Luctor et Emergo (I Struggle, I Win)

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

January 31, 2026 | Misang Busko (Grand Mass) in Celebration of the 70th Founder’s Day

Don Bosco Academy of Pampanga, Inc., Mabiga, Mabalacat City, Pampanga

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). Those are the first words we heard from the second reading in our Holy Mass this morning, from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians, not to the Filipinos, but to the Philippians; but it’s also addressed this morning to you the Filipinos: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!” 

So why are we rejoicing? Because today we celebrate your Founder’s Day. Today we celebrate this beautiful Misang Busko for the Solemnity of St. John Bosco, founder of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), father and teacher of youth, the 70th Founder’s Day here in Don Bosco Academy of Pampanga.

I want to greet in a very special way, Fr. Ronilo “Ronnie” B. Javines, SDB, the Provincial Superior of the Salesians of Don Bosco (Philippines North Province); and also, of course, your beloved rector, the newly appointed rector of Don Bosco Academy here in Mabalacat, Rev. Fr. Roberto Ma. Roxas, SDB, and all the other Salesian Fathers who are gathered here with us this morning. 

We also have the secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature, that’s the Embassy of the Vatican in Manila, Fr. Guilherme De Melo Sanches, from Brazil. He has come to join us.

Of course, as all of you know, my name is Archbishop Charles Brown. I’m the apostolic nuncio. What is that? The apostolic nuncio is the representative of Pope Leo XIV here in the Philippines. So, I bring you the greetings of Pope Leo, to all of you, all Bosconians, on this wonderful 70th Founder’s Day in which we rejoice in the Lord.

We thank God, and we thank the Lord for all the blessings that He has showered upon Pampanga in these seventy years. As you know, your academy was founded back in 1956. (That was before I was even born). That was 70 years ago in Bacolor; and then was transferred here to Mabalacat City in 1996. That was 30 years ago. So, we have seventy years of Salesian presence in Pampanga. We thank God for the work of the Salesian Fathers, and also our beloved Salesian Sisters, who I think are also here present for us at Mass. Thank you, dear sisters, for joining us.

So, I greet all the alumni. I met some of you before the Mass began. I greet all the parents, all the teachers, all the students, all the administrators, all the benefactors of Don Bosco Academy of Pampanga. Congratulations! “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!”

The Paradox of Peace and Struggle

The motto of your school…hopefully, all of you know the motto of your school. What is it? “Luctor et Emergo” right? You all learned that, and all of you know what it means in English, and probably you know what it means in Kapampangan. It means, “I struggle and I win,” “I struggle and I win”.

This is an interesting concept for us this morning. In the Second Reading (Philippians 4:4-9) which we heard from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, or today’s letter to the Filipinos, Saint Paul talks about the peace of God. He talks about God of peace. He says, “Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (verse 7). So, the “peace of God”.

What is peace? When we think about peace, we think first of all about exterior peace: peace in the world. What does that mean, boys and girls? It means no war, right? The absence of war is peace. When Saint Paul is talking about the peace of Christ, the peace of God, he’s not actually talking so much about exterior peace in the world, but another kind of peace: interior peace, in our minds and hearts. That is the peace that Saint Paul is talking about. Interior peace—peace inside our minds, peace inside our hearts.

So, what is that peace? It’s a feeling of tranquility, a feeling of stability inside our minds and our hearts, a feeling of contentment, a feeling of confidence inside of us. That’s the peace of Christ, confidence, tranquility, stability inside of us. The absence or the opposite of interior peace is anxiety.

Saint Paul wants us to have the peace of God, the God of peace. In fact, Jesus talks a lot about peace in the Gospels. He says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you” (John 14:27). We repeat that in a few moments in Holy Mass. So, the peace of Christ, the peace of God, is this interior peace, tranquility, confidence, stability, the absence of anxiety. So, we have this idea of interior peace, then we have the idea of your school motto, “Luctor et Emergo”.

“I struggle.” It seems that it is not the same as peace. Right? Struggle seems to be different from peace. If we’re struggling, it seems like we're not really at peace. But here, boys and girls, we have what we call “paradox”. That's a fancy word that means something that looks like a contradiction, but in fact, is not a contradiction.

We say, for example, many times you say, “Less is more,” right? To say that, that's a contrary, that’s paradox. “Less is more.” When we’re talking about a homily, less is more: don’t talk for a half an hour—less is more. When we’re talking about a racing bicycle, the bicycle you want to do road racing—less is more: don't put a lot of things on your bicycle, don’t add extra stuff—less is more. You go faster. Your bike is lighter. If you’re a young lady putting on make-up, less is more. Don't put on too much make-up. Your own look a little bit. You’ll look beautiful. Less is more. That’s a paradox.

We have another paradox about peace in Latin; and it goes like this, “Si vis pacem, para bellum.” What does that mean? “If you want peace, prepare for war.” That is a contradiction. You want peace, prepare for war. So, if you have a country, you want your country to be peaceful, you don’t want war. Have a strong army. Prepare for war. No one will attack you. So, if you want peace, prepare for war.

That is how we connect interior peace and your beautiful school motto, Luctor et Emergo. To struggle brings us peace. This is the key, boys and girls to struggle brings us peace, interiorly. When we make an effort, we find peace. You all know that when you finish your exams, you feel [sigh as form of relief] peaceful. Right? Because you struggle and you’ve achieved something. So, struggle, and brings us peace. This is an important paradox.

So, whether we’re talking about our studies, our schoolwork, whether we’re talking about sports, if you want to be good at sports, you need to struggle, you need to practice, you need to make an effort, and then you will achieve peace. Because you’ll see your good efforts being rewarded and appreciated. You want to learn music, the musical instruments, you need to struggle. You need to luctor (struggle), and then you emergo (win). You struggle, learning the new musical instrument, practicing, then after a while, you begin to play beautifully, and into peace, achievement, contentment, tranquility.

Even in life of virtue, living a good and holy life, we need to struggle against sin. We need to struggle against; we need to fight against sin. Then we will triumph. Then we will win. When we struggle against sin, and we’re victorious, we find peace, we find joy, we find stability, and absence of anxiety. Anxiety leaves our hearts when we struggle and succeed against sin. So, there's no contradiction between struggle, which is your school motto, luctor and peace, which St. Paul is talking to us about this morning.

We see that so beautifully in the Salesian educational system, the whole person is educated: mind, body, and spirit. That’s Salesian education. The famous “Preventive System” motivating young people to struggle and find peace. To struggle, so that anxiety is pushed out of their hearts, and they find the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.

That’s what's been going on for seventy years here in Pampanga, in these two wonderful schools, first in Bacolor, and now in Mabalacat, here in Pampanga: struggle. Right? Finding peace.

So, that’s my message for all of you, young boys and girls, and teachers today, continue to struggle, and you will find peace; and that will give you so much happiness, so much joy. As you see the plans for your life realize in action.

Conclusion and Exhortations

Finally, we do all of these things, always under the watchful eyes of Mama Mary, Our Lady, whom, we will crown a little bit later on, during the liturgy. We will crown Our Lady, saying “Thanks to Mary for watching over us.” Mary is an example for us. Mary is a mother for us. Mary teaches us to struggle, to make an effort, to work hard, and to find peace. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.

So, in the name of Pope Leo in Rome, I want to, in his name, in the name of Pope Leo, wish all of you a very happy 70th Founder’s Day. I will see him in about two weeks. When I go to see him, I will be sure to remind him that everyone here in Don Bosco Academy are praying for Pope Leo. Please continue to pray for our Holy Father in Rome. We are very, very blessed to have such a wonderful, Holy Father.

Today is a great joy. Today is a great day of rejoicing.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!

God bless you.