FEAST OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD A

GO BACK HOME

Adunay panultihon nga nagkanayon: “there is no other place like home”. Ang mga tawo bisan asa sila paingon mouli gayud diin sila gikan. Ilabi na kon didto gyod natawo unya didto pa gyod nagdako, mangita gyod kanunay sa ilang home, tungod kay there’s no other place like home.

Ang akong papa, basta moabot na gani dayon ang MAY mouli gyod siya sa Bohol kay didto man siya natawo ug nagdako. Kon dili paadtoon sa Bohol magsakit dayon, karon nga may wala gyod siya naka adto kay was man money nga nagsakit gyod intawon.

GREETINGS!

Karong adlawa atong gisaulog ang kapistahan sa pagsaka ni Hesus sa langit nga mao ang tinuod niya nga pinuy-anan.  Siya magalingkod sa tuo sa Amahan didto sa langit nga mao ang iyang Home. Anaa na ang Ginoo sa langit nag andam na ug lawak alang kanto. Apan sa wala pa siya mobalik iya kitang 

gipahimangnuan to proclaim the good news to all the earth. The good news is no other than the real home of all who followed him. Busa, ato kining himoon kay lisod kaayo kon ikaw ra usa mobalik sa langit sa umaabot nga panahon. Let us tell the world the good news of our real home in heaven. Let us convince them to go back home.

Daghan ang hinungdan nga makapawala kanato sa atong puluy-anan sa langit. Kon ikaw nagpasulabi lamang sa pagpaka sala ug wala na mahinumdom sa Ginoo, please go back home. Kon aduna ikaw’y higala nga sa daw wala nay simbasimba, tell them go back home.

Nindot kaayo kon kita anaa sa atong home kay safe gayud ang atong pamati. Dali ra kita makapahulay kon anaa kita sa atong home. Mao kini ang atong bation tungod kay there is no other place like home man. Busa kitang ania pa sa kalibutan, let us spread the good news to other people to go back home.

Kon ang mga bol-anon mouli gyod sa ilang jutang natawhan. Mouli pod kita sa atong home ang simbahan, ang langit dinhi sa yuta. Please go back home. 

6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER A

BE SUPPORTIVE

There was a blind girl who hated herself just because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend.
One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her and then she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, “now that you can see the world, will you marry me?”

The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her saying:

“Just take care of my eyes dear.”

Greetings!

My dear friends, Jesus in our gospel today promises us to give his advocate or helper or supporter. This advocate is the Holy Spirit that will always light our ways. This Holy Spirit is the one who will protect us, support us in our journey towards a good life. 

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to be with you always.”

The promise that Jesus is telling us in our gospel today is only be given to those who love Him. This is a great prize to those who follow his commandments. Therefore, we need to Love the Lord by showing our love to one another.

But, how do we know if we love Jesus? Let us look at our lives. Do we pray? Do we follow the teaching of the gospel? Are we helping other people? Are we always ready to forgive those who sin against us?

“Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” The reward of discipleship or the fruit of living moral lives is intimate relationship with Jesus and the Father. When we love one another, Jesus and the Father dwell in our hearts and in our midst.

In our home, we always hire a helper who is always vigilant, loving and caring. This kind of supporter will keep us at peace because we know that he will surely do his job. This is what Jesus is also trying to tell us today. Jesus wants us to be a good and vigilant advocate to other people. The love of God is already in us, as helper we need to show this love to other people.

The sacrificial act of the boy in the story of the blind girl reminded us that real love involves sacrifices. Real supporter also is ready to sacrifice himself/herself to the person he loves. 

5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER A

LET’S CONNECT!

Kon ang mga appliances dili maka konekta sa kuryente or battery dili gayod kini mofunction.  Kon ang kahoy sa atong palibot wala maka konekta sa yuta dili gayod kini mabuhi. Kon ang imong celpon walay koneksyon o walay signal dili gayud kini makatawag ug makatext. Kon ang tawo wala maka konekta sa gravity sa yuta dili gayud kini makalakaw. Kon ang imong kinabuhi dili maka konekta sa Dios, wala kiniy hinungdan. Everthing has a connection. Everything is connected.

Mga igsoon ang atong ebanghelyo karong adlawa nagpahinumdum kanato that everything has a connection. Everything is connected. Si Hesus ug ang Amahan kanunay naay koneksyon, “do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak of my own, the father who dwells in me is doing his works.”  Mao kini ang koneksyon sa Dios Amahan ug sa Anak nga sila kanunay kauban. Kita usab adunay koneksyon sa atong Ginoo kon kita mituo kaniya: “whoever believes in me will do the works that I do.”

Apan usahay naputol nato ang atong koneksyon sa Ginoo tungod sa kaugalingon natong interests. Naputol ang koneksyon tungod sa sala. Naputol ang koneksyon tungod sa pagpanglupig. Naputol ang koneksyon tungod sa kahakog sa tawo.

Karong domingoha, gihagit kita sa pagsumpay sa naputol nato nga koneksyon sa Ginoo. Let’s connect again to the almighty God the only source of everything.

Remember always you cannot survive without connection. You cannot survive if you are alone. Today, let’s connect because everything is connected.

Are you connected?

GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY A

STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN

Adunay panultihon nga nagkanayon: “a good listener is a good follower”. Attentive listening is an act that will give importance to something that has been spoken. It does not only give importance to the message itself but to the person who is telling the message. However, if you are not a good listener, you cannot grasp the right message spoken and therefore you cannot follow and adapt the message to the entirety. “A good listener is a good follower”.  For example, if somebody is calling you because they want to ask for something. If you are a good listener, you must STOP and LOOK at the person and you LISTEN to him/her heartily. Then, you are able to give him/her importance; you can give him care of what he is trying to tell you. A good listener is a good follower.

Today we celebrate the good shepherd Sunday. Jesus is the good shepherd. Our Gospel speaks of Jesus Christ the good shepherd. He assures us that we will always hear his voice and we follow him because he knows everything about us. He is aware of our own capacity, he is aware of our own longing, he is aware of our own brokenness.

Mga kapatid, sa atong pagka kristianos kita ga sunod ug Ginoo nga mao ang atong maayong magbalantay. Kon kita mga maayo nga karnero sa panon ni Kristo, mamati kita kanunay kaniya. Kini atong pagabuhaton aron dili kita mahisalaag. Aduna akoy suggestion aron kanunay kitang makasunod sa atong Ginoo. Simple lang! STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN.

STOP- Gikinahanglan sa kinabuhi sa tawo ang paghunong usab panagsa. Usahay dili na kita makamatikod tungod sa ka busy sa pagpanginabuhi. We are always in a rush! Usahay malimtan na nato ang atong pamilya, mga higala, bisan gani ang atong kaugalingon. We need to stop, look around, look at yourself, kumusta naka? Are still following the right road of life?

LOOK- tan awa kon unsa na ang nahitabo sa imong relasyon sa imong pamilya, sa imong kauban sa trabaho. Basin unya ug sa imong pagdalidali adunay imong natamakan, nalupigan. Lingi-lingi pod pag may time.

LISTEN- give time to hear God message for you, Listen to yourself, listen to what others are saying. Paminaw pod sa uban kay basin ug makatabang ka. Basin ikaw ang tubag sa ilang problema.

STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN kini ang atong gikinahanglan aron kita mamahimong maayo nga karnero sa Dios. Kini usab ang atong gikinahanglan aron kita mamahimong maayo nga magbalantay ngadto sa uban. STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN aron klaro ang atong padulngan. STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN aron mayo ang dagan sa atong kinabuhi. STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN aron hapsay ang atong pamilya, katilingban ug pagpangalagad. STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN.

3RD SUNDAY OF EASTER A

JOURNEY TOWARDS HOPE

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, hoping that somebody would pick him out in the island.

Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. He almost lost hope. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost.

He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. His hope vanishes. He cried out, 'God! How could you do this to me?' I am always praying to you everyday hoping that you would rescue me. The man was discouraged and felt hopeless.

Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! 'How did you know I was here?' asked the weary man of his rescuers. 'We saw your smoke signal,' they replied.

My dear sisters and brothers good day, the two disciples in our Gospel today journeyed towards Emmaus. They were disappointed of what had happened to Jesus their Savior. It seems that they have lost their hope to continue. However, Jesus walks with them and explains everything and in the breaking of the bread their eyes were opened.

As we consider our own singular and precious life, I hope that our dreams are big enough.  Don't let the world define your hopes. Step back, and consider what you really want.
One of the most hopeful things you can do is to pray that God will fill you with the Holy Spirit. Open your heart and let God walks with you, in your journey towards a meaningful and hopeful life.  

Like the story of the huts on Fire, It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, we shouldn’t lost hope because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering.

Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God. There is always hope above everything, there is always God in our life. This is what we are hoping for - the grace of God in our life.