Homily on Tuesday, 4th Week of Lent; 1 April 2025, DBTC Chapel, Punta Princesa, Cebu
Forty years ago, in the Chapel of Don Bosco Canlubang, Fr Fidel, Br George and I together with 21 other Novitiate batch mates offered ourselves totally to the Lord by making the First Profession in the Salesian Congregation. How quickly time flies! It seemed like only yesterday. And looking back at the journey that we have made, on behalf of my batch mates, I personally can say we have accomplished nothing. If we have done anything good at all, it was the Lord who had accomplished everything in us and through us. And this is the only reason why we are celebrating today. What we are celebrating is precisely God’s fidelity to us and his amazing deeds all these years.
I still remember those precious moments just before the Mass of the First Profession began. That morning before 10 AM, when I entered the sacristy I saw my batch mates in deep and fervent prayer, each one by himself. No visitors were allowed for the celebration, not even our own parents and siblings. That restriction somehow forced us to focus seriously on the self-offering that we were about to make in the congregation by professing to be obedient, poor and chaste, to live in the Salesian Community one in spirit and action with our brothers, and to be signs and bearers of God’s love for the young, esp. the poorest and most abandoned.
Then the Holy Mass began. It was presided by Fr Lazaro Revilla, our Provincial at that time, with our Novice Master, Fr Jose Carbonell, concelebrating by his side (may God bless their souls). Fr Remo Bati, our Rector, and many other priests were also present. Although I may not remember which Gospel passage was read for that occasion, much less the homily delivered on that day, what I do remember was how we, professandi, recited the Formula of Profession all together. And then one by one we knelt down before the altar touching the Holy Bible, saying “This, I do hereby promise.” When it was my turn, I uttered those same words, and at that moment I remembered exactly how I felt during our Investiture barely four months prior to that day. On December 16, 1984, we processed towards the same altar and, after having put off our old shirts, with the assistance of our parents, we donned the cassocks to symbolize our putting on the new man, Jesus Christ, “qui secundum Deum creatus est in iustitia et sanctitate veritatis” (created according to God’s plan in justice and holiness of truth). I never felt so happy offering myself totally to God.
And the rest was history. All the forty years after that seemed to be like what the first reading of today has described for us earlier, a flowing and overflowing of God’s grace in many different directions, not only for our own spiritual growth but most of all for the welfare of the young and the people entrusted to our care. It goes without saying, though, that like the Israelites of old, we also had our own faults, failures and infidelities. But just like in the Gospel passage we have heard today the Lord kept healing us and empowering us to stand up again and again to continue the journey. All these years he has always remained faithful in love and he will always be the God of infinite love, mercy and compassion.
May our encounter with Jesus in the Holy Mass today make our Lenten preparation truly meaningful, fruitful and holy…. “Ut signa simus, ut sancti simus…” praying that we may be signs and saints in accordance with his wonderful will and plan. GiGsss!