A Holy Life

Saint Faustina, Virgin

Polish Nun – Devotion to Divine Mercy

Feast day – October 05

Newly canonized in 2000, some areas celebrate the Optional Memorial of St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who was chosen by Jesus to remind the world of the mystery of God's merciful love, the devotion to Divine Mercy.

Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar in 1969 today was the commemoration of St. Placid and His Companions. St. Placid was placed in the care of St. Benedict at Subiaco by his father when quite young. There had been a group of fourth-century Sicilian martyrs of whom one had the name Placid. This Placid was erroneously identified with the disciple of St. Benedict; thus arose the legend that the monk Placid, his sister, and thirty monks suffered martyrdom in the port of Messina at the hands of pirates.

St. Faustina Kowalska, Virgin

Saint Faustina was born in the 20th century, and canonized in the year 2000. Jesus chose her to deliver to the modern world a message as old as eternity. It is the message of his love for all people, especially sinners. Jesus said to Faustina, "Today I am sending you with my mercy to the people of the whole world." It is his desire to heal the aching world, to draw all people into his merciful heart of love.

On February 22, 1931, Jesus appeared to Faustina as the King of Divine Mercy. He asked her to have a picture painted of him as she saw him — clothed in white, with red and white rays of light streaming from his heart. The rays represent the blood and water that flowed from the side of Jesus on the cross. Under the image are the words, "Jesus, I trust in you."

Many people did not believe Faustina at first. The sisters in her own convent thought that Jesus could not possibly have selected her for this great favor. After all, she was an uneducated peasant girl. Her superiors often refused to give her permission to carry out Jesus' requests. Church theologians, too, doubted her word. Jesus told Faustina that he loved her obedience and that his will would be done in the end.

In June 1934 an artist completed the painting of the Divine Mercy according to her instructions; and it soon became a focus for devotion. Faustina continued to record in her diary the appearances of Jesus. The diary was translated into English and published in 1987 with the title Divine Mercy in My Soul.

Faustina, baptized Helena, had grown up in a poor Polish family of 10 children. When she was 15 years old, she quit school in order to work as a housemaid to help support her family. By the time she was 18, she was sure that God was calling her to a religious life, but her parents objected. So she tried to put it out of her mind. But one night, while the lively polka music was playing at a village dance, Helena saw Jesus, sad and suffering. The very next day she packed a small bag and went to the capital city of Warsaw to join the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. There she received the name Sister Mary Faustina.

About 10 years later, Faustina contracted tuberculosis. Soon she was too weak to manage the heavy gardening assigned to her. So she was given the job of gatekeeper. She was able to show mercy to the poor people who came to the convent looking for food. Once Jesus came to the door as a poor young man. After he had eaten the soup and bread Faustina gave him, she recognized him. Jesus told her he had come to experience with great joy her tender love and mercy.

Faustina was canonized by the first Polish pope, John Paul II, on April 30, 2000. The first Sunday after Easter was declared Divine Mercy Sunday. 

Sources for this article were taken from:  Saints and Feast Days: A Resource and Activity Book by The Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio.

 

Prayer

Dear St. Faustina, I have come to know you as a friend. I ask you to plead to the Lord for me the prayer I ask of you. In times of doubt, dear friend, implore the Lord's Mercy as you did so often here on earth, that I may remember who I am, and to what His mercy has called me.

In times of fear, implore His Mercy that I may ever remember to trust, and trust again, in joy, and in the knowledge that God is preparing me for a beautiful mission.

Please pray dear St. Faustina, that I may never forget that the abyss between my Lord and I has been bridged by His tender mercy. He will continue to be faithful and heal me of anything which stands in the way of His Will. My life is in His Hands.

Thank you dear friend. Pray with me the prayer Our Lord taught you to spread throughout the world; Jesus, I trust in You! Remind all pilgrims of life that if our trust is great, there is no limit to Jesus' generosity.

Amen.

Saint Faustina – Pray for us

 

Gospel Reflection

October 04, 2012

Thursday

St. Francis of Assisi, Deacon, Religious, Founder of the Three Orders (Solemnity)

by Rev. Fr. Agapito "Aga" Tarog (Immaculate Conception Parish, Las Pinas)

Lunch Mass at Megamall, Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord

Reading 1 Jb 19:21-27

Job said: Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has struck me! Why do you hound me as though you were divine, and insatiably prey upon me? Oh, would that my words were written down! Would that they were inscribed in a record: That with an iron chisel and with lead they were cut in the rock forever! But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives, and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust; Whom I myself shall see: my own eyes, not another's, shall behold him, And from my flesh I shall see God; my inmost being is consumed with longing.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 27:7-8a, 8b-9abc, 13-14

R. (13) I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

Gospel Lk 10:1-12

Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.' If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.' Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, 'The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.' Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town."

HOMILY

Today, let us look at the Reading and the Gospel in the context of the fundamental teaching regarding God's plan of salvation, which is found in Genesis Chapter 2, verses 4-6. It says,

"At the time when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens--
while as yet there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted,
for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil,
but a stream was welling up out of the earth and was watering all the surface of the ground."

Did you not notice anything strange? How come walang nabubuhay samantalang may tubig naman? Science believes that if there is water, there is life, hindi po ba? Even experience will tell us lalo na kapag tag-ulan, ang lakas tumubo ng damo, tama po ba? So paanong walang tutubo samantalang nababasa naman ang lupa? Why is it that despite the presence of water, there is no life? And the writer offers us two basic reasons why this is so. Sabi niya - and this is another strange thing - it is because God has not sent rain on the earth. Eh may tubig na nga eh, and yet the writer says, "God has not yet sent rain". Point number two, "there was no man to till the soil".

Ano ang itinuturo sa atin nito - which is the fundamental thing of our salvation history. Number one, in order for life to come about, the first and most important ingredient - if we can call it that way - is the action of God. It is God's action, the grace of God, which we call the "providence of God" - the God who provides. But equally important to the providence of God, which is connected by the linking verb "and" is the "presence of man to till the soil". But the question is - hindi pa ba sapat 'yong providence ng Diyos para magkaroon ng buhay, at idinugtong pa roon ang "man to till the soil"?

Ano ang itinuturo nito sa atin, mga kapatid sa pananampalataya? The fundamental teaching is that ang buhay sa ibabaw ng mundo, is dependent not only on God himself, but also on the cooperation of man himself to the providence of God. Na ang ibig sabihin ay kumikilos ang Diyos, yes, which is the most important thing - the decision of God to provide life for everything, but equally important is the role of the human being, who was created in the image and likeness of God, to work in cooperation with the providence of God.

Thus, it is a wrong notion, contrary to Scripture, na sabihin ng tao, "Bahala na ang Diyos, at ako ay uupo na lang." That is a wrong attitude, because it is explicitly told in Scripture, that "man must till the soil". Another wrong notion is the opposite extreme. And that is when one says that "Ang ikabubuhay ko sa mundo ay nakasalalay lamang sa aking pagsisikap, walang pakialam ang Diyos." That is the other extreme - at marami pong taong ganyan, na ang paniniwala nila ay sila ay nabubuhay dito sa mundo dahil masipag sila, at walang kinalaman ang Diyos.  

Let us all remember that the first thing we need is the providence of God. If God does not provide, papaano ka makakakilos, kung hindi ibibigay ng Diyos ang opportunity for you to be able to till the soil? What if God does not give you the soil to till, hindi po ba?

Therefore, given this, we should understand what Job said in the First Reading, na sa kalagitnaan ng kanyang paghihirap and his trials, at sinusumbatan pa siya ng kanyang tatlong kaibigan, he still relies very much in the end, ultimately, on God, to be his vindicator. Job was confident that despite the trials, God will vindicate his cause. Then we will understand when Jesus told the 72 disciples to go to the places that Jesus intends to visit, to prepare and proclaim the Gospel there. As disciples, they were to rely totally on the providence of God, when Jesus said, "Do not bring a sack, not even an extra tunic." He was teaching them to live on God who provides for them, as they do what they are supposed to do.

Lastly, we will understand the spirituality of the great "poor" man, St. Francis of Assissi, whose Feast we celebrate today, that in the middle of his spiritual journey, he realizes that he is a creature like the birds and other creatures on the earth. He even calls the sun and moon, "brother sun" and "sister moon". And what did he do? Siya ay anak mayaman. But as he realizes God's providence for him, tinalikuran niya ang yaman nila, and lived a life of mendicancy. Namamalimos siya para sa kanyang kakainin. He walks around town barefoot, only clothed with a simple garment. Why? It is because it is clear to him that he lives his life not according to his own ability, but by the grace of God.

And so, mga kapatid sa pananampalataya, pagnilayan po natin ang ating pamumuhay sa kasalukuyang panahon. Kung tayo man ay nabubuhay ngayon, it is because of two things - God's providence, and our effort in cooperation with the providence of God. Let us not fall into the error of thinking na ang lahat ng bagay, sa Diyos na lang, at ako ay hindi na kikilos. We are made in the image and likeness of God, therefore, we share in the creativity of the Divine Lord. Let us not also fall into the error of thinking na ang lahat ng ikinabubuhay ko dito ay bunga lang ng aking abilidad, excluding God. It is very clear that in order for life to come about, there has to be, first and foremost, the providence of God, and the effort of man in cooperation with the providence of God. Maging prinsipyo nawa natin ito sa buhay, nang sa gayon ay magkaroon tayo nang buhay na ganap.

 

St. Francis of Assisi – Pray for us

You may also want to see: A Holy Life - St. Francis of Assisi

Gospel Reflection

October 03, 2012

Wednesday - Weekday
by Rev.  Fr. Nilo Mangussad (Rector Our Lady of Peace Quasi-Parish)

Mass at EDSA Shrine, Our Lady of Peace Quasi-Parish

Reading 1 Jb 9:1-12, 14-16

Job answered his friends and said: I know well that it is so; but how can a man be justified before God? Should one wish to contend with him, he could not answer him once in a thousand times. God is wise in heart and mighty in strength; who has withstood him and remained unscathed? He removes the mountains before they know it; he overturns them in his anger. He shakes the earth out of its place, and the pillars beneath it tremble. He commands the sun, and it rises not; he seals up the stars.He alone stretches out the heavens and treads upon the crests of the sea. He made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south; He does great things past finding out, marvelous things beyond reckoning.

Should he come near me, I see him not; should he pass by, I am not aware of him; Should he seize me forcibly, who can say him nay? Who can say to him, "What are you doing?" How much less shall I give him any answer, or choose out arguments against him Even though I were right, I could not answer him, but should rather beg for what was due me. If I appealed to him and he answered my call, I could not believe that he would hearken to my words.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 88:10bc-11, 12-13, 14-15

R. (3) Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
Daily I call upon you, O LORD;
to you I stretch out my hands.
Will you work wonders for the dead?
Will the shades arise to give you thanks?
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
Do they declare your mercy in the grave,
your faithfulness among those who have perished?
Are your wonders made known in the darkness,
or your justice in the land of oblivion?
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
But I, O LORD, cry out to you;
with my morning prayer I wait upon you.
Why, O LORD, do you reject me;
why hide from me your face?
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

Gospel Lk 9:57-62

As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." And to another he said, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God." And another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."

HOMILY

Do you still remember the story of the boy who fell over a cliff and was holding on to a branch or a root? That boy who was screaming for help because he did not want to fall, that he called the Lord and said, "Lord, help me!" And he heard a voice saying, "Let go of the root." Then he asks, "Is there anybody else up there?" The boy did not want to let go of the root. But when he felt so tired, he had no choice but to let go. And lo and behold, he was just one foot away from the ground.

Moral lesson: listen and trust in the words of the Lord. See, a lot of us always say we trust God, but when it comes to the problems regarding our life here on earth, we start not trusting Him. We begin to trust ourselves. Quite unfortunate, because we are being assured by God that He will help us definitely - true and through. He only asks us to trust Him definitely - true and through. Unfortunately, we falter because we rely on ourselves here on earth. Just like Job in the First Reading, he faltered. Just like the potential Disciples in the Gospel, they faltered. Why? Because, they trusted other things, rather than trust in the Lord. But Jesus has shown us - He demands our full trust absolutely. Why? It is because He will help us absolutely. Until we realize this truth, we will never put our trust in the Lord.

My brothers and sisters, the Lord says, "Trust Me, that it will not rain this afternoon." (when it has been raining so hard today) Would you believe Him? The true test of faith is - If the Lord says so, it will be so. But if you do not want to believe Him, you have already lost our God.