21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, 23 August 2009

Do you remember Lucifer?  He was once an angel of God.  His name comes from the Latin word “lux”, which means light.  Or Lucifer comes from a Latin word which means “light-bearer.”  Originally, it comes from the Hebrew word “helel,” which means brightness.  Isaiah presented him as the “morning star” or “star of the morning” or “bright star.”  Lucifer’s downfall was an account of pride.  Here is how the prophet Isaiah pictures him: “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!  How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!  You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit on the mount of assembly on the heights of Zaphon; I will ascend to the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High’” (Isaiah 14:12-14, NIV).   Lucifer was a former angel who has chosen to reject God by saying: Non serviam (I will not serve).  He has chosen not to serve the Lord.  How contrary Lucifer’s position to what Joshua proclaims in today’s first reading: “As for me, I and my household will serve Yahweh” (Jos 24:15).  Joshua reminds the Israelites not to abandon Yahweh by serving other gods.  He warns them that if they do that, punishment and destruction will be their lot (Jos 24:20).Hence in this Sunday’s readings we are called to serve the Lord.  But how do serve the Lord?  Is it total or just partial?  In the second reading (Eph 5:21-32), it is mentioned that wives should submit themselves to their husbands.  The husbands are the heads of the family.  This analogy points to Jesus Christ as the head of the Church.  Therefore to belong to Christ is to submit totally to him.  There is no partial here.  It is either or.  It is to serve or not to serve.  It is a choice.  I am always convinced that religion is a choice.  In today’s gospel many of the Lord’s disciples turned away and stopped following him (Jn 6:66).  Then Jesus asked the Twelve: “Will you also go away?” (v. 67)  This was a challenge.  Maybe it was the same challenge the angels in heaven were confronting and it led to the downfall of Lucifer.  But Simon Peter replied: “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life” (v. 68).Can the world apart from Christ bring us eternal life?  Today we speak of secularization.  We regulate laws undermining God’s revelation.  We want to be in control of our lives.  Maybe we want to be like the superman of Nietzsche.  We are proud.  When we are healthy and strong, we forget God.  Material prosperity leads many rich countries to turn away from God.  I heard this from one foreigner who told me that he does not believe in God.  And I cannot blame him for he comes from a rich country.  Money and material success can oftentimes blind us from seeing God.  Material things cannot truly make us happy; and if they do, never forget that it is part of the devil’s lie.  Lucifer’s lie.  Lucifer’s ambition to be like God.  We put it this way: if on earth we only rely on material satisfactions, how about one day when these material supports crumble, where shall we go?  I know someone who was not really religious.  He went to Church just to comply his obligation.  He just smoked outside the Church during the mass.  He gambled and was not a faithful husband.  He was rich.  One day, he was diagnosed with cancer.  And how things had changed.  From then on he went to attend mass every morning.  He said the rosary every day.  He suddenly became religious.  Medications were no longer possible.  Chemotherapy was already very painful, so he just took only once.  There was no more earthy power to turn to.  Only with God, he could find strength and hope.  There was nobody to turn to.  When one is already approaching death, one can ask: What then?  To whom shall we go?  Only Jesus Christ has the words of eternal life…        

Jestone Cuarteros, an SSoS scholar

To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion , is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.

                                                            - Martin Luther King Jr.

 

 

There’s some truth behind that famous line of Martin Luther King Jr. In an essay that I submitted during the English Month Culmination last January 29, 2009, I emphasized the importance of education. When I was a child, I always dream to become a teacher. The reason: I want to make a difference, not only for my family, but for the people in the community. However, I can’t help but asked myself once again,” How can I achieve these things?” But I strongly believe that God is with me and He will never, never let His child stay in the mud. And one in Mary’s Magnificat I say, the Lord has done great things and Holy is His Name. For indeed, an expected shift in my life came when the Send A Soul To School Movement (SSoS) accepted me as one of their pioneering scholars.

 

I was to embark on a new journey in my life, opening a door that would lead me into a room field with new meaning and discoveries. Now, I am working for my degree in education major in English at the University of Bohol , City of Tagbilaran . Thanks to the SSoS Family, to Father Dongdong, to Father Pepe, and to Msgr. Orie. My guardians, Ate Afie, Ate Carina, Ate Elba and Ate Dilang. To the Board of Directors and to the Sponsors…..thank you very much!

 

 

That which is small is small. But it is a great thing to be faithful in small things.

- St. Augustine

 

 

SSoS Welding Scholars 2007

1. Demetrio T. Cimene Jr., 21 yrs old - Pangdan, Jagna, Bohol

2. Marcelino O. Ricafort Jr., 21 yrs old - Pagina, Jagna, Bohol

3. Jose G. Cabusao, 36 yrs old - Cabunga-an, Jagna, Bohol

4. Jesse T. Cacayan, 27 yrs old - Ipil, Jagna, Bohol

5. Joemar A. Munalem, 21 yrs old - Santo Niño, Talibon, Bohol

6. Jeremias C. Salazar, 18 yrs old - Busalian, Talibon, Bohol