Don Bosco Philippines South Province

Two years ago, I was able to go back to my “alma mater” – Don Bosco Technical College Mandaluyong. Fr Gino was at that time graduating in UST as a Canon Lawyer. And so, for that occasion Fr Andy and I were offered hospitality by the Salesian Community of DB Mandaluyong where Fr Gino was residing as a student. While I was there, I grabbed the chance to make a short “nostalgic tour” of the school. I was glad to see the old building and its rustic quadrangle where I received my diploma as a Grade 6 graduate; the swimming pool where I learned how to swim; the college chapel where I used to pay a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, etc. just to name a few. Seeing these brought back fond memories of my elementary days.

Then I remembered one spot where after class hours my friends and I would put our bags together while waiting for our service to pick us up. It is located in one corner of the old building fronting the main gate a few meters behind the big statue of Don Bosco. I was happily surprised to see that the concrete bench was still there exactly as it was forty-six years ago. That bench laden with memories is where my Salesian vocation was born. I was never a member of the F.A.C. or Future Aspirants Club. However, it was in that spot where I met a Salesian priest who (known to be the terror principal of the DB Juniorate) got transferred to DB Manda that year. His name was Fr Alton Fernandez, SDB.

Every afternoon Fr Alton would faithfully stand there on that vantage point to assist the boys. And so, seeing us playing around, he would spend time to speak with us, joke with us, and laugh with us. At times he would also invite us to his office, give us chocolates and tell us many more stories. With that he soon became our friend. And I believe that was what made me re-consider entering the Juniorate. Actually despite having three elder brothers inside the seminary (one in DB Juniorate, Pampanga and two in DB Seminary College, Canlubang) that year I had no more plans of following their footsteps. But my personal encounter with Fr Alton made a big difference in my life. And that accounts for why I am now standing here in front of you.

Today we gather to celebrate the Feast of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest. Happy Feast Day! At this midpoint of our Provincial Chapter, we thank God for the gift of our Salesian vocation, whether as priests or as brothers. This feast is not only for those of us who were ordained. It is for all of us who had been consecrated to God by our Baptism and Confirmation. Through these two sacraments we were not only reborn as God’s adopted children, we also received the seal or character that configured us to the image and likeness of Jesus, the Priest (Prophet and King as well).

Several years ago, when I started teaching Sacramental Theology, I began to understand better and appreciate many things about our sacraments. And one of them is about the sacramental seal, also called character given by three sacraments. What is the nature of this seal or character? Allow me just to share two points on this matter. First, in the earliest times, the Fathers of the Church understood the SEAL to be a spiritual image of Christ indelibly imprinted on our soul designating us to belong to Christ – something similar to the nature and function of a tattoo. Secondly, in the middle ages, St Thomas Aquinas and the other scholastic theologians understood the CHARACTER more than just a spiritual image of Christ on the soul. For them it was a transformation of our souls configuring us to the image and likeness of Christ, thus making us share in his mission and empowering us with his Spirit to perform the same works that he did and sometimes even more than what he has done.

Today, therefore, the Lord is reminding us that by the seal or character we have received in our Baptism and Confirmation, not only have we belonged to God entirely, but above all, we have also become like Jesus, endowed with certain powers so that we can continue his mission of salvation. This includes the power to proclaim the Gospel, to feed the hungry, to open the eyes of the blind, make the lame walk, and accomplish many other good deeds and marvelous works for the needy. With regard to the Holy Eucharist, while only the ordained priests can transform bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, all the baptized can amazingly be transformed into Christ’s Body and Blood.

In fact the gospel passage we have heard today (Mark 14) reminds us of the very words Jesus, the High Priest, said when he instituted the Eucharist. And so during the Mass whenever the presiding priest says those very same words “This is my Body which will be given up for you… my blood which will be poured out for you” he is also offering his own body and blood in union with Christ’s offering on the altar of the cross. Similarly each and every one of the baptized faithful attending the Mass should be able to silently repeat the same words and offer his/her own body and blood in union with Christ’s sacrifice. Hence the sacrifice we offer in the Mass is not only Christ’s body and blood but also the sacrifice of ourselves in union with him.

However, before we can become a pleasing offering to God, we must allow him first to transform us into his Body and Blood not only individually and also as a community. In connection with this allow me to share with you one more important point I learned from my liturgy professors a long time ago. It is the term “Epiclesis.” There are two moments or kinds of “epiclesis” during the Mass. [Unfortunately when I was still doing my liturgical studies in Rome, I almost failed one exam because I never knew about the second “epiclesis” until Fr Anscar Chupungco, OSB, my great professor, shared it with me.]

The first “epiclesis” is called the Consecratory epiclesis. During the consecration or Eucharistic Prayer, the priest with outstretched hands invokes the Holy Spirit to come down on the gifts of bread and wine to transform them to Christ’s Body and Blood. The second “epiclesis” is called the Communion Epiclesis and takes place after the elevation of the sacred species. Similar to the first one, it is also an invocation of the Holy Spirit but this time upon the assembly of the faithful, so that the ordained and the lay alike, who receive the Body and Blood of Christ may become one body and one spirit in the same Christ our Lord.

These past days following the solemnity of Pentecost, we have actually been benefitting from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We have been experiencing his transforming and unifying power both in our liturgical celebrations and in our chapter discussions and deliberations. We pray, therefore, in this Mass that God may rekindle in our hearts the passion for Christ, the Eternal High Priest and the fascination for Don Bosco, the father and teacher of the young. And by the power of the Holy Spirit may we truly be made one body and one spirit in the Lord so that in the years to come our work for the youth most in need may become fruitful with an abundant harvest of vocations. GiGsss!

P.S. Let us pray for our three deacons who by God’s amazing grace will be ordained priests tomorrow, May 24, namely, Rev. Genson Banguis, Rev, Antonio Velarde, and Rev. Bernard Alfred.

Disclaimer: This section of the website is a personal creative writing of the author and does not necessarily reflect the official views, opinion, or policies of the Salesians of Don Bosco – Philippines South Province. For concerns on the content, style, and grammar of this piece, please contact us.