A Holy Life

Saint Andrew Düng-Lac and Companion Martyrs

Priest and Martyr, Martyrs of Vietnam

Feast day – November 24

St. Andrew was one of 117 martyrs who met death in Vietnam between 1820 and 1862. Members of this group were beatified on four different occasions between 1900 and 1951. Now all have been canonized by Pope John Paul II. Christianity came to Vietnam (then three separate kingdoms) through the Portuguese. Jesuits opened the first permanent mission at Da Nang in 1615. They ministered to Japanese Catholics who had been driven from Japan. The king of one of the kingdoms banned all foreign missionaries and tried to make all Vietnamese apostatize by trampling on a crucifix. Like the priest-holes in Ireland during English persecution, many hiding places were offered in homes of the faithful. Severe persecutions were again launched three times in the 19th century. During the six decades after 1820, between 100,000 and 300,000 Catholics were killed or subjected to great hardship.

 

Foreign missionaries martyred in the first wave included priests of the Paris Mission Society, and Spanish Dominican priests and tertiaries. Persecution broke out again in 1847 when the emperor suspected foreign missionaries and Vietnamese Christians of sympathizing with the rebellion of one of his sons. The last of the martyrs were 17 laypersons, one of them a 9-year-old, executed in 1862. That year a treaty with France guaranteed religious freedom to Catholics, but it did not stop all persecution. By 1954 there were over a million and a half Catholics—about seven percent of the population — in the north. Buddhists represented about 60 percent. Persistent persecution forced some 670,000 Catholics to abandon lands, homes and possessions and flee to the south. In 1964, there were still 833,000 Catholics in the north, but many were in prison. In the south, Catholics were enjoying the first decade of religious freedom in centuries, their numbers swelled by refugees. During the Vietnamese war, Catholics again suffered in the north, and again moved to the south in great numbers. Now the whole country is under Communist rule.

 

It may help a people who associate Vietnam only with a recent war to realize that the cross has long been a part of the lives of the people of that country. Even as we ask again the unanswered questions about United States involvement and disengagement, the faith rooted in Vietnam's soil proves hardier than the forces which would destroy it.

 

“The Church in Vietnam is alive and vigorous, blessed with strong and faithful bishops, dedicated religious, and courageous and committed laypeople.... The Church in Vietnam is living out the gospel in a difficult and complex situation with remarkable persistence and strength” (statement of three U.S. archbishops returning from Vietnam in January 1989).

 

Sources for this article were taken from:  AmericanCatholic.org

 

Prayer

O God,
the source and origin of all fatherhood,
you kept the Martyrs Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions
faithful to the cross of your Son
even to the shedding of their blood,
grant, through their intercession,
that, spreading your love among our brothers and sisters,
we may be your children both in name and in truth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, you Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

+Amen.

Saint Andrew Düng-Lac and Companion Martyrs

– Pray for us

 

 

Gospel Reflection

November 24, 2012

Saturday – Year of Faith

Memorial of Saint Andrew Düng-Lac, Priest and Martyr

And his 116 companions, martyrs
by Rev. Fr. Paul Marquez (St. Paul Church and Seminary, Bagtikan Street, Makati)

Lunch Mass at Sto. Nino de Paz Chapel, Greenbelt, Makati

Reading 1 Rv 11:4-12

I, John, heard a voice from heaven speak to me: Here are my two witnesses: These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone wanting to harm them is sure to be slain. They have the power to close up the sky so that no rain can fall during the time of their prophesying. They also have power to turn water into blood and to afflict the earth with any plague as often as they wish.

When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will wage war against them and conquer them and kill them. Their corpses will lie in the main street of the great city, which has the symbolic names 'Sodom' and 'Egypt,' where indeed their Lord was crucified. Those from every people, tribe, tongue, and nation will gaze on their corpses for three and a half days, and they will not allow their corpses to be buried. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and be glad and exchange gifts because these two prophets tormented the inhabitants of the earth. But after the three and a half days, a breath of life from God entered them. When they stood on their feet, great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, "Come up here." So they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies looked on.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 144:1, 2, 9-10

R. (1b) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
My mercy and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I trust,
who subdues my people under me.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
O God, I will sing a new song to you;
with a ten stringed lyre I will chant your praise,
You who give victory to kings,
and deliver David, your servant from the evil sword.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

Gospel Lk 20:27-40

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her." Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called 'Lord' the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." Some of the scribes said in reply, "Teacher, you have answered well." And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

HOMILY

Napakinggan po natin sa ating mga pagbasa at sa atin pong Ebanghelyo na mayroon pong namamatay, ngunit mayroon din pong nabubuhay. Sabi po sa First Reading, namatay ang dalawang alagad ng Diyos. Bagamat hindi ho sila pinangalanan at sila ay sinabing dalawang punong olibo (two olive trees), ang sabi po ng mga iskolar sa Bibliya, sila ay wala pong iba kundi si Moses at si Elijah, with Moses representing the law, and Elijah representing the prophets. Sila po ang naghanda sa pagdating ng Panginoong Hesukristo, ng Manunubos. Sinabing sila ay mamamatay nang tatlo't kalahating araw at pagkatapos noon, sila ay muling mabubuhay.

Samakatuwid, ang ipinapangako po ng Unang Pagbasa at ng Ebanghelyo ay ang muling pagkabuhay - ang resurrection. Kaya sa lesson plan po ng Simbahan, 'yon pong itinuturo po namin kada Linggo, mayroon pong 33 Sundays in a Liturgical Year, kasi 'yon po ang edad ni Hesus noong Siya po ay ipinako sa Krus. 30 years na nanahimik lang si Hesus kasama ni Maria at ni Jose, tumutulong sa Kanyang mga magulang, at nagpapagabay sa Kanyang mga magulang. Pagtungtong po ni Hesus mula edad 30 hanggang 33, siya po ay nagsimulang mangaral sa mga tao, nagpagaling ng mga maysakit, bumuhay ng mga yumao, nagpatawad sa mga may kasalanan, nagbigay ng pag-asa sa mga taong bigung-bigo at dapang dapa na sa buhay. Three years lang po 'yon. Pero hindi po natin sinasabing sa 33 Sundays lang nagtatapos ang kalendaryo ng Simbahan, sapagkat hindi ho nagtatapos ang kamatayan ni Hesus, kundi ito ay nagpapatuloy sa Gloria, sa kaluwalhatian.

Bukas, araw ng Linggo ay ang dakilang kapistahan o Solemnity of Jesus Christ as King of the universe - heaven and earth. Diyan po ang patutunguhan ng buhay ni Hesus - hindi lamang po hanggang krus, di lang hanggang kamatayan, kundi hanggang sa muling pagkabuhay. Siya ngayon ay nakaluklok sa kanan ng Ama. 'Yan po ang ating sinasampalatayanan.

Dito po sa Ebanghelyo ngayon, ang mga kontrapelo ni Hesus (ang mga Saduccees) ay lumapit sa Kanya at tinawag Siya, at nagpapanggap na tinawag si Hesus na guro. Di ba pag sinabi mong guro, ibig sabihin ay gusto mong matuto? Pero ang mga Saduccees ay wala talagang balak matuto. Ang gusto nila ay siluhin - i-trap si Hesus. Siguro habang nagtatanong sila ukol sa balong nakapangasawa ng pitong lalaking magkakapatid, nagsisikuhan pa sila at nagkikindatan. Mayroon kasi silang batas na matuloy ang lahi ng isang pamilya ng isang lalaki, kaya kinakailangang kapag namatay ang mister, pakakasalan ng sumunod na kapatid na lalaki ang nabalong babae. Ang kwentong ito syempre ay gawa-gawa lamang nila. Ang mga Saduccees ay mga aristokrato, may-ari ng malalawak na lupa, ngunit hindi naniniwala sa muling pagkabuhay. Kaya't ang motto po nila ay 'eat and live, for tomorrow, we will die'. At pag namatay ka, doon na natatapos, wala nang resurrection. Kaya para sa kanila, life is one big party. Wala na silang iniisip tungkol sa pagmamalasakit at pagtulong sa kapwa.

Ang mga Phariseo naman ay kalabang matalik ng mga Saduccees, sapagkat ang mga Phariseo ay naniniwala sa mga spirits, sa angels at sa resurrection. Ngunit sila ay biglang naging magkakampi sapagkat mayroon silang maitim at masamang balak laban kay Hesus, at iyon ay ang siluhin Siya. At sa katanungan ng mga Saduccees kung kaninong asawa mapupunta ang balong babae, simple lang ang sagot ni Hesus. Dahil naniniwala ang mga Saducees sa batas ni Moses, ginamit ni Hesus na entry point si Moses. Sinabi ni Hesus na natatandaan ninyo si Moses, during the burning bush, habang nagliliyab 'yong mababang punong-kahoy, ano ang sinabi ng Diyos sa kanya, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob". At dahil Ako ay kanilang Diyos, ako ay buhay na Diyos, at buhay pa rin sila. Ang Diyos ay ang Diyos ng buhay, at hindi ng mga patay. Siya ang Diyos ng muling pagkabuhay.

Simple lamang po ang aral na nais iwanan sa atin ng mga pagbasa ngayon, habang tayo ay naghahanda sa dakilang kapistahan ni Kristong Hari. Na ang buhay dito sa lupa, puno man ng mga pagsubok at mga paghihirap, ay ipinapangako sa atin ng Diyos na hindi ito ang huling salita. Life on earth is not God's final word for us. Hindi ho hanggang dito lang ang buhay. Iniisip natin na sa ating muling pagkabuhay ay wala na tayong sakit, wala na tayong pagtangis, ngunit sigurado po ako na higit pa roon ang buhay sa kabila. Sabi nga ni St. Paul, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has it dawned on man, kung ano ang naghihintay sa atin sa kabila. Hindi po maliit ang langit; hindi po iyon kasing liit ng imahinasyon ng tao. Palaging lampas at lampas pa doon ang naghihintay sa atin. Kaya nga iyon ay misteryo. Kaya nga sabi ng mga santo, oras na malaman mo ang hitsura ng langit, mamamatay ka. Hindi mo kakayanin, kasi napakaganda, ubod nang ganda, at ubod nang sarap manitili doon.

'Yon ang pangako sa atin ng Panginoon. Ang importante lang, habang tayo ay buhay pa, sana makita natin ang koneksiyon ng buhay natin dito sa lupa, sa buhay natin sa kabila. Kung ang buhay sa kabila ay totoong banal dahil naroroon ang Diyos, at ang buhay naman natin dito ay isang pagsisikap tungo sa buhay na banal, may koneksiyon. Ngunit kung ang buhay natin ay nananatili sa buhay ng pagkakasala, ating isipin - babagay ba tayo doon sa buhay sa kabila?

Ang pangako ng Panginoon ay nariyan Siya upang laging magpatawad. Ngunit kinakailangang hingin natin ang Kanyang kapatawaran. Tanggapin natin, hangarin natin ang Kanyang kapatawaran at biyaya. Kaya't sa misang ito, tayo ay magpasalamat sa Kanya sa pagbigay Niya sa atin ng biyaya ng muling pagkabuhay. Sinasabi ng Diyos na nais Niyang magkaroon ng ugnayan sa atin. Hindi tayo kagaya ng karaniwang nilikha gaya ng halaman at hayop na nariyan ngayon, bukas wala na, at hanggang doon na lang sila. Tayo ay tao, at mayroon tayong tinitingalang muling pagkabuhay. Salamat po, Panginoon, at nawa'y turuan Mo kaming maging karapat-dapat sa Iyong paghahari sa langit. Amen.

 

Saint Andrew Düng-Lac and Companion Martyr

Pray for us

You may also want to see: A Holy Life - Saint Andrew Düng-Lac and Companion Martyr

Gospel Reflection

November 23, 2012

Friday - Weekday – Year of Faith

by Rev. Fr. Benjo Fajota (Vice Rector of the EDSA Shrine)

Morning Mass at Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace (Our Lady of EDSA)

Reading 1 Rv 10:8-11

I, John, heard a voice from heaven speak to me. Then the voice spoke to me and said: "Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land." So I went up to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. He said to me, "Take and swallow it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey." I took the small scroll from the angel's hand and swallowed it. In my mouth it was like sweet honey, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then someone said to me, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

R. (103a) How sweet to my taste is your promise!
In the way of your decrees I rejoice,
as much as in all riches.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
How sweet to my palate are your promises,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Your decrees are my inheritance forever;
the joy of my heart they are.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
I gasp with open mouth
in my yearning for your commands.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!

Gospel Lk 19:45-48

Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, saying to them, "It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves." And every day he was teaching in the temple area. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death, but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.

HOMILY

It is very surprising to some that Jesus, who is meek and humble of heart, would have to be getting angry at people, and shouting at them. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus even made a cord out of ropes to whip the people and the animals that are being sold in the temple.
What is this anger that we see in Jesus Christ? It is very simple. He said, "My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves." A lot of times, we are also angry. But we could ask ourselves - what are we so angry about? During confessions, I will be hearing, "Father, I could not control my temper." "Father, it is so petty, but it really irritates me and I easily get angry with the people around me, especially when I have problems." But you see, anger in itself is not a sin. It only becomes a sin when it is directed to God and to other people, and when it is already at a stage of leading you to another sin. Nagiging kasalanan lamang ang ating galit kapag ito ay yumuyurak na sa dangal ng ibang tao, nananamantala, at napapailalim na ang tunay nating mabubuting motibo, dahil lamang sa ating galit, na hindi natin ma-control.
Jesus was very strong and very brave in incarcerating these evil things that are happening. Tayo tatanungin natin sa ating sarili - do we also voice our anger on the injustices that we see around us? O tahimik lamang tayo? There is a time for everything. Mayroong panahon na kailangan tayong manahimik, pero mas marami ang panahon na kailangan tayong magsalita laban sa kawalan ng katarungan na nakikita natin sa ating paligid. Pero minsan, mas ginugusto nating manahimik dahil sa takot.
Jesus was not afraid to speak of the evil things during His time, that is why people were plotting to kill him. Tayo - mayroon kaya tayong lakas ng loob para maging tinig ng ibang taong walang kakayahang ipagtanggol ang kanilang karapatan, o para ipahayag ang mga katiwalian na nakikita natin sa ating lipunan?
God is with us. He is always with us. And if we consider this temple a house of prayer, truly, the courage that we need and the grace of the Holy Spirit will be with us in everything we do. Amen.

Gospel Reflection

November 22, 2012

Thursday – Year of Faith

Memorial of Saint Cecilia – Patron of Church Music

by Rev. Fr. Benjo Fajota (Vice Rector of the EDSA Shrine)

Lunch Mass at Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace (Our Lady of EDSA)

Reading 1 Rv 5:1-10

I, John, saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who sat on the throne. It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a mighty angel who proclaimed in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to examine it. I shed many tears because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to examine it. One of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed, enabling him to open the scroll with its seven seals."

Then I saw standing in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and the elders a Lamb that seemed to have been slain. He had seven horns and seven eyes; these are the seven spirits of God sent out into the whole world. He came and received the scroll from the right hand of the one who sat on the throne. When he took it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones. They sang a new hymn:

"Worthy are you to receive the scroll and break open its seals, for you were slain and with your Blood you purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign on earth."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b

R. (Rev. 5:10) The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel Lk 19:41-44

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If this day you only knew what makes for peace-- but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."

HOMILY

Our Gospel reading speaks of the forthcoming destruction of Jerusalem. Indeed, it happened forty years after Jesus' death.

When we speak of apocalyptic literature as we heard in the first readings, we hear about symbols being used about the coming of the end days - the eschatological period, or the second coming of Jesus Christ. It is not meant to scare us, but rather, to prepare us for the imminent, second coming of Jesus Christ. It cannot be denied. It will surely come, but no one knows when - the hour, or the day - except the Father.

One of the most profound, truthful and realistic characteristics of love is powerlessness. When love is imposed, it is not love. When you are truly in love, you are powerless over the person who you truly love. And you cannot control yourself. Jesus, in our Gospel passage, showed very clearly, how he was powerless over the city of Jerusalem. Powerless, in a way, and he showed it through tears. He wept over Jerusalem. The title of this passage in the Bible is "Jesus's Lamentation". Paghihinagpis. Ang paghihinagpis ay pagluha para sa isang taong minamahal. Ang pagluha ni Hesus ay para sa mga taong naroroon sa Jerusalem. The word Jerusalem comes from the original Hebrew word which means 'peace'. Pero bakit ganito ang pagtangis ni Hesus? Bakit ganito ang kanyang pagluha? It is because Jesus was there as the Messiah. He preached, He taught about the Kingdom of God, He cured the sick, He made a lot of miracles. Still, people did not listen to Him. They did not adore Him; they did not take Him seriously. They even murdered Him and nailed Him to a tree.

Ganoon din ang ginagawa natin hanggang ngayon, Kapag tayo ay patuloy na nagkakasala, patuloy nating pinahihiya at pinaluluha ang ating Panginoon. Kapag tayo ay nawalan ng isang minamahal, lumuluha tayo. Pero ang ating luhang iyon ay hindi para sa taong nawala, kundi para sa ating mga sarili, dahil tayo ang nawalan. Pero pag tayo ay lumuha para sa isang taong minamahal dahil ikaw ay naghihinagpis dahil sa pamamaraan kung paanong ang iyong minamahal ay nawala, ang tunay na pag-ibig ay naipapakita.

When Jesus Christ cried, He saw how powerless He is over us. Let us remember that we have the free will to choose God or sinfulness. What we have to realize is that at the end of the day, we can never be truly happy without God. And that is what Christ is crying over us. Amen.

Saint Cecilia – Pray for us

You may also want to see: A Holy Life - Saint Cecilia