HOLY SPIRIT: THE FORGOTTEN PERSON

Among the persons of the Blessed Trinity, the third person is known as the forgotten person. Why is this so? It is because people seldom express the Holy Spirit, the third person, in words or writings. Most of our prayers are directed towards the Father or the Son. Seldom do we direct our prayers to the Holy Spirit.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said, “Catholics are rather weak in pneumatology. Unlike the Eastern Churches, we seldom find a school of theology with a full tract on the mysteries of the Holy Spirit. Catholics frequently feel the need to “experience” the Holy Spirit only during exams, in Mass of the Holy Spirit to open the school year, in extreme cases of need, but not in our day-to-day life.”[1] This is true nowadays. Theological schools have fewer courses regarding the Holy Spirit. People have only thought of the Holy Spirit in certain instances as above mentioned.

Is the Holy Spirit then important? The answer is YES! If we will base it on the Sacred Scripture, it spoke a lot about the working of the Holy Spirit. Some of which are found in John 14: 15-17, John 14: 25-26, John 15: 26-27, John 16: 7-11 and John 16: 12-14. The question that we need to ask is how then can we translate such importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

First, we need to be generous. Generosity is not only about giving something. Generosity is recognition of one’s resources coming from above. When we become generous we recognize that all that we have comes from God. It is the working of the Holy Spirit that allowed us to act and give. Many times we have forgotten the reality that it was the Holy Spirit working in us. We become proud and lose the sense of dependability with the Holy Spirit. We need to recall what happen in the upper room with the apostles. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. It was then that they were strengthen and generous enough to lay down one’s life.

Second, we need to be humble. Since all we have and give comes not only from our own effort but also with the help of the Holy Spirit. We need to remain a child. We need to be humble for all that we have comes form God. We cannot brag anything except that the Holy Spirit is working in us. Humility is a step closer towards exaltation of the Holy Spirit in our life.

Lastly, we need to have silence in our hearts. Silence is not just abstaining from talking. Silence in this sense means contemplation of everything that we have done. In today’s world were every minute is being wasted; most of us have forgotten the presence of the Holy Spirit. We only recognize it when we are in need. Silence allows us to internalize to check the reality. Without the Holy Spirit, we will not be able to move. Without the Holy Spirit, all that we have and are will be nothing.

It is noteworthy to end this with what the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Orthodox Bishop Ignatius IV (Hazim) of Lattakia, wrote:

Without the Spirit,

        God is distant

        Christ is in the past

        And the Gospel is a dead letter.

Without the Spirit,

        The Church is no more than an organization,

        Authority is domination,

        Our mission is propaganda,

        Worship is recalling to mind,

         And Christian action is a slave morality.

[1] Luis Antonio G. Tagle, An Easter People: Our Christian Vocation to be Messengers of Hope (Quezon City: Jesuit Communications Foundations, Inc., 2003), 83.

JESUS: THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIGHT

Who is Jesus? Jesus is the second person of the Holy Trinity. He is the Son of God who came down from heaven to become the greatest expression of the love of the Father for humanity. He took the responsibility by dying on the cross and rising from the dead for the remittance of our sins. These are only a few of the many things we could say and will hear about Jesus.

Who is Jesus? St. Augustine once said, “Our hearts are restless until they find rest in You!” Such passage from the confession of St. Augustine is still very much applicable in today’s generation where many of us have forgotten the core value of following Jesus. Many of us have been baptized in the name of Jesus yet we could not find Jesus in our hearts. Such is the case since even many of our Catholic brothers and sisters do not know who Jesus is. Let us then try to reflect on who Jesus is.

The Sacred Scripture says that Jesus is the way, the truth and the light (John 14: 6). Our reflection on Jesus would center on this passage since we already had a previous reflection on who Jesus is. Let us begin with Jesus is the way. Have you ever been in a long ride? Was the road rough or smooth? Was it enjoyable or annoying? Jesus could be compared to a way. When we travel we have in mind a destination.

Our goal is to reach our destination, which our path leads us. It is also the same with Jesus. Jesus, throughout his preaching, his miracles, his actions and his life leads us toward the Kingdom of God. Jesus wants us to reach the Kingdom of God and be with the Father and with Him. The road that Jesus is leading us is not an easy trip. It takes courage to face it. It takes patience to bear it. Yet the end is satisfactory. We should remember that the way is Jesus. His life is an example for us to imitate. He is asking you to follow Him and take the journey of his way. Would you follow Him?

Jesus is the truth. Today even after 2000 years after Jesus stepped on the world, many still do not believe that Jesus is real. Remember that during the public ministry of Jesus, the content of his preaching is in unison. Jesus proclaimed about the Kingdom of God. Moreover, He did not refer to himself directly as the Messiah, Savior or the Son of God, but he rather used the word the Son of Man which after analysis will conclude that such terminology he used refers to himself.

Jesus proclaimed Himself indirectly. He is the truth. He is the word made flesh. If Jesus is the truth then all that he has done should be emulated. Jesus dying on the cross and resurrecting from the dead is a fact that we must hold on. All of his actions then are example for us to be guided. The question then is if Jesus is the truth, are we followers of the truth? Do we imitate his life here on earth?

Jesus is the light. Does this mean that Jesus is the light that is endless compare to electricity, lamps or candles? He is in a different sense. In one of the many occasions during the public ministry of Jesus, he has turned bright like a light. It was during his transfiguration that literally Jesus was bright like a snow. However, such description of Jesus as light is not at all that there is.

What then do we mean when we say Jesus is the light? Jesus is the endless light that leads us to the Father. Jesus becomes the lamppost in our journey towards the Kingdom of God. He allow us to see where we are going and how can we reach our destination. As we walk towards God, Jesus journeys with us. He becomes the light that accompanies us. Jesus is the light manifested by showing us how we should live our life. His becoming a man is the greatest demonstration of the light we need here on earth. Do we see the light or are we blinding ourselves?

Jesus is inviting you to allow Him become the way, the truth and the light in your life. The journey that He is asking you to take is not easy. It takes courage, patience and strength to overcome the trials that lies ahead. Moreover, we should be confident to overcome whatever comes our path since Jesus himself promised us. He gave us hope, a hope that will become our courage, patience and strength. Jesus says, “I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). It is a beautiful promise that we can hope for. With Jesus, we will succeed. Would you then accept Jesus in your Life? If yes, open then your hearts for Him to enter and feel the difference!

GOD AS FATHER

Let us start our preparation with the reflection on God as Father. Why do we call God as Father? Are we Sons and Daughters of God? Christ taught his disciple the Lord's Prayer. In it, Christ granted us to call God as our Father. Why? It is because with the coming of Christ here on earth, we became adopted sons and daughters of God.

God as Father has a horizon of denotations and elucidations. “The Father is the first divine person of the Most Holy Trinity.”[1] When we say father, what comes in our mind? There are two implications when we talk about God as Father. First, God as “the first origin of everything and transcendent authority.”[2] God created the world for us. He created it not just because He has nothing to do but because for us to live in it. Even our very own existence is due to the creating hands of God. The Israelites, whom the Sacred Scriptures speaks of as chosen people of God considered God as the Ultimate creator (Deut. 32:6).

Second, God is at the same time goodness and loving care for all of his adopted sons and daughters.[3] Instantly, we think of God here as being a provider. A father is someone who gives all and provides everything that a family needs. He is considered the breadwinner of the family. He works hard to provide what the family needs. God as a Father provides us with all the things we necessitate.

It is then but proper to respond to such action of God. As adopted Sons and Daughters of God, we are asked to respond in love. How do we respond in love? It is from our actions towards the created things that we can respond in love.

God as Father provided us the world not to destroy but to use and take care of. We then need to cultivate such gifts from God. Our lives as well as all the things we see must be taken care of. We then have the responsibility as adopted sons and daughters to promote goodness for God himself as Father is good. All He had created are all good, the plants, the sea, the trees, the animals even us are good.

Many of us complain that God is not here. Well literally, it is hard to feel the presence of God. But he himself assured us through his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that likes any father, he is always with us (Mt. 11:27). He guides us. He comforts us. He accompanies us every second of our life. Such is the love of God as a Father for us. What we need to do is search the deepest core of our connection with Him so that we can see Him, feel Him, and touch Him.

The questions then that we need to ask ourselves are what are we doing every moment of our life? Where is God in our hearts, in our minds and in our lives?

[1] CCC 198.

[2] CCC 298.

[3] Ibid.

PREPARATION FOR THE POPE FRANCIS' VISIT TO THE PHILIPPINES

Pope Francis, the 266^th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, will have a four-day visit to the Philippines on January 15-19, 2015. This will be the third time that a Pope will be visiting the Philippines. The first two visits were during the time of St. John Paul II as the Pope and Pope Pius VI.

It will be a glorious day to commemorate and celebrate. It will be also a stepping-stone for the preparation for the celebration of the 500 years of Christianity of the Philippines. It is then but proper that Catholics in the Philippines should prepare themselves not only physically for the said event but also internally. On the succeeding days, weeks, and months, let us then try to reflect on the Catholic Faith, which I have divided on to the following topics:

God:

Father

Son: God and Man

Holy Spirit

Creation

Church:

One

Holy

Catholic

Apostolic

Authority:

Bible

Tradition

Creed

Salvation

Grace

Sacraments:

Baptism

Confirmation

Eucharist

Penance

Marriage

Holy Orders

Anointing of the Sick

Sin

Virtues

Theological Virtues

Cardinal Virtues

Virgin Mary

Prayer

Personages

Apostles

Saints

Pope

Cardinals

Bishops

Priests

Lay people

Join me on trying to strength the Catholic Faith in the Philippines on the said topics. I would not dealt much on the theological aspect of the topics but connecting them more on the daily life of a Filipino Catholic.