Don Bosco Philippines South Province

Homily on the Feast of the Lord’s Presentation at the Temple; 2 Feb 2024, Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Cebu

Kapin sa usa ka tuig na ang milabay, gibisita nako ang usa ka masakiton nga babaye. Nasakit kaayo siya. The cancer cells have progressed fast. Dili na siya kakaon og maayo, ug tungod niini, niwang na kaayo siya. Gamay na lang kuno ang chance nga maka-recover pa siya. I heard her confession, anointed her with oil of the sick and then I recommended her to our Blessed Mother. Fast forward… Human sa pipila ka semana, nadawat nako ang good news. Giimbitar ko sa ilang balay para magselebrar sa iyang 70th birthday. Obviously na- discharged na siya gikan sa ospital. They said that ever since she received the sacraments she has been feeling much stronger and looking much better. I was glad to see her smiling at me thankful that God has given her another chance to live. Ug malipayon ako karong gabhiona nga ipaambit kaninyo kining milagro nga akong nasaksihan. Ang I would like to invite you to join me in thanking Mama Mary for so many graces received and so many prayers answered through her most powerful intercession.

However while so many have come this evening to thank Mama Mary for graces received, ang uban sa inyo nagpaabot pa sa ilang mga gipangayo nga grasya. It is a sad fact that not all the sick, who receive the sacraments and pray to Mary, actually get well. Dili tanang nagampo, nangaayo. And we wonder why. Ngano kaha?

I was still a seminarian when many years ago nagpakalawat ko sa usa ka babaye nga masakiton, katunga sa iyang lawas na paralyze na, tungod sa stroke. After she received the Body of Christ namatikdan nako nga misugod siya paghilak samtang naglingkod sa iyang wheelchair. After a moment of silence I gently asked her the reason for her tears. Mitubag siya nga nabati niya ang hilabihang kasagmuyo, hapit na kuno siya ma-discourage ug ma-depress. She has been praying for years asking the Lord to heal her so that she could resume her apostolate in their parish. But she had remained paralyzed, confined to her wheelchair, unable to move around as she used to, unable to work, unable to attend Mass, and unable to give talks to engaged couples preparing for marriage. Dili niya masabtan nganong wala siya giayo sa Ginoo, maayo naman ang iyang motivation, dili para lang sa iyang kaugalingon kondili para sa Simbahan, selfless gani kaayo. Isn’t the Lord a caring and loving God? Isn’t Mama Mary that powerful in obtaining graces from the Lord on behalf of her children who faithfully serve the Church?

This evening as we gather in this beautiful shrine for the first day of the Novena in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes we are happy to celebrate the feast of the Lord’s Presentation at the Temple. Sa ebanghelyo nga atong gibasa gikan kang San Lukas, nahibaw-an nato unsa ang nahitabo sulod sa templo sa dihang gitanyag sa Dios ang balaang Bata sumala sa balaod ni Moises. Joseph and Mary brought along a pair of turtle doves, known to be the offering of the poor. Kining ilang sakripisyo sa Dios naghinlo sa ilang kaugalingon aron kahimut-an sila sa Ginoo ug dawaton ang ilang pagtanyag kang Jesus nga gilain gikan sa uban aron magluwas kanatong tanan.

Surprisingly, however, while they were still inside the temple, an old man named, Simeon, a righteous and devout Jew, suddenly approached them. Moved by the Spirit he recognize the holy child as the promised Messiah, the anointed one whom he had been awaiting for so many years. And so taking the child in his arms he gave thanks to God and predicted the future mission of the child, as God’s suffering servant. He also prophesied how much pain his Mother Mary would have to bear in relation to her son’s Messianic mission.

What could God be teaching us today from this gospel story?

(1) Purification: Joseph and Mary were simple and ordinary people from Nazareth. And even after they have received from the angel their divine calling and mission, they still chose to remain simple, humble, law-abiding and God-fearing.

They could have stood before everyone in the temple to announce publicly the singular honor given by God to them; and they could have said “Dili na kami kinahanglan maghalad og sakripisyo sa Dios. Kay Dios naman gani kining bataa. Kami dapat ang makadawat sa mga sakripisyo nga gikan sa mga tawo.” Only people with a strong sense of pride and entitlement could have said those statements, demanding exemption from the law.

But no. Isip matinudanon ug mapaubsanong mga suluguon sa Dios gipili ni Jose ug ni Maria nga mosunod sa balaod. Busa naghalad sila sa angayng sakripisyo sa templo alang sa ilang kahinluan. And by means of such sacrifice they allowed God to purify them.

(2) Consecration: The offering of two turtle doves was not only meant for purification. It was also a symbol of consecration: both Jesus’ total consecration to God as well as Joseph and Mary’s total consecration to Him as a holy couple. What does the word CONSECRATION really mean? It does not only mean being made HOLY. It also means three other verbs: first, being SET APART from all the people for the purpose of serving God alone; second, being CONFIGURED or transformed into the image and likeness of the Lord; and third, being EMPOWERED to share in the mission of Christ. (Repeat the three.) This leads us to the third lesson which is mission.

(3) Mission: Si Simeon usab matinudanon nga Hudio nga nagpaabot kada adlaw sa tibuok niyang kinabuhi sa Mesias. Busa gipanalanginan siya sa Dios sa wala pa sya mamatay. Nakita niya sulod sa templo ug nailhan ang balaan nga bata nga mao ang gisaad nga Mesias. The best part of it was this, he was even able to hold the baby Jesus in his feeble arms. And so he blessed God and praised Him. And, moved by the Spirit, he foretold the future mission of the Holy Child Jesus and his Blessed Mother Mary.

Inside the temple Mary was blessed to have received the grace of purification, consecration and mission. Today we who honor her are also called to be purified, consecrated, and empowered for a mission. We recall that when we received the three sacraments of initiation – Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation – we were already blessed with this three-fold grace and privilege from the Lord. When our bodies were washed with the baptismal water, our souls were purified from our sins, and we became sons and daughters of God. Then, whenever we received the sacrament of Christ’s Body & Blood in Holy Communion we are continually transformed in his image and likeness. And finally when our foreheads were anointed with chrism in Confirmation, our souls were empowered by the Holy Spirit to share in the mission of Christ. Ang pagdawat nato sa mga sakramento sa atong lawas nagdala og dakong grasya sa atong kalag… nga kini mahinloan, mapabalaan ug mapalig-on para sa misyon.

Every Catholic esp. every Marian devotee carries with him or her this three-fold grace given by God: of being purified, consecrated, (that is, set apart from all the rest, configured to Christ) and empowered to participate in his mission of salvation and sanctification.

Today we also celebrate the World Day of the Consecrated Life. And so in this Mass we remember and honor all the consecrated religious who have taken the vows of Chastity, Poverty and Obedience following the call of the Lord to offer themselves totally in imitation of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Iampo nato sila aron magpabilin silang matinudanon sa ilang bokasyon, ug daghan pang batanon ang ma-inspire sa Ginoo and consider following his footsteps in response to God’s call.

To conclude, allow me to go back to the story I was narrating earlier about the woman who had a stroke and confined to her wheelchair. Ganahan siguro kamo mahibawan unsay sunod nga nahitabo. This is what happened next. Since only the right side of her body was paralyzed she tried to learn how to write using her left hand. Then someone suggested that she should write letters to other sick parishioners encouraging them to trust in the Lord. Busa, mao to ang iyang gibuhat, nagpadala siya og sulat sa usa ka masakiton and she felt so happy to receive a reply thanking her for her very kind gesture. So she wrote a second letter, and a third, and so on. Ug nagpadala siya og sulat sa daghan pang mga parokyano nga masakiton. Very soon she began to realize that her prayers were not useless. All the while the Lord was actually purifying her through her sufferings. The Lord was actually transforming her to be more and more like Jesus suffering on the cross. And the Lord was entrusting to her a new mission. By means of her letter writing apostolate she was able to reach out to so many sick people even beyond her parish including those who were abroad. And so she decided to stop praying for healing; instead she prayed to the Lord asking for more suffering.

Mga kaigsuonan ko diha ni Kristo, daghan kaayo sa mga masakitan ang nangayo og bodily healing and recovery. Many eventually get cured and recover their strength, esp. through the sacraments and the intercession of Mary and the saints. There are, however, a few who so not and yet they suffer with a smile. Tungod sa inspirasyon gikan ni Maria nga nag-antos ubos sa krus, Bisag dili nila madawat ang kaayuhan sa ilang lawas, malinawon na sila sa kaayuhan sa ilang kalag. They ask only for the grace to be purified from their sins, to be configured to Christ and to be empowered to participate in his redemptive mission.

As we celebrate this first Novena Mass in honor of our Lady of Lourdes, we pray that we too may be purified from our sins through whatever means God uses for this purpose; that we may be set apart from all the rest of the world to serve God alone, and that we may be configured to Christ’s image and likeness and empowered by the Spirit to share in the mission of saving and sanctifying the world. Remember this: the next time you feel so sick it may be your chance to be so sanctified. Kon adunay pag-antos, puedeng kitang ma-santos. GiGsss!

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