Homily Delivered During the 18th Candle Light Anniversary Mass

Maayong Hapon sa inyo tanan!

I was actually groping for words last night on what I will share to you this evening after being requested by Bishop Gerry to give the homily on this Birthday of Our Blessed Mother. Coincidentally, it is also the 18^th year anniversary of our weekly paper, Candle Light. I was trying to figure out how I will connect everything in order to make sense until I came up with one word: DESTINY. And so, allow me to share to your some few thoughts about destiny.

Albert Einstein, one of the famous modern scientists who gave significant contributions in the field of Physics, defined destiny as “everything determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is ascertained for the insect, as well as for the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, would all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper”. It appears that everything is written under the vast constellations of the night sky that we have no other choice but to submit ourselves to where fate will lead us in the offing. Einstein’s definition may sound appealing but I’m afraid if this will be taken seriously, it may create an attitude of passivity because it seems that there is nothing we can do to change our future, or maybe, if we really decide to pursue the things in store for us in all likelihood based on our human instinct, we are not given the optimism to creatively engage in them and be convinced that we personally claim them as our own.I still would like to believe that our destiny is a matter of choice and upon choosing, we will do our very best to attain what we truly deserve.

This understanding of destiny was actually my basis in reflecting upon the very life of Mary, whose birth anniversary we celebrate today. Sacred Scripture does not actually record Mary’s nativity and perhaps the earliest known writing regarding her birth can be found in the Protoevangelium of James, which is an apocryphal writing from the late second century, but nevertheless we still celebrate because of Mary’s role in the economy of salvation. It is not the individual greatness of Mary that the Church celebrates, but her role in man’s redemption, a role directly connected to Jesus Christ’s own coming into the world. Besides, what matters is not the historicity of the account, but the significance of Mary’s birth as well as of Jesus. Lumen Gentium, Vatican’s II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church supports this declaration by asserting that Mary’s birth lies at the coming together of the two Testaments–bringing to an end the stage of expectation and the promises and inaugurating the new times of grace and salvation in Jesus Christ. Mary, the Daughter of Zion and ideal personification of Israel, is the last and most worthy representative of the People of the Old Covenant but at the same time she is “the hope and the dawn of the whole world.” With her, the elevated Daughter of Zion, after a long expectation of the promises, the times are fulfilled and a new economy is established. Ginapakita sang aton pagtuluohan ang labing dako nga responsibilidad ni Maria sa kaluwasan sang katawohan. Given all these affirmations, perhaps we can conclude that Mary was destined to be the Mother of Jesus Christ, the mother of the Redeemer, who in flesh, carried in her womb this promised Messiah, the Emmanuel that signifies “God is definitely with us”. But if we reflect upon her life, this destiny that she accepted is not something passive, because she worked hard in order that this may reach fulfilment through the Paschal Mystery of her Son- the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the Cross. She actually introduced a paradox which most of us never learn, even in our lifetime: that destiny is not just received or accepted but it is also something that we work for. That hope is not just merely an expectation of something out of nothing but an acknowledgement of our present gifts, as we await for the greater gifts that are yet to come. Her coming into the world as well as her motherhood is a mixture of predestination and grace, by which our faith and reason are given this extra-ordinary privilege of unfolding the mystery of the Word made Flesh through the humanity of Jesus Christ.

Sa akon nga pagpamalandong sining realidad nahanungod sa Pagkatawo sang Mahal nga Birhen Maria, ginpamalandungan ko man ang kaangtanan sini sa Pagkatawo man mismo sang aton Parish Weekly Paper, Candle Light. Sang nagligad nga semana, si Fr. Andy nag-share sa amon samtang kami nagapamahaw nga ang tanan kuno nga ginabendisyunan kag gina-launch sa sini nga adlaw ginabugayan gid sing bug-os sang Mahal nga Dios paagi sa pag-ampo sang Mahal nga Birhen sang Candelaria. And he made mention three important institutions that have been present in our parish for the longest time- The Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Kinder School, the Libreria Candelaria and of course, our Parish Weekly Paper, the Candle Light. Amo man ini ang rason nga-a subong nga adlaw, ginbendisyunan man sang aton pinalangga nga Kura Paroko ang bag-o naton nga Parish Multi-Purpose Cooperative sa may Buhang, Jaro, nga may tampad kag himpit nga paglaum nga ini sa ulihi mangin mabinungahon man paagi sa pag-giya sang aton Mahal nga Birhen. With all these important happenings in the life of our parish, I am again reminded of that word “destiny” particularly in the continued existence of Candle Light, whose 18^th birthday we also celebrate today. I would like to believe that there are things that are destined to last long, confidently surpassing the various challenges of time not only because it is preordained, but because there are really persons who have worked hard for its fulfilment. And this is perhaps the untold secret of Candle Light’s continuing success which reminded me of what Saint Ignatius of Loyola taught about Divine Providence which complements the real definition of destiny: “To pray as if everything is dependent on God, and to work as if everything is dependent on us”.

Kagapon, ginbasa ko gid sang masunson ang duha ka article nga ginsubmit ni Fr. Andy para sa special issue sang Candle Light subong nga adlaw, and I gave myself a deep sigh upon knowing the things the he went through as he, being the second editor, together with his editorial staff endured the birth pains of Candle Light. He admitted that one of the causes for the signature limp and cane when he was in the cathedral was Candlelight.Stress is not the cause of arthritis but stress can worsen the pain of arthritis and he thought to himself that was the reason why it dramatically subsided when he was transferred to another parish. He also mentioned that one of the underlying reasons why Fr. Emman, the third editor lost his hair was also because of the stress he got from Candle Light. Mayo lang gid kay sa akon na nga tiempo, bag-o ako nag-assume sang akon responsibilidad bilang ikana-pulo nga editor sang Candle Light, naubos na ya ang buhok sa akon ulo and I’m confident enough to claim the fact that there is nothing to lose anymore and the prevailing indications of my stress are my bulging eye bags and my insatiable appetite for food. But don’t get me wrong. It’s not that we are complaining about the stress that we get for accepting the difficult position of being your Candle Light Editors in the past and in the present. At the end of the day, after we have submitted the lay-out for printing, after we have seen eager parishioners getting copies of our weekly paper, after we have received feedback from people who have the sincerest desire of supporting us despite our limitations and unworthiness, I, for myself, could speak in behalf of our former editors that it was a necessary stress…a stress born out of love and service…a stress that did not bring us into disillusionment and urged us to give up…a stress that actually gave us more courage and enthusiasm to think, to reflect, to ponder, to pray, to write and to publish over and over again in the past eighteen years.

Let me take this opportunity to thank each and everyone for your unceasing support to our Parish Weekly Paper. I know that it is not just sheer luck why Candle Light has gone this far. And to quote Manong Rio, the first editor of our Parish Weekly Paper, “Candle Light will never be appreciated apart from what it has been”. Kabay nga paagi sa pagpangamuyo sang aton Mahal nga Iloy, maangkon naton ang tinutuyo kag ginalauman sang aton huna-huna kag taguipusoon. Kabay nga ang tanan nga bugay nga nagikan sa kaalwan sang aton Amay mangin kahigayunan para sa aton tanan sa pagtuman sang iya kabubot-on samtang ginapatigayon naton ang aton tagsa-tagsa nga mga hilikuton, para sa pagdayaw kag paghimaya sang iya Ngalan.

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