Life, Blessing, Tree, and The Cross

Homily of H.E. Most Rev. Charles John Brown D.D., Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines

Solemn Pontifical Mass on the Fifth Sunday of Lent and 104th Fiesta Celebrations in Honor of Kambal na Krus

March 22, 2026 | Kambal Na Krus Chapel, St. Joseph Parish Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila

“I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me will never die,” (cf. John 11:25-26).

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

For me as the apostolic nuncio here in the Philippines, it gives me a lot of joy and happiness to be back here once again, here in Tondo, for this fiesta, we can say, part of the Fiesta of the Kambal na Krus Chapel, which is here to my right, to your left. This place where, back in 1922, as all of us know, a young worker named Crispino Lacandaso was chopping wood from a tree, a sampalok (tamarind) tree on an empty lot. He split the wood and saw and found this miraculous image of the Holy Cross, here on March 23, 1922.

I was here on March 23, 2022, for the 100th anniversary of the discovery of this miraculous cross; and it makes me very happy to be back here once again today to celebrate this Mass on what would be the 104th year since the discovery of this miraculous cross. I have come with two of the priests from the Apostolic Nunciature on Taft Avenue. That's Monsignor Giuseppe Trentadue and Monsignor Guilherme De Melo Sanches, who work with me as the Apostolic Nunciature. This is their first time here at Kambal na Krus Chapel. I know that they're very impressed by everything that they're seeing this afternoon, this evening. 

A Place of Blessing

So, in this place, this humble chapel, which houses this miraculous image of the cross, many, many miracles, I'm sure, favors, and blessings have been bestowed on you, the people of this area, the people of this barangay who come here to pray to Jesus, to ask Him for help. Jesus always listens to our prayers. He's there for us. He's close to us. He gives us Mama Mary, who is to my right as our Mother, and He answers our prayers. 

Sometimes, of course, Jesus doesn't answer our prayers in exactly the way that we have asked them. Sometimes, we ask for something and Jesus answers our prayers, but His answer is somewhat different from what we have requested. That's the miracle of God's providence. The Lord knows what's best for us.

So, the Kambal na Krus Chapel is a place of blessing. A place of blessing for all of you here in Tondo. I encourage you to come here often, to pray, to receive all the blessings that Jesus wants to give you.

Source of Life

In the Gospel today (John 11:1-45), Jesus is talking to us about one of the most important blessings. In fact, we can say, the most important blessing that He gives us. As I said, people come here to pray for all kinds of things: for relief of sickness, for economic and financial problems, for family difficulties, for success in school and exams, all of those things; but in a certain sense, those are the small blessings. The biggest blessing that Jesus gives us is His life. What does that mean?

The cross is the image of Jesus giving His life for us, but also giving His life to us.

Our gospel is all about life. Jesus hears that His friend Lazarus has died. He goes to the town of Lazarus. Then, as all of us know, one of Lazarus’ sisters says to Jesus, “Jesus, if you had been here, my brother would never have died.” You know what? That's true. When you read the gospels, all four gospels, when you come to Church, you never, ever hear of anybody who died in the presence of Jesus. Nobody dies when Jesus is present; and when Jesus comes to someone who has died, in the gospels, that person comes back to life. That happens again and again in the gospels: with the little girl who died (Mark 5:21-23; 35-43); with the son of the widow who died (Luke 7:11-17); with Lazarus, who died. In the presence of Jesus, people who are dead come back to life.

Life Through the Sacraments and Jesus’ Teachings

That is a beautiful image for us, a beautiful truth. Jesus gives us His life. He gives us His life here and now. But you say, “Well, how does He give us His life?” In two ways. He gives us His life, principally through the Sacraments.

The Sacrament of Baptism. I encourage you, all of you, baptize your little babies. Because when a baby is baptized, Jesus's life comes into that baby. His life is living in him or her. So, baptize your babies.

Then, that life is nourished by the Eucharist, the Bread of Life. If we don't have the Eucharist, we don't have the life of Christ. He says, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day” (John 6:54). So, we have the sacramental life of the Church, which is the life of Jesus being transferred into us.

Secondly, He gives us life through His teaching. “My words are spirit and life” (cf. Jn. 6:63b). When we follow the teaching of Jesus and receive His sacraments, that life is welling up in us. That life is transforming us. That life which is His life is active in us: transforming us, preparing us, protecting us, and leading us. That is the greatest blessing possible.

The Tree and The Cross

It's interesting that this idea of life and the cross. We have this really interesting connection here between a tree, which, in 1922, was split up, and we found the cross inside the tree. There's a very interesting connection between tree and cross. Remember, in the Garden of Eden, there was the Tree of Life, a symbol of the life of God (Genesis 2:9). When Adam and Eve sinned, they were banished. They were sent away from the Garden of Eden, and they lost contact with the Tree of Life; and death, as we know it, entered the world (Genesis 3:1-24).

So, the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden becomes inaccessible, not reachable by people after sin. Then Jesus comes into the world, and He embraces the tree of death, and changes the tree of death into the tree of life. What do I mean? What is the cross? The cross was an instrument for putting people to death, for killing people. The cross is the tree of death. Jesus embraces the cross. He transforms the tree of death into the tree of life, giving us life by His sacrifice on the cross.

So, all of these themes come together this evening on the Fifth Sunday of Lent: the theme of life, the theme of blessing, the theme of the tree, the theme of the cross. It makes us so grateful to be Catholic Christians, because we have the Bread of Life in the Eucharist, we have the Word of Life in the teaching of Jesus and the teaching of the Church.

Conclusion and Exhortations

Again, for me, as the Apostolic Nuncio, the representative of Pope Leo XIV here in the Philippines, it makes me so happy to be back here once again, four years after my first visit. I thank in a very, very special way, your parish priest, the Rev. Fr. Douglas Badong, who invited me to come this year to celebrate the 104th celebration of the Kambal na Krus.

So, let's remember these points, my dear brothers and sisters:

• We find life in Jesus, but we need to come to Him.

• Receive that life. Receive that life which changes us,

  • the life that comes into us in Baptism,

  • the life that is nourished by the Eucharist, and

  • the life that we receive in our minds when we listen to the preaching of the Gospel and the teachings of the Church.

I ask all of you, as I always do as your papal nuncio, to pray for Pope Leo XIV. I was with Pope Leo about one month ago in Rome. I saw him, and I brought him all the love and affection of the Filipino people. As all of you know, before he became Pope, he visited the Philippines many, many times, and I think he wants to come back. So, the question is, when will he come? We pray that he comes sooner rather than later. I'm sure sooner or later, Pope Leo XIV will make a visit to all of us here in the Philippines.

So, God bless each and every one of you. Let's say thank you to God for the gift of Kambal na Krus.

Let's remember that Jesus is our way, our truth, our life. He is the resurrection. He is the life that lives in us, and leads us towards heaven, the kingdom of God.

Transcribed by Joel V. Ocampo

Photos by Angelo Mangahas and Kambal Na Krus Chapel