Opinion

Bishop Gerardo A. Alminaza is the convenor of the, Pilgrims for Peace, One Negros Ecumenical CouncilLet the spirit of EDSA People Power ignite our unity to rise once more.So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)There are days in public memory that begin to take on a life of their own: the EDSA people’s uprising is one such time. From Church people staving off tanks with flowers and rosaries to a sea of ordinary citizens with yellow waves gathered in protest of a stolen election and unwanted dictatorship, there is no doubt that the 1986 People Power was an outpouring of discontent with what was and of daring to rise for something better. We often speak that it was a day to reclaim our freedom, our de...

Every second Sunday of Lent, the gospel reading tells the story of the Lord’s Transfiguration. This event happens six days after that deciding moment in Caesarea Philippi when Peter confesses his faith in Jesus as the Messiah, and in turn, Jesus proclaims Peter as the “Rock” on which he will build his Church. Having elicited the first explicit profession of faith in him as the Christ, Jesus tells his disciples for the first time of his passion and death. Later, on two other occasions, he would reiterate the same prediction of the tragic fate awaiting him in Jerusalem. From here on, he makes it clear to his disciples that he is not only the glorious Messiah (preacher, miracle-worker, exorcist); he is also the Suffering Servant, foretold in the scriptures.It is in this context that Jesus...

Every year, the gospel reading on the First Sunday of Lent is about the temptation of Jesus in the desert. Allow me just to share a few random thoughts on temptation.Temptation is part of life. It is a given. It is not meant to pull us down; on the contrary, it meant to propel us higher. St. Augustine once said, “Someone who is not tempted is not tested; someone who is not tested cannot progress.”This is exactly how our educational system works. Before the students move to the next level or grade, they undergo examination or a series of tests. The same is true in work application, career pursuit, even priestly formation.In one of the CBCP plenary assemblies, the bishops discussed the need to revise the English version of the Our Father. No less than Pope Francis pointed out tha...

For the past Sundays, we have seen Jesus healing all kinds of diseases. Today a leper approaches him and asks to be cured. Leprosy is considered among the most serious and dreaded illnesses then. It disfigures the body and causes it to disintegrate, reducing the victim into a veritable “walking dead.” More than the physical suffering, it is the psychological pain that devastates the leper as he grapples with feelings of shame, bitterness, anger and loss of self-worth. Because the disease is highly contagious, he is banned from the community and is forced to live in isolation as a social outcast. Worse still, he is barred from participating in religious worship since he is considered ritually impure. Finally, there is a common belief is that leprosy is a punishment and curse from God.It...

“Is not man's life on earth a drudgery? Are not his days those of hirelings? He is a slave who longs for the shade, a hireling who waits for his wages.” In today’s first reading we hear Job lamenting his unbearable suffering despite his unquestionable faithfulness to God.At times, we too feel like Job when our “nights drag on” and our “days end without hope.” In such times, we do not so much engage in big philosophical or theological questions like “Why do bad things happen to good people?” or “Why does not God prevent evil when he is all-powerful?” We simply grapple with real personal issues that cause us deep pain and leave us powerless. I personally have been through such experience which literally gave me sleepless nights and drained every confidence left in me. In the end, I found...

The devotion to Sto. Niño is something that never ceases to mesmerize me. I am a Cebuano and I live less than a kilometer from the Basilica which I frequented every Friday since I was a child. The phenomenal number of devotees who regularly fill the shrine especially during fiestas may provide some answer as to why Christianity is still alive in our country today despite the heavy onslaught of secularism and materialism.The lively cult of the Sto. Niño manifests an extraordinary faith which may be raw, hence easily vulnerable to superstition and fanaticism (which reminds us of PCPII’s call for a renewed integral evangelization). Yes, our people’s faith may be raw, but it is certainly deep for it touches the very core of the Filipino soul. It is a faith that moves the devotee to give hi...

On this Sunday following Christmas, the Church joyfully celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family, and most fittingly so. After all, is not Christmas the most significant and memorable celebration of our family life and relationship, as manifested in our reunions and gatherings for festive meals, and in our exchange of greetings and gifts? In the words of Pope Benedict XVI, Christmas is the feast of the family par excellence.In fact, Christmas is all about family. There is Christmas because there is family. Christmas is about God who wants to be part of the human family by becoming a member of the family of Joseph and Mary. And this is all because he wants us, humans, also to be part of his own family, the Trinity. We are reminded of this tremendous exchange and crisscross between the di...

Today we celebrate the feast of Epiphany, which means “manifestation”. We celebrate God's manifestation of himself, not only to Israel, the people of his covenant, but now to all peoples, "the Gentiles [who] are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (second reading)The Latin Church identifies Epiphany with the visit of the Magi to the Infant Jesus in Bethlehem. To these wise men from the East, Jesus manifested himself, not just as the newborn king of the Jews, but as the Savior of the World. In turn, the foreign visitors prostrated themselves in worship before the Child and offered their kingly gifts.The Eastern tradition, on the other hand, celebrates Epiphany with the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, where he ma...

On this Sunday following Christmas, the Church joyfully celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family, and most fittingly so. After all, is not Christmas the most significant and memorable celebration of our family life and relationship, as manifested in our reunions and gatherings for festive meals, and in our exchange of greetings and gifts? In the words of Pope Benedict XVI, Christmas is the feast of the family par excellence.In fact, Christmas is all about family. There is Christmas because there is family. Christmas is about God who wants to be part of the human family by becoming a member of the family of Joseph and Mary. And this is all because he wants us, humans, also to be part of his own family, the Trinity. We are reminded of this tremendous exchange and crisscross between the di...

Last Tuesday, I received a text message from a former student of mine who now lives in the US, saying, “Bishop, need our guidance on the Pope’s recent move… kind of disturbing and disappointing.” I texted back, “What move?” He sent me a post from NBC News with the caption – “Breaking: Pope Francis says priests can bless same-sex couples.”That day was the day when the Vatican had just published “Fiducia Supplicans,” a Declaration on the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings. The media was suddenly filled with news and comments on the document. Many of the reports made it sound like the Pope has allowed the blessing of same-sex couples, thus finally approving same-sex union or marriage. I urged my student to read first the document which is very clear and self-explanatory.Nothing has changed. The Ch...