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HOMILY of His Eminence Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle – Chrism Mass – Maundy Thursday @ Manila Cathedral – April 18, 2019
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, mga kapatid sa Panginoong Hesukristo first of all we give praise and thanks to God he brought us together, he call us to be one Church, one community of disciples, one community of faith.
And we unite ourselves with the other local particular communities gathered in their own cathedrals and churches for this beautiful ceremony at the same time we unite ourselves with people who have no beautiful buildings where they could gather, our thoughts go to our brothers and sisters in Marawi, in Jolo and just this morning I receive an email from Paris, the Archbishop was calling on his flock to still gather, to still celebrate the Chrism Mass not in Notre Dame but in another church.
That’s a beautiful testimony, it is the living church the living church made of living stones, consecrated but the anointing of the Holy Spirit that community living community will always gather, at tayo po na nandito maganda ang panahon bagamat painit ng painit nandito tayo huwag nating kalilimutan ang mga kapatid natin na nagsisikap din na magdiwang kahit ang mga sitwasyon nila sa buhay ay parang napakahirap at nagiging isang pagsubok.
Ang our gathering was made special by your presence, baptized, confirmed and consecrated men and women thank you for coming, salamat din po sa ating mga kapatid na Pari both the diocesan and the religious and we thank in a special way ang ating minamahal hindi lang love you, hindi lang love love kundi beloved ang ipinagbubunyi ng langit at lupa, ang Kanyang Kabunyian Cardinal Rosales salamat po and we thank our dear, our beloved Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines His Excellency Most Rev. Gabrielle Caccia thank you for being with us and we are joined also by the Abbot of the Benedictine Montserrat Abbey si Abbot Austin Cadiz, tumayo ka hindi ka yata kilala pa, ayan batang bata ano Abbot abot tanaw, and our very own our very own Bishop Broderick Pabillo and you might be wondering who are those other priest well they are Jubilarians – 25 years, 50 years, 60years and 65years of priestly service.
But we are not the ones consecrated the ordained, we call this the Chrism Mass we will bless the oils chrism used for baptism, confirmation and ordination and the oils for the anointing of the sick, hindi lang po yung mga inordinang Pari ang pinahiran ng langis at ng espiritu santo lahat ng binyagan, lahat ng binyagan ay pinahiran ng langis at napuspus ng espiritu santo kailan kayo bininyagan? Bakit alam natin ang birthday, alam natin yung anibersaryo ng unang date, una tayong nagkape sa karinderya, yung araw ng binyag alam ba natin? Pinagdiriwang ba natin?
Palakpakan kayo kanina, sabi ko lang 25, 50, 60, 65 yung mga 80 years old, 80years na rin kayong binyagan siguro? And that is the whole point of our reflection this morning this is the Year of the Youth and during the Synod of Bishops on the Youth Pope Francis called on the whole church to walk together, he said it is an experience of Synodality – Synodus – walking together on the same path, walking together.
Walking together with the young people, walking together for the sake of the young people and today on this Chrism Mass we celebrate our common consecration as anointed by the Holy Spirit.
In the first reading it is the whole people that have been made priests of the Lord, ministers of our God, the whole community filled with the Holy Spirit, the whole community is set aside for the service of God consecrated.
And in the vision of Saint John in the second reading from Revelation these people, these people even in paradise will continue to be a kingdom, priests for God and the Father, consecrated to give glory to God and not only for the sake of the youth but for the sake of our service of God and humanity.
We come together anointed by the spirit with our different gifts let us come together as a consecrated people, as a people set apart, as a priestly people, and we ordained are called to serve the priestly people to awaken the priestly consecration of all the baptized, that is our ministry not to take over and say ‘we are the only priests’, we belong to the common priesthood the common consecration of the baptized and the ministers as ministers we served the awakening, the blossoming of that consecration.
Nakikiusap po ako, huwag nating sayangin ang pagdating ng espiritu santo sa ating lahat nung tayo ay bininyagan, lahat po tayo ay itinalaga lahat sa binyag itinalaga para maging bahagi ng bayan na maglilingkod sa Diyos, iba’t ibang kaloob pero lahat ay para sa Diyos para maglingkod, at kami po na inordinahang pari hindi lamang kami ang tinatawag para maglingkod, ang amin pong paglilingkod ay gisingin, palaguin ang ipinangako nating lahat sa binyag upang ito ay mamunga para sa paglilingkod sa Diyos at sa bayan.
In a little while, we the ordained will renew our commitment as ordained that on Easter Vigil, on Easter Sunday all the baptized will renew our promises as consecrated to God and to God’s people and for the sake of the youth let us awaken again that consecration in the spirit like Jesus our head and with him let us accept again the gift and the responsibility of being anointed by the spirit and like Jesus reading and fulfilling the Prophet Isaiah’s words ‘we also anointed by the spirit should go and bring glad tidings to the poor, especially the youth’.
Many young people live their lives in bad news, hindi makatapos ng pag-aaral, kulang sa pera. Yung nakatapos wala namang mahanap na trabaho, yung iba binubully “ang pangit mo, ang taba mo, ayaw kitang kaibigan, nakakahiya kang kasama, ayus ayusin mo yang mukha mo para maging kaibigan kita”.
Alam po ninyo may mga bata na ayaw ng pumasok dahil mabu-bully sila, may mga bata nag-iisip magpakamatay nalang kasi ang pakiramdam nila ‘walang nagmamahal sa akin’, minsan ang mga magulang din po masyadong matatayog ang mga hinihingi “92 ang grade mo? 92? 92 lang? hindi mo ba alam na may 93, 94 bakit 92 lang? sayang ang pinag-aral ko sayo 92 ka lang pala…”
So many young people never hear good news they only hear criticism, they only hear their incapacity to meet the expectations, expectations which are not realistic.
We are consecrated anointed by the Spirit, parents, teachers, peers go live your consecration proclaim Good News ang dami dami na na tagapagdala ng bad news, fake news, hate speech. We today all the consecrated, all the baptized bearing the Holy Spirit will say ‘I will not deliver fake news, hates speech, I am consecrated by the spirit, I will bring good news to the poor and the suffering’.
Those consecrated by the spirit will proclaim liberty to captives, those consecrated by the spirit will not lead others to further captivity and imprisonment and enslavement. Ang dami dami pong iba’t ibang uri ng pagkabihag, ng pagkapreso at kawawa ang ating mga kabataan hindi nila alam sila ay napipreso na, naaalipin na. Halimbawa nalang po ay yang cellphone, yang cellphone ano na yan eh parang prisoner na, parang guard, para kang binabantayan lagi, kapag tumunog para tayong mga ano “Yes Lord, Speak Lord, I am here” pero kapag ang Diyos ang nagsasalita minsan hindi nakikinig pero ang cellphone hindi mapakali kahit nga nagmimisa eh pasimple pa, unti-unti dinudukot dinudukot tapos kunwari nagmi-meditate tutungo pero titingnan yung mga text.
Bakit ganun parang alipin na tayo? At kumikita yung nang-aalipin sa atin, taon-taon obsolete na yang (cellphone) model mo bili ka na naman, bili ka ng bili yumayaman ng yumayaman ang nagpi-preso sa atin.
Minsan nga nagmisa ako narinig ko may tumunog na cellphone sabi ko ‘saan kaya nanggaling’ pero malapit lapit (yung tunog) eh nako nandoon sa isa sa nakaupo sa harapan, hindi naman ho kayo yun sabi ko ‘ay nako kaya pala ang lapit (ng tunog)’ nakita ko dinukot eh, sabi ko ‘aba, aba’ eh magko-consecration na sabi ko ‘aba nakaluhod na baka sasagutin nga’ sinagot nga habang consecration sinasagot, ako naman eh hawak ko ang katawan ni Kristo, ayaw ko naman na hawak ko ang katawan ni Kristo ako’t nag-aalimpuyo sag alit kaya sabi ko nalang sa sarili ko siguro binabalita niya doon sa kausap ‘oh hawak na ni Cardinal ang ostya’ katulad nila [pointing at the media] ‘ngayon hawak na, nagsasalita si Cardinal’, siguro ganun ‘ayan na hawak na niya ang kalis’ para nalang humupa ang aking puso pero sa loob loob ko, real presence of Christ but still I will obey the phone.
Our imprisonments are very subtle that’s why the spirit is given to us the spirit of wisdom and discernment in order to detect, am I still free for God? Or am I already imprisoned by many so called signs of progress. Young people, Pope Francis repeatedly stated during the synod and in the post synodal exhortation Christus Vivit “Young people do not let anyone rob you of your inner freedom” mga kabataan huwag niyong hahayaan na agawan kayo ng inyong kalayaan ng mga umaalipin, yumayaman sila sa pagka-alipin natin, mga bisyo pagka-alipin yan.
We are consecrated by the Spirit we are not to participate in the further enslavement and captivity of people specially the young, the Holy Spirit sends us to proclaim liberty not enslavement. We are sent as consecrated people to proclaim liberty to the oppressed and not add to their oppression as consecrated by the spirit we are sent give recovery to the blind and not add to the blindness already enveloping the world especially of the young.
Ang pinupuspus ng espiritu santo, nagiging daan hindi ng pagkabulag kundi ng paglinaw ng isip at mata at puso katulad ni Hesus puspus ng espiritu santo ang kanyang katawan, ang sambayanan ng mga sumusunod sa kanya ay gagawin din lalo na para sa ating kabataan, ang hinihingi ng ating Panginoon for the sake of the young and for the sake of all of us let us not waste our common consecration and I beg our brother priests we who have been called and consecrated to minister to the body of Christ let us evoke from them, let us nurture that consecration that is in them sabi nga lalo na ngayon panahonng transparency and accountability and that is good, we want to be accountable in the way we use the resources of the church, the property of the church, the finances of the church, the administration of the goods of the church that is important huwag lang nating kalilimutan, the most precious resource of the church are the gifts of the spirit in the community, are they blooming, are they bearing fruit, are they becoming misservice and missionary acts of baptized and consecrated people?
And so together ordained, baptized, confirmed for the sake of the youth, for the sake of the poor, for the sake of the oppressed, for the sake of those who are kept blind let us say together “the spirit of the Lord is upon me, he has anointed me and so I go together synodus – working together”.
Para po sa mga kabataan na nandito hindi lang kayo mahal ng Simbahan beloved as the Father call Jesus ‘my beloved son’ we want to assure you, you are dearly loved, you are consecrated too, you baptized young people do not waste your consecration, live your Christian life in mission, teach us also turuan niyo rin kami na hindi na bata kung papaano isasabuhay sa ating panahon ngayon ang ating common consecration.
Ang I’m inviting, well sumimba po kayo mamaya sa inyong mga paro-parokya pero yung mga ibig sumimba dito sa Cathedral mamaya po sa Mass of the Lord Suffer and the Washing of the Feet mga kabataan an gating huhugasan ng paa pero bawat kabataan ay isang kasaysayan, isang kwento at sa paghuhugas natin sa kanila, hinuhugasan natin ang iba’t ibang bahagi ng lipunan at iba’t ibang yugto ng kasaysayan ng pamilya, ng bansang Pilipinas in order to awaken the gift of the spirit, the anointing of the spirit urging us on to mission.
Tayo po ay tumahimik sandali at magpasalamat sa Diyos na tayo ay kinasihan ng espiritu santo at ipagdasal niyo po kaming mga inordinahan upang maging tapat kami sa aming anointing for ordained people who are true to our anointing we’ll be able to serve better the anointed people of God.
