying students and nasty behaviors. Some students can grasp a lesson quickly; others succeed by constant repetition. While some students merit the A grade not so with many unlucky ones.

Every teacher is key to a student’s learning. It is the responsibility of the student to develop learning techniques independently and assimilate those hard theories. It is the desire of every teacher to graduate high performing students and to be proud of them. So that is the reward for teaching but sadly, not every student gets to the top.

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Freewill is an important gift from God necessary for human existence. Imagine humans without the ability to choose or without the ability to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong: it will be prefab living. God graciously bestows the gift of choice on humans to enable them to make excellent decisions to live happily. If we make a poor choice, we own up to it and become responsible for our wrong choices.

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The year 2014 witnessed greater persecution against Christians around the world. It is not entirely new that Christians are persecuted for their faith but in the past few years, we have seen an upward surge unprecedented in recent history. In 2020, the level of persecution has reached a new high especially in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. According to Open Doors, a US-based agency serving persecuted Christians worldwide, the persecution of Christians doubled in 2013. In its report, it says that Christianity as the largest faith in the world with 2.2 billion followers, which is about 32% of the world population, faces hostility in 111 countries. While there are persistent internal tensions with the second-largest religion, Islam, it fiercely faces restrictions in ultra-conservative countries, which do not favor another state religion. In all, Christians faced persecution that saw the birth of many martyrs simply for their faith as Christians in 2013. This situation prompted the Vatican representative to the United Nations, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, to voice out his concerns to the UN Human Rights Council. According to him, every year over 100,000 Christians is violently killed because of their faith. The rank of those persecuted cuts across all ranks of the Church hierarchy from missing bishops kidnapped nuns, abducted priests too numerous lay followers suffering martyrdom in the hands of their dangerous persecutors.

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After listening to different news media reports onthe endless skirmishes between Israel and thePalestinians in Gaza, I decided to find out formyself what history could offer me about thiscontroversial subject. I found a book of greatinterest, The Middle East by Bernard Lewis,a historian of great repute and versed on thesubject. From the first to the last page, I read indetail the rise and fall of different empires,sultanates or caliphates, or khanates in what wenow call the Middle East.

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In many novels, plays, and films there are storms. Characters look to grey skies and warn that a storm is coming. This is not just a weather forecast! In our own daily lives when we face difficult or painful situations we talk about ‘ weathering a storm&rsquo, or ‘ being all at sea.’ These recent months whether at a personal, local, national or global level, we have all weathered, battled, and hopefully survived the storm that was and still is the Coronavirus. It shook and rattled us and we all did our very best to hang on and survive. Hopefully these days now, that storm is easing for us.

In the gospel today, the disciples find themselves in a storm while at sea in a boat, but this is not the only storm they are facing. The gospel continues directly from last week’s when Jesus fed the crowd. After sending them away, Jesus again spends time alone where he can be silent, rest and pray. Even Jesus can’t be busy and active all the time. While the disciples are at sea the famous storm blows and bellows.

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Jesus multiplied two fish and five loaves for amultitude of people. He knew that the peopledepended on him while he taught them by thehillside. When it was time to depart and go backto their homes, he did not allow them to emptyhanded. He instructed the apostles to give themsomething to eat. They could only find two fishand five loaves. Jesus multiplied them and gavethem out for the people to eat.

Anytime we read this section in the Bible, we arealways moved with surprise that Jesus couldmultiply few loves of bread and fish for a largegathering. However, we should not be surprisedcompletely and lose the point. Jesus is the sonof God. He came from the Father to show ushow much he loves us. He used many difficultand impossible situations to reveal, to us pieceby piece how much he cares about us. Insteadof believing in God’s ultimate power, wequestion everything about him.

Consider this fact. Five thousand men excludingwomen and children ate from the two fish andfive loaves. Do you know how much food fivethousand men could eat? What about thewomen and their children? Combining the foodthat came from the fish and bread gives us thecourage to term this a miracle. Our faith teachesus that Jesus did many other miracles tosubstantiate his position as God’s Only begottenson.

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