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by Kat Galdo Diaz There is always a road to take, and often times we choose the shorter path to make our journey easier and faster. But then we still encounter road blocks, closures, traffic jams to name a few. Having this in mind, I can’t help but compare it with how we deal with our own lives. We are usually in a rush for everything, in a rush to go from one place to another, in a rush to finish a task or in a rush to be that “someone” in the society. And to be able to do so, we tend to be competitive or goal-oriented people and our values has taken a back. I was alarmed thinking that I might be actually being like this, at the expense of my values – and I don’t want that to happen. I felt something has to be done. I had this rejuvenating experience recently, for the first time, I was able to spend quality time with myself. This was brought about all that had happened in the past months or so. I just felt the need to just sit, relax, breath and entirely talk to God. I wasn’t sure what to do exactly, but my mind and soul is just screaming to be in the moment and feel what nature has to say, so not long after I was able to do my prayers and reflect. Then came the outpouring of my inconvenient truths. I was set to literally rant with how things are going, but God spoke with these words: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11) So I was like, okay. I was wrong what do I have to do then? — TO CHANGE MY PERSPECTIVE. I was ranting because of the people around me, maybe because they do not meet “my standard” of how life is. Perhaps, I look highly of myself and cared less of others just when I thought I was doing fine. But actually, we need not to think highly of ourselves as if we are always right and never wrong, as if we are in power to do whatever, or that we are the best. Because the more we do so, the more we turn away from God. What is really essential is to remain humble and with all humility thank God because we can do everything. Because only Him has the power to do everything. The more we think that it is our doing and not His, the more chances that we are bound to fail sooner or later. With this realization, I was reminded that I can do nothing without God. He is the source and the reason of what we think is our power. And by staying humble and acknowledging that it is His doing all the more we can move freely and with confidence. Doubt is unescapable. Just like any road block, doubt stops us to think purely and paralyzes our thoughts with all uncertainties. That was a growing feeling inside me, I was doubting myself on what I can do, how far can I go, or the too many what ifs lingering on my mind every time I take on a new challenge. Also, there is doubt with the people around me, there are moments that I cannot put myself to believe with what I hear and see, in things that has caused brokenness. Creating doubt is easy, we only see the floss, the mistakes, the past. but it can never fix anything it only creates beasts that we cannot manage. Doubting caused me my sanity, and it grew bigger and bigger that I can no longer think straight, and so by praying for guidance I was able to let go and acknowledge my other inconvenient truth: that I was too pre-occupied to think of what lies ahead. This mentality is never healthy, what is best is when we seek guidance rather than overthink. Trust that God is in control, and that with Him whatever happens will always be the best – for ourselves and for the people around us. “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?” (John 20:29) Just as this verse say, have we come to believe only because we have seen? Do we need to see the difference or the changes first before we believe? If so, then how come we believe in God even we don’t really see Him? Feeling. It is by feeling that we believe, we feel His love, his care and guidance even if we don’t see Him physically. We see Him in our family and friends. Just like how we believe that God is alive and is within us, same goes when we doubt ourselves or others. We first have to feel. Try to feel your heart’s desire if at one point you doubt yourself. We often times overlook our successes because we get ahead of ourselves and loose our self-appreciation. Or we doubt others because we don’t see much of their actions, people don’t need to please everyone. We don’t need to act, speak, think according to the standards of others. Just like doubting Thomas, he was not able to believe first that Jesus has risen until he saw the wounds in his palm. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Wounds. Honestly, when I get hurt I tend to act rude, say things I never meant because I want others to feel that I am hurt. I cared less with how they will feel I only want them to see that I am wounded and hurting. Low and behold, we all hurt, and sometimes we only think of our own wounds, but did we ever care about others’ wound as we heal our own? We tend to forget and be more compassionate with others, because we care more for ourselves. Just like the saying, it takes two to tango; same when we hurt people – We both hurt. And no, hurting others does not give any satisfaction because truth is when we hurt others, we hurt more. Those hurting causes our wounds, and assuming we still have that goodness deep down, the best way to tend to our own wounds is also to help others heal their own. Understand them more and be compassionate. This may be tough, but of course we need to keep on trying to do the right thing and eventually heal everyone. It takes a lot of time and effort, but taking the first step is always necessary. My inconvenient truths led me to this: ACCEPTANCE AND TO MOVE ON. It is hard to accept my own mistakes, my own doubts and fears, and that I have my wound and others’ have wounds too. We usually turn to the easiest way in dealing with life – to look happy and make ourselves believe that everything is fine. But in order to live a much happier life, we need to move-on the right way – to pick up the pieces again and change our direction – the road may be long, winding and bumpy, but if we drive-along with it with hearts full of trust, hope and love, we will arrive at our destination with hearts full and much more accomplished than we ever thought.

Dear brother priests, I would like to reach out to you with a thought of accompaniment and friendship, which I hope will sustain you as you carry out your ministry, with its load of joys and labours, hopes and disappointments. We need to exchange glances full of care and compassion, learning from Jesus who looked at the apostles this way, not demanding from them a schedule dictated by the criterion of efficiency, but offering care and refreshment. Thus, when the apostles returned from their mission, enthusiastic but tired, the Master said to them: “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while” (Mk 6:31). I think of you, at this time at which there can be, along with the summer activities, also a little rest after the pastoral labours of the past months. And first of all I would like to reiterate my thanks: “Thank you for your witness and for your service. Thank you for the hidden good you do, and for the forgiveness and consolation that you bestow in God’s name. … Thank you for your ministry, which is often carried out with great effort, with little recognition and is not always understood” (Homily for Chrism Mass, 6 April 2023). photo by Paul Haring/Catholic News Service Besides, our priestly ministry is not measured by pastoral successes (the Lord himself had fewer and fewer of them as time went by!). At the heart of our life is not even the frenzy of activity, but remaining in the Lord to bear fruit (cf. Jn 15). He is our refreshment (cf. Mt 11:28-29). And the tenderness that comforts us springs from His mercy, from welcoming the “magis” of His grace, which allows us to go ahead in our apostolic work, to bear failures and setbacks, to rejoice with simplicity of heart, to be meek and patient, to always start again and begin again, to reach out to others. Indeed, our necessary “recharging moments” occur not only when we rest physically and spiritually, but also when we open ourselves to fraternal encounter between ourselves: fraternity comforts, it offers spaces for inner freedom and prevents us from feeling alone in the face of the challenges of the ministry. It is with this spirit that I write to you. I feel I am journeying with you, and I would like to make you feel that I am close to you in joys and sorrows, in plans and hardships, in bitterness and in pastoral consolations. Above all, I share with you the desire for communion, affective and effective, while I offer my daily prayer that this, our Mother Church of Rome, called to preside in charity, may cultivate the precious gift of communion first and foremost in herself, making it germinate in the various realities and sensibilities of which she is composed. May the Church of Rome be for everyone an example of compassion and hope, with her pastors always, truly always, ready and willing to extend God’s forgiveness, as channels of mercy that quench the thirst of today’s humanity. And now, dear brothers, I wonder: in this time of ours, what does the Lord ask of us, where are we led by the Spirit that has anointed us and sent us as apostles of the Gospel? In prayer this comes back to me: that God asks us to go all the way in the fight against spiritual worldliness. Father Henri de Lubac, in a few pages of a text that I invite you to read, defined spiritual worldliness as “the greatest danger for the Church - for us, who are the Church - the most perfidious temptation, the one that always resurfaces, insidiously, when the others are vanquished”. And he added words that seem to me to hit the nail on the head: “If this spiritual worldliness were to invade the Church and work to corrupt it by undermining its very principle, it would be infinitely more disastrous than any simply moral worldliness” (Meditation on the Church, Milan 1965, 470). They are things I have recalled on other occasions, but I would like to reiterate them, considering them a priority: spiritual worldliness, in fact, is dangerous because it is a way of life that reduces spirituality to an appearance: it leads us to be “traders of the spirit”, men clothed in sacred forms that in reality continue to think and act according to the fashions of the world. This happens when we allow ourselves to be fascinated by the seductions of the ephemeral, by mediocrity and habit, by the temptations of power and social influence. And, again, by vainglory and narcissism, by doctrinal intransigence and liturgical aestheticism, forms and ways in which worldliness “hides behind the appearance of piety and even love for the Church”, but in reality “consists in seeking not the Lord’s glory but human glory and personal well-being" (Evangelii gaudium, 93). How can we fail to recognise in all this the updated version of that hypocritical formalism, which Jesus saw in certain religious authorities of the time and which in the course of his public life made him suffer perhaps more than anything else? Spiritual worldliness is a “gentle” temptation and for this reason even more insidious. Indeed, it seeps in, well aware of how to hide behind good appearances, even within “religious” motivations. And, even if we recognise it and banish it from us, sooner or later it presents itself again, disguised in a different fashion. As Jesus says in the Gospel: “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest; and finding none he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first” (Lk 11: 24-26). We need inner vigilance, to safeguard our minds and hearts, to feed in us the purifying flame of the Spirit, because worldly temptations return and “knock” politely: “they are ‘elegant demons’: they enter smoothly, without our ever being conscious of them” (Address to the Roman Curia, 22 December 2022). However, I would like to dwell on an aspect of this worldliness. When it enters the heart of pastors, it takes on a specific form, that of clericalism. Forgive me for repeating it, but as priests I think you understand me, because you too share what you believe in a heartfelt way, in accordance with that good, typically Roman (Romanesque!) trait, whereby sincerity of the lips comes from the heart, and has the flavour of the heart! And I, as an elderly man and from the heart, want to tell you that it worries me when we lapse into forms of clericalism; when, perhaps without realising it, we let people see that we are superior, privileged, placed “above” and therefore separated from the rest of God's holy people. As a good priest once wrote to me, “clericalism is a symptom of a priestly and lay life tempted to live out the role and not the real bond with God and brethren”. In short, it denotes a disease that causes us to lose the memory of the Baptism we have received, leaving in the background our belonging to the same Holy People and leading us to live authority in the various forms of power, without realising the duplicity, without humility but with detached and haughty attitudes. To free ourselves from this temptation, it is good for us to listen to what the prophet Ezekiel says to the shepherds: “You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the crippled you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them” (34:3-4). It speaks of “fat” and “wool”, that which nourishes and warms; the risk that the Word places before us is therefore that of nourishing ourselves and our own interests, providing ourselves with a comfortable life. Certainly, as Saint Augustine affirms, the pastor must also live thanks to the support offered by the milk of his flock; but as the Bishop of Hippo comments: “Let them take from the milk of their sheep, let them receive what is necessary for their needs, but let them not neglect the weakness of the sheep. Let them not seek any benefit for themselves, lest they appear to be preaching the Gospel for the sake of their own need and privation; rather, let them provide the light of the true word for the sake of men’s enlightenment” (Sermon on pastors, 46.5). Similarly, Augustine speaks of wool, associating it with honours: the wool, which covers the sheep, can make us think of everything we can adorn ourselves with outwardly, seeking the praise of men, prestige, fame, wealth. The great Latin father writes: “One who gives wool gives honour. These are precisely the two things that pastors, who feed themselves and not the sheep, look for from the people – the benefit of having their wants supplied as well as the favour of honour and praise” (ibid., 46.6). When we are concerned only with milk, we think of our personal gain; when we obsessively seek wool, we think of cultivating our image and increasing our success. And in this way we lose the priestly spirit, the zeal for service, the longing for the care of the people, and we end up reasoning according to worldly foolishness: “What has this to do with me? Let everyone do what he will; my sustenance is safe, and my honor too. I have enough milk and wool, so let each one do as he likes” (ibid., 46.7). Concern, then, focuses on the “I”: one’s own sustenance, one’s own needs, the praise received for oneself instead of for the glory of God. This happens in the life of those who slip into clericalism: they lose the spirit of praise because they have lost the sense of grace, the wonder at the gratuitousness with which God loves them, that trustful simplicity of the heart that makes us reach out our hands towards the Lord, awaiting food from Him at the right time (cf. Ps 104:27), aware that without Him we can do nothing (cf. Jn 15:5). Only when we live in this gratuitousness, can we live the ministry and pastoral relations in the spirit of service, in accordance with Jesus’ words: “You received without pay, give without pay” (Mt 10:8). We need to look precisely to Jesus, to the compassion with which He sees our wounded humanity, to the gratuitousness with which He offered His life for us on the cross. Here is the daily antidote to worldliness and to clericalism: to look at the crucified Jesus, to fix our eyes every day on He who emptied Himself and humbled Himself unto death (cf. Phil 2:7-8). He accepted humiliation to raise us up from our falls and to free us from the power of evil. In this way, looking at Jesus’ wounds, looking at Him humbled, we learn that we are called to offer ourselves, to make ourselves broken bread for the hungry, to share the journey with the weary and oppressed. This is the priestly spirit: making ourselves servants of the People of God and not masters, washing the feet of our brethren and not trampling them underfoot. Let us therefore remain vigilant against clericalism. May the Apostle Peter, who, as tradition reminds us, even at the moment of death humbled himself upside down in order to be equal to his Lord, help us to stay away from it. May the Apostle Paul, who, because of Christ the Lord, considered all the gains of life and the world to be refuse (cf. Phil 3:8), preserve us from it. Clericalism, we know, can affect everyone, even the laity and pastoral workers: indeed, one can assume a “clerical spirit” in carrying out ministries and charisms, living one’s own calling in an elitist way, wrapped up in one’s own group and erecting walls against the outside, developing possessive bonds with regard to roles in the community, cultivating arrogant and boastful attitudes towards others. And the symptoms are indeed the loss of the spirit of praise and joyful gratuitousness, while the devil creeps in by nurturing complaining, negativity and chronic dissatisfaction with what is wrong, irony becoming cynicism. But, in this way, we let ourselves be absorbed by the climate of criticism and anger that we breathe around us, instead of being those who, with evangelical simplicity and meekness, with kindness and respect, help our brothers and sisters emerge from the quicksand of impatience. In all this, in our frailties and inadequacies, as well as in today's crisis of faith, let us not be discouraged! De Lubac concluded by stating that the Church, “even today, despite all our obscurities [...] is, like the Virgin, the Sacrament of Jesus Christ. No infidelity of ours can prevent her from being 'the Church of God', 'the handmaid of the Lord'" (Meditation on the Church, cit., 472). Brothers, this is the hope that sustains our steps, lightens our burdens, and gives new impetus to our ministry. Let us roll up our sleeves and bend our knees (you who can!): let us pray to the Spirit for one another, let us ask him to help us not to fall, in our personal lives as well as in pastoral action, into that religious appearance full of many things but empty of God, so as not to be functionaries of the sacred, but passionate proclaimers of the Gospel, not “clerics of state”, but pastors of the people. We need personal and pastoral conversion. As Father Congar said, it is not a matter of bringing back good observance or reforming external ceremonies, but rather of returning to the sources of the Gospel, of discovering fresh energies to overcome habits, of injecting a new spirit into the old ecclesial institutions, so that we do not end up being a Church "rich in its authority and security, but little apostolic and mediocrely evangelical" (Vera e falsa riforma della Chiesa, Milan 1972, 146). Thank you for the welcome you will give to these words of mine, meditating on them in prayer and before Jesus in daily adoration; I can tell you that they have come to me from my heart and from the affection I have for you. Let us move forward with enthusiasm and courage: let us work together, among priests and with our lay brothers and sisters, initiating synodal forms and paths, which will help us to strip ourselves of our worldly and “clerical” certainties in order to humbly seek pastoral paths inspired by the Spirit, so that the Lord's consolation may truly reach everyone. Before the image of Salus Populi Romani I prayed for you. I asked Our Lady to guard and protect you, to dry your secretly-shed tears, to rekindle in you the joy of ministry and to make you every day pastors in love with Jesus, ready to give their lives without measure for love of Him. Thank you for what you do and for what you are. I bless you and accompany you in prayer. And, please, do not forget to pray for me. Fraternally, Lisbon, 5 August 2023, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. ____________ Holy See Press Office Bulletin, 7 August 2023

The 37th World Youth Day is happening in Lisbon, Portugal. Over half a million young people are expected to come for the event and they will receive their kit that will come handy for the week. Watch the video to know what's inside.

by Fr. Vic Kevin Ferrer photos from Northern Luzon Clergy Retreat Some eight hundred priests and fourteen bishops from Northern Luzon dioceses are gathered in Baguio City for a regional retreat from July 31 to August 4, 2023 the Memorial of St. John Mary Vianney patron saint of priests. Despite the inclement weather, priests filled the Baguio Cathedral of Our Lady of the Atonement on Monday, July 31, to begin their retreat with prayers and the Holy Eucharist. Rev. Fr. Chris Alar of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception is the preacher for this retreat. Fr. Alar, who is the host of the EWTN show called 'Living the Divine Mercy,' is also well known for his talks, books, and youtube videos about the Catholic faith. The message of Divine Mercy is the main topic of the retreat with the theme: "They will look upon Him whom they have pierced (Jn 19:37)." Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan began his homily for the Mass of the first day of the retreat by saying, "How beautiful it is for brothers to be together. But, more beautiful than brothers coming together are brothers allowing themselves to be held by the hand of God." This is only the second time that the Northern Luzon Clergy Retreat is being held. The first one was in July 2018 during the celebration of the Year of the Clergy and Consecrated Persons. Participating in the retreat are priests from the Archdioceses of Nueva Segovia, Tuguegarao, and Lingayen-Dagupan, Dioceses of Laoag, San Fernando (La Union), Ilagan, Bayombong, Alaminos, Urdaneta, Bangued, Baguio, and San Jose (Nueva Ecija), Prelature of Batanes, and the Apostolic Vicariates of Tabuk and Bontoc-Lagawe. The 1983 Code of Canon Law (Canon 276) obliges all ordained ministers to undertake a spiritual retreat once a year. Each diocese usually arranges a retreat for their clergy but on special occasions regional retreats like what is ongoing in Baguio are held. The main venue of the retreat is the Baguio Cathedral which is also an iconic tourist destination. It is closed to the public for the entire duration of the clergy retreat.

by Clyde Ericson Nolasco prayers from Lisbon2023.org Every World Youth Day (WYD), the local organizers present patrons, canonized saints or saints-to-be, to serve as model and inspiration as they celebrate their youth. At most times, the patrons were born in the city hosting the WYD. For this edition of WYD, thirteen were selected. They are the following: 1. St John Paul II - Born as Karol Wojtyla, he was elected Pope at the age of 58 and took the name Pope John Paul II. In 1984, he established the World Youth Day (WYD), the world's largest gathering of young people fostering faith in Jesus through cultural immersion and catechesis. He died in 2005 and was canonized in 2014. 2. St. John Bosco - Popularly known as Don Bosco, he is an Italian priest born in 1851. Inspired by his daily contact with orphans and abandoned youth, he founded the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales now known as the Salesians. This congregation ministers to young people through schools and parishes. 3. St. Vincent - He is the patron saint of Lisbon. He was born in Huesca into a Christian family. He was condemned to death during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. He was imprisoned then later on tortured on a gridiron. After being martyred, ravens saved his body from being devoured by vultures. 4. St. Anthony - Known as St. Anthony of Padua, he is also called St. Anthony of Lisbon. He is a Portuguese priest of the Franciscan Order born in Lisbon in 1195 and died in Padua in 1231. Catholics would turn to him for help when they are losing something thus he is the patron of lost things. 5. St. Bartholomew of the Martyrs - Born in Lisbon as Bartolomeu Fernandes, he entered the Dominican Order at the age of 14. He was ordained bishop in 1559 and in the same year, received the pallium of Archbishop of Braga. The people recognize him as the “holy archbishop, father of the poor and the sick.” 6. St. John de Brito - Also known as Arul Anandar, he was born in Lisbon in 1647 and from a noble family. He is a Jesuit missionary and a martyr. For Indian Catholics, he is the "the Portuguese St Francis Xavier." He died in 1693 and was canonized in 1947 by Pope Pius XII. 7. Blessed Joana of Portugal - Declared “Blessed Joan of Portugal” by Pope Innocent XII in 1693, she was born in 1452. She’s a candidate to be a queen of Portugal but rejected being a royal princess and opted for a life dedicated to Jesus and His passion. She entered the cloister at the age of 19 and died at the age of 38 due to sickness. 8. Blessed João Fernandes - He is a Jesuit missionary born in Lisbon in 1551. He was 19 and a novice when en route to Brazil off the coast of the Canary Islands was captured and martyred along with 39 other missionaries. They were attacked by Huguenot pirates, including their leader Father Ignacio de Azevedo. 9. Blessed Maria Clara of the Child Jesus - Born as Libania Do Carmo Galvao Mexia De Maura Telles Albuquerque, she is the founder of Franciscan Hospitaller Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. Libania was orphaned at the age of 14 and later on entered the Capuchin Sisters in 1867. 10. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati - Born in Turin in 1902, Blessed Pier joined the Dominican Laity at the age of 21. He was very active in various church organizations and charity works. He died of a severe illness in 1925. He is said to be “a global patron and companion for youth and young adults.” 11. Blessed Marcel Callo - Born in 1921 in France, he was an altar server and scout for several years. He was a member of Young Catholic Workers (YCW). He suffered harsh working conditions and even suffered depression. In 1945, he died of dysentery at a concentration camp in Gestapo after being arrested for being “too Catholic.” 12. Blessed Chiara Badano - Blessed Chiara was born in 1971 in Savona, Italy. In her high school years, she was introduced to the Focolare Movement. During that time, she was diagnosed with a serious brain tumor. She offered her sufferings to Jesus. She died in 1990. 13. Blessed Carlo Acutis - Known as the “millennial saint,” Blessed Carlo was born in 1991. He was into computers to the extent of putting up a website dedicated to devotion to the Holy Eucharist. In 2006, signs of leukemia appeared. He succumbed to death in 2006. He is also known as a patron of the internet. May all these saints and blessed inspire our young people to pursue a life dedicated to Jesus, especially those who are participating in the World Youth 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal!

Message of Pope Francis for the Third World Day of Prayer for Grandparents and Elderly July 23, 2023 Dear brothers and sisters! “His mercy is from age to age” (Lk 1:50). This is the theme of the Third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, and it takes us back to the joyful meeting between the young Mary and her elderly relative Elizabeth (cf. Lk 1:39-56). Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth addressed the Mother of God with words that, millennia later, continue to echo in our daily prayer: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (v. 42). The Holy Spirit, who had earlier descended upon Mary, prompted her to respond with the Magnificat, in which she proclaimed that the Lord’s mercy is from generation to generation. That same Spirit blesses and accompanies every fruitful encounter between different generations: between grandparents and grandchildren, between young and old. God wants young people to bring joy to the hearts of the elderly, as Mary did to Elizabeth, and gain wisdom from their experiences. Yet, above all, the Lord wants us not to abandon the elderly or to push them to the margins of life, as tragically happens all too often in our time. This year, the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly takes place close to World Youth Day. Both celebrations remind us of the “haste” (cf. v. 39) with which Mary set out to visit Elizabeth. In this way, they invite us to reflect on the bond that unites young and old. The Lord trusts that young people, through their relationships with the elderly, will realize that they are called to cultivate memory and recognize the beauty of being part of a much larger history. Friendship with an older person can help the young to see life not only in terms of the present and realize that not everything depends on them and their abilities. For the elderly, the presence of a young person in their lives can give them hope that their experience will not be lost and that their dreams can find fulfilment. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and their shared awareness that the Lord’s mercy is from generation to generation remind us that, alone, we cannot move forward, much less save ourselves, and that God’s presence and activity are always part of something greater, the history of a people. Mary herself said this in the Magnificat, as she rejoiced in God, who, in fidelity to the promise he had made to Abraham, had worked new and unexpected wonders (cf. vv. 51-55). To better appreciate God’s way of acting, let us remember that our life is meant to be lived to the full, and that our greatest hopes and dreams are not achieved instantly but through a process of growth and maturation, in dialogue and in relationship with others. Those who focus only on the here and now, on money and possessions, on “having it all now”, are blind to the way God works. His loving plan spans past, present and future; it embraces and connects the generations. It is greater than we are, yet includes each of us and calls us at every moment to keep pressing forward. For the young, this means being ready to break free from the fleeting present in which virtual reality can entrap us, preventing us from doing something productive. For the elderly, it means not dwelling on the loss of physical strength and thinking with regret about missed opportunities. Let us all look ahead! And allow ourselves to be shaped by God’s grace, which from generation to generation frees us from inertia and from dwelling on the past! In the meeting between Mary and Elizabeth, between young and old, God points us towards the future that he is opening up before us. Indeed, Mary’s visit and Elizabeth’s greeting open our eyes to the dawn of salvation: in their embrace, God’s mercy quietly breaks into human history amid abundant joy. I encourage everyone to reflect on that meeting, to picture, like a snapshot, that embrace between the young Mother of God and the elderly mother of Saint John the Baptist, and to frame it in their minds and hearts as a radiant icon. Next, I would invite you to make a concrete gesture that would include grandparents and the elderly. Let us not abandon them. Their presence in families and communities is a precious one, for it reminds us that we share the same heritage and are part of a people committed to preserving its roots. From the elderly we received the gift of belonging to God’s holy people. The Church, as well as society, needs them, for they entrust to the present the past that is needed to build the future. Let us honour them, neither depriving ourselves of their company nor depriving them of ours. May we never allow the elderly to be cast aside! The World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly is meant to be a small but precious sign of hope for them and for the whole Church. I renew my invitation to everyone – dioceses, parishes, associations and communities – to celebrate this Day and to make it the occasion of a joyful and renewed encounter between young and old. To you, the young who are preparing to meet in Lisbon or to celebrate World Youth Day in your own countries, I would ask: before you set out on your journey, visit your grandparents or an elderly person who lives alone! Their prayers will protect you and you will carry in your heart the blessing of that encounter. I ask you, the elderly among us, to accompany by your prayers the young people about to celebrate World Youth Day. Those young people are God’s answer to your prayers, the fruits of all that you have sown, the sign that God does not abandon his people, but always rejuvenates them with the creativity of the Holy Spirit. Dear grandparents, dear elderly brothers and sisters, may the blessing of the embrace between Mary and Elizabeth come upon you and fill your hearts with peace. With great affection, I give you my blessing. And I ask you, please, to pray for me. Rome, Saint John Lateran, 31 May 2023, Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Homily of His Excellency Most Rev. Pablo Virgilio S. David, D.D. Bishop of Kalookan and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Vigil Mass for the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel July 15, 2023 | Carmelite Monastery, Angeles City Mayap a bengi pu keko ngan! Good evening, brothers and sisters. On this Feast Day of Our Lady of Carmel, which begins already this evening, with this Solemnity Vigil Mass, I invite you to reflect on three things: first, on Purgatory; second, on The Carmelite Scapular, and its Relationship to Purgatory; and third, on The Foundation of the Doctrine of Purgatory and the Unconditional Love of God Through Jesus Christ, and Our Devotion to Our Blessed Mother. Purgatory Let's start with the first: on Purgatory. Which is actually, as such, “not in the Bible”. It's a later development in the doctrine of the Catholic Church. It is very often misunderstood by Catholics themselves. It has wrongly been interpreted as an intermediate place in the afterlife, between hell and heaven is supposed to be purgatory. Well, in the first place, neither heaven nor hell are places. Because people who have died, no longer live in time and space. Heaven and hell, are actually descriptions of our state of union with God, that's heaven, or our state of separation from God, that is hell. To be in heaven, is to be united with God; and that is possible only through Jesus Christ, who integrates us into His body, through baptism. Si Jesus ang ating tulay sa Diyos. He is our covenant. Kasi Diyos Siyang totoo at taong totoo, pero iisang Persona. He carries our humanity before God; and He carries God's divinity before us. Kaya Siya ang ating tulay. Our bridge between heaven and earth, our permanent connection to God. St. Paul says in Galatians, Chapter 2, “Christian life is about living in Christ” (cf. Gal. 2:19-20). Ang maging Kristiano daw ay ang sabihin mong, “Ang buhay ko ay hindi akin. Ito ay kay Kristo na nabubuhay sa akin.” “My life no longer belongs to me. It belongs to Christ who lives in me. I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and has given up his life for me.” Christian life is to believe that our source of salvation is not our own goodness or righteousness. Maraming mga tao na ganyan pa rin mag-isip, “Tayo’y maliligtas dahil tayo’y mababait at matuwid.” No. It is not our own goodness or righteousness, but the unconditional love of Christ, through the cross, through His passion and death. Only that will save us. Only through Him who has given up His life for all of us. “All of us”, as in “all”. Pati ang mga kinamumuhian natin. All of us. The offer of salvation is for all. Both righteous and sinners. Kaya nalulungkot si Pope Francis kapag ang Church ay nagiging exclusive: exclusive company or fellowship of only the Righteous, the saints, and the saintly, or the holy. Sabi niya, “No. No. the Church is a field hospital for the sick, for the broken, and for the sinners.” Ibig sabihin, sa pamamagitan ng grasya ng binyag, si Kristo ay sumasaatin. Maraming beses naman talaga sumasaatin ang Diyos pero madalas, tayo ay hindi sumasakanya. Pwedeng mangyari ito kapag humihiwalay tayo, o lumayo nang kusa sa Diyos, at nabubuhay sa kasalanan. Sino ba ang magtatapon sa atin sa impyerno? Hindi naman ang Diyos. Ewan ko lang kung naniniwala pa rin kayo na itatapon kayo ng Diyos sa impyerno. Hindi totoo ‘yon. That is heresy. Hindi misyon kailanman ng Diyos na parusahan ang tao. Isa lang ang misyon ng Diyos: ang iligtas tayo. Pero pwede talaga tayong mahulog sa impyerno…kung gugustuhin natin. Kung lalayo tayo sa pinagmumulan ng lahat ng buhay. Kapag tayo ay bumukod sa tanging pinagmumulan ng buhay. Hell is separation from God. Plain and simple. Kapag humiwalay ka sa Diyos, nasa impyerno ka. Separation from God is permanent death, with no hope of resurrection. That is what hell means. The Carmelite Scapular, and its Relationship to Purgatory Now we reflect on the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and its relationship to the doctrine on purgatory. Since the Middle Ages, the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel has been associated also with Christianity's growing belief in a “temporary hell” kumbaga, or purgatory, and the process of cleansing from sins, that it is still possible after death because of the communion of the Saints. Which can still lead to the hope of reintegration, reunification with God, after some separation. Purgatory is not an in between or an intermediate place between heaven and hell. Purgatory is hell. It is actually like hell, because there is a state of separation or alienation from God; but it is not permanent hell. It is rather a kind of purification process. The Book of Wisdom in the Bible is using the image of purification by fire. Kung kayo ay nagsisimba sa mga funeral Mass, you may have noticed that the common first reading is Wisdom Chapter 3. “Like gold that is tested in fire, he proved them” (cf. Wis. 3:6). This is a beautiful image of cleansing. Iyan ang purgatoryo. Nililinis tayo. Because the image is “the gold that is melted in fire”. ‘Yun palang ginto sa una hindi naman dalisay yan. Maraming impurities, at kapag hindi ito purified, mababa ang kilatis. Para tumaas ang halaga, tinutunaw ito. To remove the impurities. Like gold that is tested and purified by fire. A beautiful image of cleansing, that suggests a kind of a temporary hell, if you might call it that. So, purgatory is a beautiful doctrine. It is a radical statement, that holds on to the unconditional love and mercy of God. Whose objective is never to condemn, but to save. Well, I suggest you read that in John 3:16-17. “For God so loved the world, He gave us His only Son, so that all who believe will not perish, but will have eternal life.” The next verse says. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world.” Very explicit right? Bakit tayo natatakot na Siya mismo ang magtatapon sa atin sa impyerno? God did not send Christ to the world to condemn the world, but to save it. This is a stubborn confession of faith in the God who never gives up on us. That is how much God loves you. He will never give up on us. It's a beautiful thing. Because you can never have faith without first being awakened to how much you are worth, and how much you are valued by God. Then, when you begin to respond to the love of God, that's when you begin to have faith. Because faith is only a response to the love of God. You know, Saint Paul says it even better. In Romans chapter 8, he says, “Who can separate us from the love of God?” In simple language, “Sino ang tatapon sa atin sa impyerno, o maglalayo sa atin sa pag-ibig ng Diyos?” It is a question that presupposes that we are already united with God, through Jesus Christ by baptism, through the grace of the Holy Spirit who attaches us, connects us permanently to the body of Christ, even as sinners. So, will it be the end of us if we die in a state of sin? This is the common question people ask. The concept of hell as permanent: na kapag nahulog ka sa impyerno, wala nang pag-asa. The idea that people are beyond salvation after death, if they're separated from God, is not the Christian idea. You know? The Carmelites were among the first to enlighten us about this. That is the meaning of the symbolic statement of the Carmelite Scapular. Hindi po magic yan. It is not a piece of magic that you wear and you are guaranteed instant salvation. Walang ganyan. There is no such thing as instant salvation. Insulto sa Diyos yan. When we wear the scapular, we make a statement. What we're saying is, “Hindi ako hopeless kahit kailan.” There is always hope for sinners, who have been baptized into Christ. Yes, even for those who have died in a state of sin. Those who might have deliberately chosen their hell, those that might have separated from God. Saint Paul says this eloquently, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God.” Why? “Because of Christ Jesus our Lord” (cf. Rm. 8:38). ‘Yan ang Diyos na hindi sumusuko. This is a very radical statement when you say “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” It's declaring that hell is not permanent. Perhaps we can read our First Reading (1 Kings 18:42-45) that way about Elijah. Elijah was praying for rain at Mount Carmel in a time of droughts. He did not give up. He was stubbornly telling his servant, “Lumabas ka. Tignan mo kung may ulap na.” Bumalik yung servant, “Wala pa ho.” “Bumalik ka ulit. Meron yan. Magkakaroon yan.” Maya-maya sabi nya, “Meron ho, ga-tuldik na ulap.” Then Elijah said, “Bumalik ka ulit at tumingin.” “Look again,” he said; and now what did he see? The sky was full of dark and heavy clouds, ready to pour down the grace of God, and put an end to the curse of drought. That is a message of hope, and it became a symbol of Carmel. Today's Gospel (John 19:25-27) gives us precisely that hope. That when Jesus said to his mother from the cross, “Behold your son,” and to the beloved disciple, “Behold your mother,” He was asking his mother to treat the disciple as her own son⸺the disciples of Christ as Mary's own sons and daughters. That He was also telling every disciple that through their connection to Him, they also become sons and daughters of Mary. That Mary becomes our mother too. The Prophet Elijah (left), and the Blessed Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross (right). We heard this in our Second Reading (Gal. 4:4-7): “God sent his Son, born of a woman born under the law, to ransom those under the law so that we might receive adoption.” Para tayo ampunin. Tayong mga anak ng tao ay ampunin niya bilang anak ng Diyos. Mary connects us not only with one another in the Church, but most importantly with her Son Jesus Christ, who is the only hope of salvation even for sinners, through the redeeming passion and death of her son. Mary is like the little cloud, who rises like a Star of the Sea (Stella Maris), to bring us the outpouring of the grace of Jesus Christ. Christ, the very outpouring of the grace of God. The Foundation of the Doctrine of Purgatory on the Unconditional Love of God Through Jesus Christ, and Our Devotion to Our Blessed Mother Finally, we reflect on God's unconditional love as the foundation of our faith in Purgatory. In the God who came down from heaven and embraced our human condition, our suffering, and our death, we must find our hope. In the cross of Jesus Christ, we must discover our hope for salvation. Please take a close look at the icon of the cross before you. We have so romanticized the cross. Paki tignan n’yo ngang mabuti kung mukhang langit yan? Impyerno ho iyan. It is hell. Can you imagine? Doing only good things for people, and then being condemned like a criminal, and being abandoned even by your closest friends. Being mocked and ridiculed. That is not heaven. It’s hell. But, the cross stands for the readiness of God, because of His unconditional love for us, through Jesus Christ, to go down to hell for us. That opens the hope we call purgatory. The descent of Jesus into hell. He does not throw us into hell. Only we can do that to ourselves. Purgatory is the belief that hell is not permanent. For those who have lived in the Body of Christ, it is temporary. It is a state of cleansing or purification through the redeeming passion of Jesus Christ. I remember, I once told you about this in a Lenten Recollection. Ginamit ko pa nga as analogy ‘yung awit na “Sana’y Wala Nang Wakas”. Where the lover is saying to the beloved, “Kahit ilang ulit ako'y iyong saktan, hindi kita maaring iwanan.” That is the song of God to you. That is the song of Jesus Christ. In the end, sasabihin niya, “Hindi lamang pag-ibig ko, hindi lamang ang buhay kong ibibigay, sa ngalan nang pag-ibig mo...” Meaning to say, “Yes, even if you choose to go to hell because you choose to, I will be ready to go down to hell for you. Because I will never give you up.” The source of hope is this: you're not alone. There are always people we love, and people who love us, who remain connected to us spiritually, even after death. That's why we pray for the dead. We may detach from Christ, but through our connection to those who continue to be integrated into Christ, there is hope. I think that statement is what is beautifully expressed in the Scapular of Carmel. Para ba itong lifeline, that is being extended by Mary to us; and that lifeline is that Mary herself. It is only Jesus Christ, her Son, who will never ever give up on us. Jesus Christ will never leave us in hell. His redeeming passion and death, through the Church continues. For as long as we learn to love, with the love of Christ. With that, I greet you with a Happy Feast of Our Lady of Carmel! Transcribed by Joel V. Ocampo Photos by Carmelite Monastery, Angeles City

story and photos by Clyde Ericson Nolasco After being on the road for hours, with the seascape welcoming us on the side, we arrived at the Mount Carmel School of Infanta (MCSI). It was just an ordinary seminar day for me as I was invited to deliver a talk for the teachers’ in-service training until I realized that this school is extraordinary. I was informed that the school would be in Infanta, Quezon but I was clueless that it would be inside the compound of St. Mark Cathedral of the Prelature of Infanta and under the care of Notre Dame de Vie. A Mission Station MCSI traces its roots as a product of the mission work of the Carmelites in the Prelature. Back in 1952, Monsignor Patrick Shanley, the Carmelite Bishop of Infanta, sent an invitation to the Carmelites to visit his Prelature. Blessed Father Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus, a priest and the Vicar General of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites, accepted and took the journey to the Philippines in 1954. On Christmas night of that year, Notre Dame de Vie - Ina ng Buhay - Secular Institute in the Philippines was founded. Infanta became the cradle of the institute in the country. Carmelite Spirituality Established by Father Marie-Eugène in 1932 in France, Notre Dame de Vie (NDV) is a spiritual family and secular institute. They are priests and consecrated lay men and women living the Carmelite spirituality. The institute aims to form members with intimate friendship with God while being engaged in different ministries and professions. Father Marie-Eugène said: “In a world that has lost the sense of God and is perhaps losing it more and more, the Institute has its place; it has its mission which is all the more urgent;… it is calling for a testimony which asserts the existence of God and of his rights.” Blessed Father Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus | photo from Carmelite Spirituality Dedicated to Our Lady Through the help of the NDV, Bishop Julio Xavier Labayen, OCD, DD established Mount Carmel High School (MCHS) in 1962 and dedicated it to the maternal care of Our Lady. Eventually, it was renamed as Mount Carmel School of Infanta. MCSI offers Carmelite education to students from preschool to Senior High School. Quality education is also assured in this institution as the administrators, faculty and staff actively participate in the Catholic Association of Schools in the Prelature of Infanta (CASPI) activities. The school is complete with classrooms, libraries and laboratories in the midst of a rural setting of the province. MCSI offers an array of strands for senior high school students such as vocational, maritime and engineering courses. MCSI also oversees another Mount Carmel School in General Nakar. Located at the heart of Infanta, adjacent to the 500-year old municipal hall and under the guidance of the Prelate Bishop Bernard Cortez, MCSI is offering accessible quality Catholic education to the children of Southern Tagalog. *** We thank Abiva Publishing House, Inc. for inviting us to be part of the in-service training of our teachers. Abiva is our partner in promoting quality education through development, publication, and distribution of excellent instructional materials. They work closely with our schools to provide and organize seminars and training for the professional growth of our educators. For your instructional needs, you may visit their website https://abiva.com.ph/ or click www.facebook.com/abivapublishing for their Facebook page.

For a long time, the faithful especially those on social media have been arguing what should our hands do while praying the “Lord’s Prayer” in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Should our hands be raised or hold each others’ just like how most Filipinos do it during the pre-pandemic time? In the circular released on July 14 by the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Liturgy, Most. Rev. Victor Bendico, the Chairman of the commission, stressed that raising or holding hands is not prescribed or forbidden in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) ergo either is accepted as the liturgical gesture. He continued that as Pope Francis remarked that Our Father is “the prayer of the Children of God; it is the great prayer that Jesus taught us,” one can recite or sing it with a gesture that can fully allow one to experience God. You may read the Circular below: The CBCP’s statement was seconded by a circular from H.E. Jose Cardinal Advincula for the Archdiocese of Manila. Cardinal Advincula affirmed the statement of the CBCP asking to respect the decision of the faithful on the gesture they do as they recite or sing the Our Father. Thus, it is not proper to require the faithful what to do. Also, the good Cardinal reminds us that this prayer is a “program of the Christian life founded on the Good News” summarizing our filial relationship with the Father and Jesus. Below is the circular released by the Archdiocese of Manila: Moreso, Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista of the Diocese of Imus also released a circular on the matter. Supporting CBCP’s statement, he stressed that the gesture of either outstretching or holding hands, as long as done in a dignified manner and carried out in a prayerful spirit is acceptable. Here’s the full text of the Circular from the Diocese of Imus: Reading between the lines, all these circulars invite the faithful to pray not like the hypocrites who pray to show off but to pray with sincere and trusting hearts as children of our loving Father. thumbnail photo from Sta Maria Goretti Facebook page

Homily of H.E. Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, DD, Pro-Prefect of Dicastery for Evangelization 14th Sunday in the Ordinary Time | July 9, 2023 My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, let us give thanks to God who has gathered us and who hosts this Eucharistic celebration. It is the Lord's Supper. It is not Fr. Rupert's mass. It is not Fr. EJ's mass. It is not a Cardinal's mass. It is the Lord's Supper. So He's the one who calls us, as we are responding to Him. And we thank the Holy Spirit for enabling us to respond to His calling. Our readings for today are filled with teachings that are very much needed in our time. Jesus invites those who labor and are burdened to come to Him and to learn from Him. We know that in our time, many people even consider life a big burden because of war, armed conflicts, because of ethnic wars, because of poverty, and now the whole world seems to be at a loss on how to address the climate situation. Then you have people leaving their homes to find a brighter future, but then the future becomes darker. Some people think that when they leave home, life will become easier, but not always. Sometimes life becomes more difficult. But then they're already dispersed. And Jesus says, "Come to me you who labor, who work hard," but still the load is not becoming lighter. Parang nakakalungkot no? Kung kailan ka nga nagsisikap parang lalong bumibigat. Sa halip na gumaan, parang lalong bumibigat. And then Jesus' proposal is, "Come to me and learn from me." Now some people will say, "What good will that bring? I need cash. I need a job. We need negotiators, and then your solution is, 'Come to me, learn from me.' And if we come to Him, what will we learn?" In faith, we know that Jesus is the fulfillment of the vision in the first reading from the prophet Zechariah. A King will come, he will save the suffering people, and he will defeat the enemy. He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim. He will banish the horse from Jerusalem. Even the weapons will be banished. He will triumph. This King is strong, but then he will come riding on a donkey. Eh papaano niya matatalo yung mga kaba-kabayo na iyan, yung mga chariot na iyan, mga sandata na iyan? Ang sinasakyan mo asno! Isang pitik lang yan nung kabayo nung kalaban, tumba ka na! This is the Word of God. And then he comes riding on a donkey, and as a meek, meek Savior, Jesus says, "Come to me, learn from me. For I am meek and humble of heart." It is in meekness and humility that we will find rest, and that is how we will also give rest to others. Jesus himself, before saying this passage in the Gospel, was subjected to so much contradiction. Even before this passage, John the Baptist sent disciples, "Are you the one?" Parang pati si Juan Bautista nagdududa sa kanya. And then the scribes and the pharisees could not accept him as the one sent by God. John the Baptist was bombastic, eh no? “Woe to you, woe to you,” and then dumating ito nakikikain kasama ang mga makasalanan so even John the Baptist eh, “Ikaw ba nga talaga?” “Are you the one?” “I’m dying for the Messiah but are you really the one?” So if someone understands the meaning of being burdened and working but being burdened, it's Jesus. But what is his response? Meekness and humility of heart. For he knows when we look at the many problems whether personal, family, community, or international problems, very often, they are caused by pride. Pride. The desire to dominate and pride that becomes disrespectful. Every bullet that is shot is an act of pride and domination. Every unkind word, piercing and wounding word, insulting word is an act of pride that makes the life of others burdensome. No wonder Jesus comes to save us from that folly, from that madness that makes the world a heavy, burdensome place to stay in. And he comes to save us from that. But He will not participate in that. He will not participate in pride. He will not participate in that madness. He will come as the meek and humble of heart. And who appreciates Jesus? The little ones. That's why He says, "Father, I praise you. Those who pretend to be wise and learned don't understand my teaching, but you have revealed the secrets of the Kingdom to the little ones." The little ones see what God is doing through the little one, the humble one - Jesus. To learn from Jesus, we need to decide whether we will be like Him. Will we be humble? For it is only in that humility that we will really come to Jesus and be willing to learn from Him. Sabi ko nga doon sa isang episode ng aking Kape at Pandesal pag Martes, parang nawawala na yung “paki”. “Pakigawa nga po ito.” “Pakisuyo po.” Ano po? Parang ang dami-dami ngayon na mando na lang ng mando. “Gawin mo yan, gawin mo to, gawin mo yun.” Aba! Mabigat na nga yung buhay nung kausap mo pinabibigat mo pa! Ay gagaan yan eh, lagyan mo lang ng “paki”. Pero ok lang kung gusto mong maging mayabang pa rin, ok lang. Nandiyan naman si Hesus. Lalayuan ka ng tao, but they will go to Jesus. And don’t worry, don’t worry. They will come to Jesus. And I hope you will also come to Jesus and learn from Him. Kapag nabawasan ang mga barumbado sa mundo, gagaan ang buhay. Come to Jesus, learn from Him. We cannot do this alone. St. Paul says, "It is the Spirit of God dwelling in us that will enable us to follow Jesus." Let us be open to the Spirit that God sends to us. It is the Spirit that will transform us into followers, and even images of Jesus, the meek and humble of heart. transcribed by Gel Katalbas

by Clyde Ericson Nolasco With the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ declaration, Quiapo Church became the 29th National Shrine in the Philippines. photo from Quiapo Church Facebook page On July 9, the CBCP during the 126th Plenary Council in Kalibo, Aklan declared the Parish and Shrine of St. John the Baptist in Manila or commonly known as Quiapo Church as the National Shrine of the Black Nazarene. The announcement happened exactly 60 days after Cardinal Jose Advincula elevated Quiapo Church as an Archdiocesan Shrine last May 10. Because of the national scope of the phenomenon of the devotion to the Nazareno, the CBCP Permanent Council lifted the 10-year requirement for a diocesan shrine to be a national shrine based on the “2018 Updated Policies and Procedures for National Shrine.” Millions of devotees would flock the area to pray to the Nazareno every Friday and especially on January 9, the commemoration of the Traslacion. A place of worship may be elevated as a shrine after meeting the requirements of the national Episocpal Conference recognizing the church’s cultural, historical and impact on the faithful’s spiritual lives. In 1987, St. John Paul II, who was the pope then, declared the Quiapo Church as a Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene "because of its role in strengthening a deep popular devotion to Jesus Christ and its cultural contribution to the religiosity of the Filipino people." At present, the parish and shrine is under the care of Rev. Fr. Rufino “Jun” Sescon as the parish priest and rector. While the Parochial Vicars are Rev. Fr. Robert Arellano, LRMS, Rev. Fr. Jonathan Noel Mojica and Rev. Fr. Hans Magdurulang.

Homily of His Excellency the Most Rev. Charles John Brown D.D., Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Pope's Day Mass on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29, 2023 | Manila Cathedral Your Eminence Jose Cardinal Advincula, Your Excellency, Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, my brother bishops who have come from near and far, bishops of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conference, distinguished ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps, priests, consecrated women, and men, lay faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, it is truly a joy and a privilege for me to be with you at this evening's Pope's Day Mass. This liturgy, which we traditionally celebrate each June 29th, in the splendid and beautiful cathedral of the Archdiocese of Manila, on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, the apostles of the City of Rome. Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam. "You are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my Church." These are the words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of St. Matthew, which we have just heard in our liturgy this evening. They recount the choice of the Lord to make St. Peter the leader of the apostles and the foundation upon which the community of believers in Christ, the community that we call the Church, would be built. That community of believers has existed for more than two millennia and continues in our own time under the pastoral care of His Holiness Pope Francis. Our feast day today, however, also commemorates another saint, a second saint martyred in Rome in the same historical moment. St. Paul, the great missionary of the gospel, St. Paul, who after the death and resurrection of the Lord traveled throughout the Mediterranean region announcing the gift of salvation in Christ. In our second reading for mass today, we hear St. Paul's words addressed to his missionary companion, St. Timothy, in which St. Paul expresses his intuition, his premonition, his feeling that his time to leave this world was fast approaching. In the traditional English rendering of his words, St. Paul says, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." In our modern translation, "I have competed well, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." The very well-known English phrase "to fight the good fight" comes from this source. Indeed, both St. Peter and St. Paul fought the good fight and they finished their race as martyrs in Rome, put to death for their faith during the persecution unleashed by the Emperor Nero, after the disastrous fire in Rome in the year 64. According to the ancient Catholic tradition, St. Peter was martyred by being crucified upside down, while St. Paul was beheaded by an executioner's sword. This is how they finished their race. But of course, for us as Christians, finishing the race in this world does not mean coming to the end but rather arriving at a new beginning. As the American poet TS Eliot had written for the place where he would be buried his grave marker in England, he wrote, "In my end, is my beginning." For us as believers in the resurrected Lord, death is not the end but the beginning. Indeed, in Latin, the term for the day of the death of a saint is his or her dies natalis, the day of birth, his or her birthday, into the life of the next world. As St. Paul also writes in the reading which we have heard this evening, "The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom." We as Christians, confess the reality of this new beginning in the words of the Nicene Constantinopolan Creed, as we will do in a few minutes this evening, "We believe in the life of the World to Come." The last thing we confess in the Creed, a beautiful and evocative phrase - "the life of the world to come," which sums up what it means to be a follower of the one who said in front of Pontius Pilate, "My Kingdom is not of this world." And we read in the Letter to the Hebrews, "Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come." But of course, this hope, this desire to be brought safely into that beautiful heavenly kingdom, to be born into the life of the world to come, does not imply, in any way, a lack of respect for the realities of this present world. Contrary to the classic criticism of Christianity as a kind of opium of the people, which proposes a future kingdom so that people will tolerate their oppression in this current world, the Christian Faith sees the realities of this world as of great importance also because they lead us to eternity. Both this world and the life of the world to come inspire the actions of Christians. In fact, this is a remarkable aspect of the Christian faith: the ability to hold in a kind of balance, realities which might appear at first sight to be incompatible with each other or even contradictory. We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true man; we believe that Our Lady is Virgin and Mother; we believe that our salvation is achieved through faith, and good works, good deeds; we honor the vocation; we respect the vocation to marriage and to celibacy. And similarly, we believe in the importance of this world and the importance of the world to come. For Christians, it's not a matter of either/or, but always have both. And for this reason, the Second Vatican Council warns us that while "It profits nothing for a man if he gains the whole world and loses himself," the expectation of a New Earth must not weaken but rather stimulate our concern for cultivating this one, this world. For here in this world grows the body of a new human family, a body which even now is able to give some kind of foreshadowing of the New Age." That element of both/and rather than either/or, the importance of heaven and earth is evident in the Catholic Church's social doctrine, social teaching, especially as it has been proposed and taught by the popes over the last 130 years. It's not an accident, brothers and sisters, that here in Manila, in the old session hall of the Philippine Senate, where senators sat and legislated from 1926 to 1996, and which now is in the National Museum of Fine Arts, there is a statue of Pope Leo the XIII. Pope Leo XIII, who I might note, became Nuncio to Belgium before he was 33 years old, very young. He can be considered the Father of the Church's Modern Social Teaching as Pope. It was he who, as Pope, published the Encyclical Letter on capital and labor on workers' rights, entitled Rerum Novarum in 1891. This prophetic document, as Pope Francis has pointed out, came from the conviction that the gospel message may not be relegated only to a part of man or a part of society, but rather speaks to all of man to make him evermore human. The publication of Rerum Novarum in 1891 began a long series of interventions of the popes on various social issues, a series which is continued in our own time by Pope Francis with his encyclical letters, Laudato Si on care for the natural environment as our common home and Fratelli Tutti on fraternity and social friendship. In the teachings of Pope Francis, part of fighting the good fight and running the race for us as Christians in the third millennium involves "the duty to protect the earth and to ensure its fruitfulness for coming generations." It is an injustice to the people who come after us, who will come after us if we leave them an environment which has been irreparably damaged and degraded by pollution. And similarly, there is the question of international relations, justice, and peace. Pope Francis writes in Fratelli Tutti that "...if we want true integral human development for all, we must work tirelessly to avoid war between nations and peoples." To this end, the Pope writes, there is a need to ensure the uncontested rule of law and tireless recourse to negotiation, mediation, and arbitration as proposed by the Charter of the United Nations, which constitutes, the Pope says, truly a fundamental juridical norm. These words, brothers and sisters, are especially true today. And so my friends in Christ gathered together in this cathedral dedicated to Our Lady's Immaculate Conception, allow me to conclude by turning to her under her ancient title, as the Salus Populi Romani, protectress of the people of Rome, of the city of Rome. Let us pray to her, to Our Lady for Pope Francis on this feast day, that is, pray for the Church, in the city of Rome and throughout the entire world. And let us, brothers and sisters, also pray for peace, for peace in these days. May God bless you. Transcribed by Gel Katalbas photos from the Manila Cathedral Facebook page