Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Tag: Resurrection

  • BEWARE

    BEWARE

    April 19, 2026 – Third Sunday of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041926.cfm)

    Easter proclaims that the Lord has risen. Let us be glad & rejoice. We, Christians proclaim our faith that our Lord Jesus Christ has risen from the death & now is with us present – offering us new life in Him.

    However, we may ask ourselves: “Has the Lord really risen now? Who & where now is the risen Lord? How do we recognize the risen Lord in the midst of our daily lives now?”

    Surely our disciples in our gospel today must have asked the same questions.

    After they have witnessed the death on the cross of their Lord Jesus, they decided to just go “nalang” back home with a heavy heart & question: “Has the Lord truly risen?” Some of them have already seen & testified that the Lord has risen indeed. But these two disciples have some doubts & could not believe what they have heard about it. On the road back home, to their ordinary lives, lo & behold, the risen Lord appeared to them, went with them on the journey, be with them in their grief, sorrow & hopelessness, explained to them the meaning of what they have experienced & experiencing, and stayed with them for dinner.

    From their experience along the road back to Emmaus with the risen Lord, we could have a glimpse as to how we could experience now the risen Lord in our day to day lives.

    First, the Lord joined & walked with them in their journey. Meaning, the risen Lord IS & will be in our normal ordinary day to day life journey, & not so much on big & special events.

    Second, as He joins us in our journey of faith & life, we might not recognize at first the risen Lord with us. He usually comes then to us as a stranger to us. Meaning, we should be open ourselves to the unfamiliar/strange, unusual events in our ordinary life.

    So, whenever we sense something ordinary yet particularly moving, (like, feeling the cold breeze, hearing moving music, loosening up as we see and hear playing children, reminded of some memories, finding yourself talking to a stranger), perhaps the risen Lord is making Himself known to us.

    And above all, the risen Lord appears to people who believe in Him. However strong or weak our faith in God may be, the risen Lord can be recognized in & with the eyes of His faithful with their  faith in Him, most especially whenever we break bread together in  memory of Him in our Holy Eucharist.

    Through these, we may come to realize that the risen Lord reveals Himself to us as we are in our day to day journey of faith & life journey as He wills, not as we want & need Him to be. All we have to do is to be aware of His self-manifestations, understand what it means, and challenge us to respond to the life anew He is offering us here & now.

    And so as we celebrate Easter season, let us be more sensitive & be aware of the presence of our risen Lord in our midst, as we live our ordinary normal day to day lives, open to something new & unfamiliar things to happen, & see & respond to these encounters with Him through the eyes of our Christian faith.

    Again, Easter invites us to brace ourselves for with the risen Lord, there are more Lord encounters to come & happen in our lives ahead for the better. In other words, “Abangan ang susunod na kabanata.” BEWARE for there are more Life to come now & always with our risen Lord.

    So May It Be. Amen.

  •  Fear Locks the Door, Christ Walks In     

     Fear Locks the Door, Christ Walks In     

    April 12, 2026 – Second Sunday of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041226.cfm)

    In one way or another, there could be many of us living behind “locked doors.” This could be of our own choice because of the thought of wanting to protect ourselves. Or perhaps, we have been locked away against our will because of unpleasant circumstances that we have been through.

    Indeed, this is not only about the doors of our homes, but the doors of our hearts. Because of rising prices, financial struggles, and unstable income, many are anxious about the future. This can make us irritable, overly anxious and restless even in small financial decisions. It could also make us selfish or overly protective of what we have because of the fear of not having enough.

    In our relationships, the experiences of misunderstandings, betrayals, and disappointments can make us more guarded. We become careful, distant, even withdrawn. This means, we protect ourselves not because we are strong, but because we are afraid of being hurt again.

    On this Second Sunday of Easter also called as Divine Mercy Sunday, our Gospel today meets us where we are. And so, let us discern God’s invitations for us.

    The disciples, after the crucifixion, were also behind locked doors. They were afraid and felt lost. What happened to Jesus might also happen to them. So they hid and locked themselves in, not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually.

    What the disciples experienced can also be our experience now. Hence, there is also a kind of “self-imposed lockdown” in our lives. For instance, when we have been hurt, we could become defensive. And so, we stop trusting and withdraw from others. We refuse to invest ourselves again in relationships. We stay in our comfort zones, but deep inside, we remain fearful, anxious and restless.

    This is how fear paralyzes us and locks our heart. This is what happened even to Thomas. When he heard that Jesus was alive, he could not believe. His doubts became his protection and defense mechanism. He said, “Unless I see and touch, I will not believe.” Yet, that also means that his heart was more locked than the doors of the room.

    However, here is the beauty of the Gospel. Even if the doors were locked, the Risen Jesus entered the room, not just once but twice. The Lord did not wait for the disciples to open the door. He came as they were fearful, confused, and wounded. And the first thing He said was, “Peace be with you.”

    This is Divine Mercy. In His mercy, God does not wait for us to become perfect. The Lord meets us in our fears, in our doubts, and in our hidden places. He enters our locked doors not to condemn us, but to bring peace.

    That very grace became also the opportunity for Jesus to show them His wounds. Why? Because the wounds of Jesus speak to our wounds. His pain also speaks to our pain. When Thomas touched the wounds of Jesus, he encountered not just proof, but love. And it is a love that understands suffering and anguish.

    And this is the turning point. Thomas, who doubted, now proclaims: “My Lord and my God!”

    What find in the scripture today, is indeed also our journey from fear to faith, and from locked doors to open hearts.

    In fact, the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles shows us what happens when hearts are opened. The early Christians lived as a community and so they shared what they had. They supported one another and so there was joy, unity, and trust.

    However, this is the very opposite of a locked life, of hearts that are locked away. This means that a locked life isolates but an open heart builds community.

    Peter reminds us in the second reading that our hope is alive because Jesus is alive. Even if we face trials, our faith gives us a deeper joy that cannot be taken away.

    So today, we are invited to ask, “What are the doors that I have locked in my life?” Is it fear? Is it anger? Is it past hurt? Is it doubt in God?

    We ask this and hope for freedom because as long as we remain locked, we cannot fully live and we cannot fully love.

    But remember, the good news is this, “Jesus comes anyway.” The Lord comes into our fears, into our doubts and into our struggles. And He says to you and to me, “Peace be with you.”

    This also means that the Divine Mercy is not just about forgiveness. It is about God entering into our brokenness and restoring us from within. And once we receive that peace, we are sent. Jesus told His disciples, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” From locked doors, they were sent into the world. And from fear, they became witnesses of peace and joy.

    So let me leave you with two simple takeaways for today.

    First, allow Jesus to enter your locked doors. Do not hide your fears, your wounds, and your doubts. Bring them to Him. Let His mercy give you peace.

    Second, open your life to others again. Take one step to forgive, to trust, to care, or to reconnect. Do not remain locked. Rather, choose to live and love again. Kabay pa.

  • A Defiant Hope That Brings Joy

    A Defiant Hope That Brings Joy

    April 5, 2026 – Easter Sunday; Sugat

    Acts 10:34a, 37-43Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Colossians 3:1-4 and Luke 11: 27-28

    Happy Easter! We celebrate Easter in a way that is both beautiful and deeply moving, the traditional Sugat, the encounter of the Risen Christ with His Mother, Mary. It is a moment where sorrow meets joy, where darkness gives way to light, and where grief is embraced by hope.

    And this is very close to our reality. Many of us know what it means to live with unseen burdens. As Filipinos, and especially here in Marawi, we celebrate Easter in a context that is different. There are limits, there are fears, there are moments when expressing our faith is not as easy or as open as in other places.

    Moreover, some of us carry personal struggles, uncertainty about the future, pressures in studies, family concerns, and even silent battles within our hearts.

    And so, the question of Easter becomes very real for us, “Is hope still possible? Can joy still be found?”

    The Sacred Scriptures revealed today answers us clearly, and that is, Yes. And so let us discern God’s invitations for us this morning.

    In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter proclaimed that Jesus, who suffered and died, has been raised by God. This is not just a story but a testimony. A truth witnessed by those who encountered Him. The resurrection is God’s declaration that evil, suffering, and death do not have the final word.

    In the Letter of Paul to the Colossians, we are reminded: “Seek what is above, where Christ is.” This is not an escape from reality, but an invitation to see life differently by living with a heart anchored in Christ, who is alive.

    In the Gospel of Luke, we hear a simple but powerful truth: “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” This means that true blessedness, true joy, is found not just in seeing, but in believing and living the Word.

    This brings us to the heart of our celebration, of the encounter between Jesus and Mary.

    Mary, the Mater Dolorosa, had every reason to remain in sorrow. She witnessed the suffering and death of her Son. She carried grief that no mother should ever bear. And yet, in the resurrection, she becomes the first to receive the joy of hope fulfilled.

    This encounter tells us something powerful that joy does not erase suffering, rather, it transforms it.

    This also tells us that the resurrection of Jesus is a defiant hope, a hope that stands even against darkness, a hope that refuses to die even when everything seems lost.

    Indeed, we may feel that our situation is difficult. We may feel small in a place where our faith is tested. We may carry doubts, fears, or even disappointments. But Easter tells us: God is more powerful than our fears. God is greater than our failures. God’s love is stronger than death.

    And like Mary, we are invited not just to witness this joy but to embrace it.

    To be an Easter people means to carry this hope into our daily lives. It means choosing to believe even when it is difficult. It means choosing joy even in uncertainty. It means becoming a presence of hope for others. Because the resurrection is not only something we celebrate, it is something that we live today.

    So let me leave you with two simple and concrete invitations:

    First, hold on to hope. When you feel discouraged, when you feel like giving up, remind yourself: Christ is risen. Do not allow darkness to define your story.

    Second, share the joy of the resurrection. In your words, in your relationships, and in your daily life be someone who brings encouragement, kindness, and hope to others.

    Today Mary meets her Son not in sorrow, but in joy. And that same joy is offered to us because Christ is risen and in Him, hope lives, and joy begins again. Hinaut pa.

  • In FAITH

    In FAITH

    April 5, 2026 – Easter Sunday

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040526.cfm)

    Easy for us to say nowadays, “To see is to believe”. What we really mean is that we need to see something before we accept that things really exist or occur. Somehow we need to witness something first before believing on it. But we also know that this is not always true, because keep it mind, not everything we see is real. And there is more to life than just seeing what is before us. Like, we recognize perfection, love, joy, happiness, trust & faith are more than just what meet the eyes. We see more then in life if & when we believe.

    And thus for us believers & followers of Christ, we proclaim and it is more true to say “To believe is to see” than “to see is to believe” then. Our faith in Christ makes us see & realize the ever-presence of the God-with-Us Resurrected Lord Jesus present in our very lives now & always.

    Today we come to appreciate the Lord’s resurrection from the experience of John the Evangelist, the disciple who is said to be “the one who Jesus loved”. Unlike Mary Magdalene who is the one who first saw the empty tomb, John is the first one to observe that the burial cloths is still there. Though he did not came in first, but he is the first to see the burial cloths without the body.

    Meaning, he is the first one to see & realize, (the first to get & understand) the deeper meaning of the body-less tomb but still present burial cloths. He is then the first one in faith who witnessed & believed in the Resurrection of the our Lord.

    As His beloved disciple, John must be the first one who believed in the Lord’s resurrection. As he witnessed the body-less empty-tomb but present burial cloths, John realized that what Jesus has been telling all along are true & that Jesus has indeed resurrected. Yes, same John, who also first recognized the presence of the Resurrected Jesus in their midst, proclaims & shares His faith to us, saying: “we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us, what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us…We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.”

    However, for those who does not  believe, the empty tomb is nothing & insignificant. They do not believe it is real & existent because they do not witness & do not find meaning on it. They disregard the incident & even spun stories & fake news to justify their lack of faith. They fail to see since then & until now the risen Christ because of their unbelief.

    We remember that the good news of Christ’s resurrection is based on faith & continue to happen into our lives because of our faith. Christ died & has risen so that we & the world may believe. His life, death & resurrection is in order for us to have faith in Him in life.

    God through His son Jesus has a lot better offer us in life than just forgiveness & mercy for our sin. All God wants & Jesus expects from us is to believe & trust in Him so that we may see & recognize eternal life being offered us now & always.

    By faith in Him we come to see & witness & in faith, we are graced with God’s  redemption.

    Faith then makes us witness God’s grace upon us & same faith moves us to be evangelists, like John – proclaiming what we witness & sharing what believe, by our words & action, so that others too may have our joy of being with God through Jesus.

    With Our Mother of Perpetual Help & John Evangelist who believe in our risen Christ, may we be open & ready always to witness & share our risen Lord Jesus into our home & others for the year to come.

    So May It Be. Amen

  • FROM FEAR AND DARKNESS TO FULLNESS OF LIFE

    FROM FEAR AND DARKNESS TO FULLNESS OF LIFE

    April 4, 2026 – Holy Saturday At the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040426.cfm)

    We gather tonight in the darkness, yet not without hope. Because we know that this darkness does not have the final word. And this is very real for us today. We see violence in many parts of the world. We hear of conflicts, of war, of innocent lives lost. Even in our own communities, there are fears, divisions, and moments when peace feels so fragile for us.

    Recently, voices in the Church, including Pope Leo, have called on world leaders to stop the violence, to end the cycle of hatred, and to choose peace over war. Because violence only deepens wounds, and hatred only multiplies darkness. This is not the life that God desires for us as His people.

    And so tonight, in this Easter Vigil, we are invited to ask very personal questions, “How is the quality of my life now? Do I live in fear? In anger? In anxiety? In jealousy? Or do I live in gratitude, in peace, in right relationship with others, in joy with Christ?

    Let us remember, what we celebrate tonight is not just an event from the past. It is about life in its fullness and life that is free.

    At the beginning of our liturgy, we blessed the new fire. From that fire came the Paschal Candle, the light that broke through the darkness. This light reminds us that Christ is our beginning, our Alpha and also our end, our Omega. And this same Christ now offers us light so that we may truly live.

    The readings tonight unfold this story of life. In the beginning, God created life and saw that it was good. Life is a gift, indeed. In Abraham, we see a faith willing to trust God even in sacrifice. In the crossing of the Red Sea, we see a people freed from slavery and walking from death into life. In the letter of Paul, we are reminded that through baptism, we die to sin and rise to new life.

    And finally, in the Gospel, we are brought to the tomb. A place of darkness. A place of grief and a place of hopelessness. And yet, it is precisely there that the greatest truth is revealed to us that the love of God is more powerful than death.

    Thus, the women came expecting to find a dead body. Instead, they found an empty tomb. They found life where there was death, and hope where there was despair.

    In this sacred event in our history, we also find our story. Because there is a danger we must face honestly, the sin of indifference. When we become numb to the suffering of others. When we only think of ourselves. When we ignore the needs of the poor. When we allow dishonesty, greed, and injustice to continue because it benefits us. This is indifference.

    A divided community, a community that abuses the weak, a community that lives in lies and manipulation is a community living in darkness. And we see this not only in society, but sometimes even in our own hearts. This is indifference.

    But tonight, the Resurrection breaks that darkness. The light we received and the water of our baptism are not just symbols. They are realities. They remind us that we are made for more. We are made for life that is free, joyful, and shared.

    Only when we begin to see each other as brothers and sisters, only when we recognize that everything is a gift, can we truly experience this fullness of life.

    This is why the Church calls us to reject the culture of indifference and the culture of hatred. Because these lead to division, to violence, and to war. However, we are called to something greater and that is to build a community of peace, reconciliation, and love.

    Here in Marawi, where faith is tested, this message is even more urgent. The Resurrection of Christ tells us now, “Do not be afraid.” The light of Christ tells us now, “Do not remain in darkness.” And the empty tomb of Christ also tells us now that “life will always rise again.”

    And so tonight, we are invited not only to celebrate, but also to choose. With that, I leave you with two takeaways.

    First, choose to care. Each day, make one concrete act of concern for another person especially someone in need. Break the culture of indifference.

    Second, choose to be a light. In your words, in your work, in your relationships bring honesty, kindness, and peace. Even in small ways, be a witness to the Risen Christ.

    Remember, the tomb is empty and Christ is risen. And because He lives, we are called to live fully, freely, and lovingly. This is the fullness of life. Hinaut pa.