Rejoicing, Gratitude, and Mercy

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

Solemn Declaration of the Spiritual Twinning of Nuestra Señora de la Merced Parish and Basilica de la Mercè

April 28, 2026 | Nuestra Señora de la Merced Parish, Bahay Pare, Candaba, Pampanga

“Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him” (John 2:11).

Your Excellency, the Most Rev. Florentino G. Lavarias, Archbishop of San Fernando, Pampanga; Your Excellency, the Most Rev. Paciano B. Aniceto, Archbishop-Emeritus of San Fernando; [Rev. Fr. Rodolfo Lemus Solórzano, O. de M., priest of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy (Mercedarians) and Vicar of the Basílica de la Mercé in Barcelona, Spain]; Dear Rev. Fr. John Paul P. Cabrera, parish priest:

For me as the Apostolic Nuncio, gathered here with all the priests who have come in so many numbers, such a great number of priests, religious sisters, lay faithful, all of us gathered here this morning to give thanks to God for this Solemn Declaration of the Spiritual Twinning of your parish here in Bahay Pare, Candaba, Pampanga, with the Basilica of Our Lady of Mercy in Barcelona, Spain, the Mother Church of the Mercedarian Order. The Mercedarians, as we know, were founded by St Peter Nolasco.

So, for all of us, bishops, priests, religious sisters, lay faithful, today is a day of great joy, great happiness, great spiritual blessings, because today you establish this very important link, this connection between your beautiful parish here, and the very famous basilica in Barcelona dedicated to Our Lady of Mercy.

So, our theme this morning is “Rejoicing, Gratitude and Mercy.” The Gospel (John 2:1-11) that was chosen for today's Holy Mass is, as we heard, the Wedding Feast in Cana in Galilee. It's interesting to note that this, as we see, was the first of the signs that Jesus worked. His first public miracle. It's interesting to note that it didn't take place in the capital, in the center. It didn't take place in Jerusalem. It happened in the province. It happened in Galilee, a province, we could say of Galilee, in the town of Cana. In a certain sense, we are like that this morning. We're not in the capital; we're in the province. We're in a place like Cana, celebrating, in a certain sense, this joyful Feast of Our Lady, this twinning, which in some ways gives us the kind of joy that certainly the wedding guests in Cana felt at that wedding.

Our Lady, an Attentive Mother of Mercy

So, what do we see in this theme of mercy, Our Lady of Mercy, Nuestra Señora de la Merced, the name of your parish? First of all, let's look at the gospel this morning. Our Lady is there at the wedding feast. First of all, she notices something. She sees that they're running out of wine. So, the first thing we realize about Mary is that she is very attentive. She is the Mother of Mercy, always attentive. That means she’s always aware, always noticing the needs of others. She is the Mother of Mercy, always attentive to the voice of her children, seeking to win your compassion for them, and asking forgiveness for their sins. We'll hear that prayer later on at Mass today.

The idea of “Mary noticing.” Isn't that brothers and sisters, what a mother does? Anyone who is a mother notices, is aware of what her children are doing, the children. If a child is a little sick, the child is unhappy, the child is absent. The mother is always aware of that, almost instinctually. Mary, who is our mother by faith, is aware. She's aware. She notices. She's attentive to what's happening at the wedding feast. She sees that the wine is running short, it's running out. In that, she gives us an example that we need to be attentive to the needs of those around us.

Uscire: Go Out to Look at Others

So often, we're caught in our own cells, our own problems, our own difficulties, kind of locked in ourselves. It was one of the things that Pope Francis always mentioned to us, the idea the need to go out of ourselves to. As the Italians say, “uscire,” to go out to look at others and not to be collapsed or focused only on ourselves.

In today's world, because of cell phones, we spend a lot of our time focusing on something about six inches from our nose, our cell phone. We don't know what's happening around us. We're not aware, attentive to what might be going on.

The Mother Who Notices

So, the first thing that Mama Mary, Our Lady of Mercy, Nuestra Señora de la Merced teaches us is to be aware of those around you, especially in your place of work, in your school. Wherever you are, when you're traveling, when you're at home, try to be aware of what's happening around you. Because Mary saw something that was going to be a big problem. They were running out of wine at a party, at a wedding feast. What would have been if they ran out of wine? So embarrassing, so humiliating for the ones who had organized the wedding party. It would have gone down in history in the town of Cana as “remember that wedding where they had no wine.”

The Mother’s Mercy and Compassion

Mary didn't want that humiliation to happen. So, first of all, she notices. Then also, we see in Mama Mary, in Our Lady of Mercy, a tremendous mercy and compassion. She wants to save others from humiliation, save others from trouble, save others from sadness. So, she sees. First she notices, and then, her heart is moved to compassion for the wedding party that's organized, the wedding feast when they're going to run out of wine. It's going to be a big humiliation. So, we see that also in Mary: compassion, mercy, the desire to help others, to help others avoid suffering.

In our own lives, a lot of times when something bad happens to someone that we don't like, we say, “Oh, he deserved it, you know,” or “She deserved it.” We're kind of happy at times when something bad happens to a person we don't like. That's a non-Christian attitude. It's not the attitude of Mary. Mary wants to save others from humiliation, difficulties, troubles, sadness and suffering. She wants to help them. She wants to save because she's a mother of compassion, a Mother of Mercy.

So first, the idea of noticing, second, the idea of mercy, and third, Mary gives advice.

The Mother who Gives Advice (Our Lady of Good Counsel)

Two days ago, on April 26, which was just as I said, 48 hours ago, we celebrated the feast day of Our Lady of Good Counsel, which you could also translate as Our Lady of Good Advice. Good advice. The gospel (John 2:1-11)  for Our Lady of Good Counsel two days ago is the same gospel we heard today. Because in this Gospel we hear Mary's good counsel. We hear Mary give good advice. What is that good advice that she gives us? She says to the servers, to the waiters, “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn. 2:5) Who is he? Jesus. “Do whatever He tells you.”

That's her good counsel. That's her good advice. That's what she tells us this morning, Mary, Our Lady of Mercy, who notices us, who's attentive to our needs. I'm sure that when anyone comes here and prays in front of your beautiful image filled with difficulties and troubles, Our Lady, first of all, notices you, Our Lady has mercy on you; and thirdly, Our Lady gives you this advice, “Do whatever Jesus tells you.” Because if you follow the teaching of Jesus, even though you may pass through difficult times, you will find joy.

If we leave the path of Jesus, if we don't do what He tells us, we might think that we're going to be happy in the short term, and maybe we find an instant gratification or happiness; but after a while that happiness evaporates and we become sad. Because there is only one path to joy, one path to true happiness, and that is a path of Jesus, of Nazareth, our Lord and our Savior.

She Points Us to Jesus

So, Mary, not only, we can say, notices, is attentive to our difficulties, has compassion for us, but she's always pointing us to Jesus. Mary doesn't draw all the attention to herself. She's always directing us to her Son. We love Mary because she's the mother of Jesus, and she's always showing us Jesus, and always telling us, “Do whatever He tells you”. If you follow the path of Jesus, you will find joy. You will find true fulfillment. You will find true happiness.

The Devil That Diverts Us from Jesus

The devil, the seducer, is always trying to take us off the path. He's always trying to divert us, to pervert us, to move us away from the path that leads to Jesus. He's always telling us, “Don't follow him. Follow me, and I will give you happiness,” but that is a myth, that is a falsehood, that is a lie. Devil is a father of lies (Jn. 8:44). Mary is telling us, “Don't follow him [the devil]. Do whatever Jesus tells you, and you will find joy, even though you may have to pass through difficult moments.”

The Joy that Comes from the Lord

Finally, when we look at the gospel this morning, we see that Jesus works His first miracle. He changes water into wine. Of course, that is because He was obeying the instructions of His mother. He didn't want the wedding party to suffer humiliation. By turning water into wine, the party continues. People are happy. That's an image for us. If we follow the Lord, we will find joy.

From Biological Life to Supernatural Life

That changing of water into wine is symbolic. It's symbolic of that transition from, we can say, the level of nature (water is something natural) to the level of grace. Wine symbolizes, we can say, God's grace. We have two levels, in a certain sense in our existence. We have the biological level. We're all alive biologically. We've all been created. We receive life from our parents. That's kind of symbolized on a natural level by water. Jesus changes that into wine. He elevates our human nature, our biological life, and He gives us supernatural life. Supernatural life, the life of the world to come, the life that comes from Him, the life that will never end. The life that begins in us through baptism, and then continues in us through the Eucharist, which is the Bread of supernatural life. Water is necessary so that we stay alive biologically. The Eucharist is necessary, so we stay alive supernaturally. That is an absolute truth.

Conclusion and Final Exhortations

So, all of these ideas in our minds and hearts this morning, as we thank God for this amazing moment. This moment of spiritual twinning between your parish here in Bahay Pare, Candaba, Pampanga, with the Basilica of Our Lady of Mercy in Barcelona, Spain. We can be sure, as we finish this Mass and we go away, that the joy that we feel this day will continue in our lives.

Finally, in conclusion, let me ask you to pray for our Holy Father in Rome, Pope Leo XIV. I was with him about two months ago, talking to him. He has, as all of you know, a great love for the Philippines. He came here several times when he was Master General of the Augustinian Order. And he has a great love, a great affection for Filipinos. I'm sure that in his heart he has the idea that someday, someday, sooner or later, maybe later, maybe sooner, some day, he will probably come and visit us here. So, we hope and we pray for Pope Leo XIV, he just returned from a long trip in Africa, and we pray for all of his intentions this morning.

So, God bless each and every one of you. Let me congratulate all of you on this wonderful day, this Solemn Declaration of the Spiritual Twinning of your Parish and the Basilica of Our Lady of Mercy in Barcelona.

God bless you! Viva la Virgen!

Transcribed by Joel V. Ocampo

Photos by DZRV 846 and Nuestra Señora de la Merced Parish