Category: English

“Who Do You Say that I Am?”

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12th Sunday in The Ordinary Time. June 19, 2016 [Luke 9:18-24]

 simon n jesus - for blogWhat will be your answer to Jesus’ question “Who do you say that I am?” We may come up with multiple answers. He is my God, my savior, my friend or my brother. But, we seldom ask, “Do we really understand Jesus’ question? Do we get the right answer? Why is it that Peter would confess that Jesus is Christ of God in the first place?

Christ comes from a Greek ‘Christos’, meaning Messiah or the Anointed One. In the Old Testament, the Anointed One of God refers to the great kings of Israel like Saul and David. Less often, the anointed one applies to prophets and priests. They were called as such because they were anointed with the sacred oil before they assumed the important office. They are leaders of the people as well as God’s representative. When God chose David to lead His People, He instructed Prophet Samuel to go to Bethlehem to house of Jesse and look for David. When the holy prophet found him, he anointed David with the sacred oil. The Spirit of the Lord then rushed and filled upon David (1 Sam 16:1-14). Under King David, Israel reached its pinnacle. Yet, after his demise, Israel’s glory slowly fading and even disappeared altogether. Since then, the Israelites long for the coming of the Anointed One who will restore their glory.

Jesus definitely was aware that He is the Anointed One. In the beginning of his preaching ministry, Jesus went to the synagogue in Nazareth and proclaimed, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. (Luk 4:18).” Yet, Jesus avoided public proclamation that He is the Christ. He knew well that He would be misunderstood by the Jews. He never came as a political liberator nor a military chieftain. Thus, He waited until the best time arrived.

The time reached fulfillment when Peter was able to answer correctly. Tired of Roman oppressions, the entire Israel, including Peter, was impatient for the coming of the Messiah. When Jesus nodded that He is the Christ, Peter and other disciples would not have a second thought. They would follow their Messiah until the New Israel is born. For Peter, his answer is more than making a confession on Jesus’ identity, but promising firm allegiance to Jesus. Yet, again Jesus had to remind them of the false image of Messiah. He would be rejected, persecuted and even murdered. Following Him means also suffering the same fate as their Master.

When Jesus confronts us with this question “Who do you say that I am?” it is not about giving personal and favorite status of Jesus. Following Peter, our answer is fundamentally about radical commitment to Jesus. It means to follow Him for better or worse. It entails sufferings and cross. Even we may lose our life. We can easily and joyfully sing and praise Jesus in worship meetings, but do we get involved in dirty works of helping the poor? We are proud to have our wedding at the big Church with glamorous celebration, but are we patient enough to endure the trials of marriage life ‘until death do us part’? We are called Christian, because we bear Christ in us. But, do we live like Christ’s image in the world?

To answer rightly, we need to get the question correctly. Have we understood Jesus’ question “Who do you say that I am?” Have we dared to give the right answer? May St. Paul reminded us who we are, “I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:19-20)”

 

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Jesus and the Women

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11th Sunday in the Ordinary Time. June 12, 2016 [Luke 7:36—8:3]

 “So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love (Luk 7:47).”

women disciplesLuke has a keen eye for the roles of woman in the life of Jesus and the Church. From the beginning of his Gospel to the end, he made sure that women have important role to play. Among the four Gospels, only Matthew and Luke wrote the infancy narrative. While Matthew had Joseph as the main character, Luke chose Mary as his protagonist. Thanks to Luke, we are able to mediate on the great stories of the Annunciation, the Visitation, and the Presentation. Due to Luke also, we may sing Mary’s Magnificat.

In today’s Gospel, Luke presented several women and their important contributions. The first is the unnamed yet repented woman. The woman stands as contrast to the male host, Simon the Pharisee. While Simon felt right and needed no repentance, the woman admitted her sins and asked Jesus’ forgiveness. Jesus presented the woman as good model for us, Christians. Often like Simon the Pharisee, we feel we are in no need of repentance because we are Church’s people. We go to the Church regularly and we are active in various ministries. We feel just right. But, we are forgetting the elementary truth that everyone is a sinner and in need of His mercy. St. Paul reminds us, “All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God. 24 They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, (Rom 3:23-24).”

When we remind ourselves that we are practically nothing without His love. Everything we are and have, are His gift, we cannot but be grateful. The woman showed a great love to Jesus, she receives forgiveness. We will love and serve the Lord because we are forgiven and loved. The repented woman remind us that humility and gratitude are the right dispositions to serve the Lord. it is not because we are good, capable, and talented.

After the story of the repented woman, Luke also mentioned several women: Mary of Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna and many others. All have something in common. They supported Jesus and His preaching ministry out of their own resources. Male disciples, like Peter, John and James have been always in the spotlight, but Luke gave us an idea that their ministry was practically impossible without the generous support of these woman. Our Church inherited an apostolic tradition. This means the apostles and their successors take the leadership helm. This means also our Catholic, Apostolic Church’s leadership is entrusted to men. Yet, we need to remember without the generosity of women, this Church will not operate well.

I myself have experienced this such generosity. I am part of the Lectors’ group of Sto. Domingo Parish in Metro Manila and many of its members are women. I am always amazed on how generous they are in their time and resources for the parish and ministry despite their problems and limitation. I am also member of the Dominican family, and our female counterpart has played indispensable role. Before he established the Order of Preachers, St. Dominic founded first the Dominican nuns in Prouille. One of the reasons is to spiritually support the rigorous preaching of the brothers. Up to this day, the Dominican sisters are in the forefront in supporting the brothers and the lay Dominicans. Certainly, my own mother has been generous in giving me to the Church. Without their generosity, I would have not been in my place now. Indeed, without women’s generosity, the Church would have not been in this place now.

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

God of Life

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 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time. June 5, 2016 [Luke 7:11-17]

“He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise! (Luk 7:14)”

Jesus raises the son of the Widow of NainThe bible seems to contain a lot of death. Almost all the characters in the Bible tasted death. Some were lucky and enjoyed peaceful end, like Abraham, David and Joshua. Yet, a lot more endured tragic one. Abel was murdered by his own brother. Moses passed away just at the doorstep of the Promised Land. James the son of Zebedee was beheaded, and countless unnamed individuals who were victims of wars, diseases and calamities. In today’s Gospel, a young man died presumably due to illness and left his widowed mother alone. The Bible time was bad period to live.

We are living in a better world where life expectation is significantly higher than the time of Jesus. With modern medical technologies and well-trained and professional medical practitioners, we are enjoying the greater possibility to live longer. Had the young man of Nain lived today, he would not have died early. Yet despite all these advancements, death remains a most certain reality. As Benjamin Franklin said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes!” This may lead us to think that God is a kind an uncaring God that allows even His people to suffer and receive violent death.

Jesus then came into the rescue and moved by his compassion, He brought the young man to life. To raise people from the death is one of the greatest miracles of Jesus, and this not only recorded in Luke, but in all the four Gospels. This story of young man of Nain resembles the story of the daughter of the synagogue official in Matthew 9 and Mark 5, and the story of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha in John 11. Yet, we understand that the miracle will not last long. The young man would finally die again. Jesus seemed to cheat death and gives false hope to the widow and the crowd who expected the ‘the great prophet’.

Jesus’ miracles are not a quick-fix to many problems we have, but basically pedagogical, meaning they were designed to teach us a core value. Jesus comes into the story precisely to correct the mindset of the people on God. While the sorrowful widow and the lethargic crowd marched toward certain graveyard, a symbol of despair, Jesus stopped them and pointed to a different direction. They cannot find God among the dead, since He is not the god of the dead, but of the living (Mrk 12:27). Undeniably, we are going to die, but live is not about dying, but about living, and living life to the fullest.

    Yes, we die every day because of our sins, failures, and problems. Like the crowd, we march hopelessly toward our graveyard and despair. We are crushed by the weight of the financial issues. We are down by heavy workload. We are depressed by difficulties in the family. We forget to live fully as we focus our attention on death. But, we must not be hopeless, because our God is not the god of death, and His Son comes to bring us to life once again. “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).”

 Together with St. Paul, we shall boldly say, “We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body (2 Cor 4:8-10).”

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

The Blood and Life

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Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. May 29, 2016. [Luke 9:11-17]

“His cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me (1 Cor 11:25).”

chalice n hostOne of my personal ministries is to be a blood donor. If ever someone needs a blood transfusion, I do my best to donate my blood and if possible, visit the ailing person. In biology, we learn that blood is a crucial element of our body that transports nutrition and oxygen to various body parts and also fight the harmful elements inside our body. Thus, losing too much blood will bring us to critical condition even death. No wonder that blood is closely associated with life and I hope that a little blood I share, may save lives.

In time of Jesus, the understanding on blood is not actually far different from our contemporary time. The ancient Jews considered blood as the source of life, if not life itself. Perhaps, they were able to observe that many living things have blood running in their veins and if they were losing so much blood, it means a certain death. Since every living being comes from God, then blood, as the source of life, must be sacred and belong to God (cf. Deu 12:23). Therefore, shading a person’s blood is forbidden (Gen 9:6). Drinking blood of animal is also not allowed (Lev 7:27). But, the sacredness of blood is profoundly manifested at the Jewish rituals.

Blood of an animal is important element of the sacrificial rituals in the Temple of Jerusalem. After the blood is separated from the body, it is poured out around the altar and being burned together with the flesh (cf. Lev 1). The burn sacrifice mainly serves two purposes: as thanksgiving and atonement for sin. Since blood and body are symbols of life and totality of a living creature, the best way to give thanks and atone for one’s mistake is to offer this life totally to God. The Israelites offered their best to God through the mediation of a sacrificial animal.

Unfortunately, blood of animal and even our blood is far from perfect. Thus, perfect thanksgiving and forgiveness is not possible. Yet, we are not hopeless since God provides an answer. He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, and Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice of the cross. He is the most pleasing thanksgiving and the perfect atonement for our sins. In his treatise of Corpus Christi, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “He offered His body to God the Father on the altar of the cross, as a sacrifice for our reconciliation. He shed His blood for our ransom and purification…” My blood may help saving a person who needs a transfusion, but Jesus’ blood saves the entire creations.

As we drink His blood and eat His body in the Eucharist, our lives are caught in this beautiful offering and sacrifice of Christ. Now, in Christ, our lives are also offerings to God. Every sacrifice we make for God and for the good of others, however small it may be, will be pleasing to God and contribute in the salvation of the world. Our simple prayer may have a great impact for souls in purgatory. Our little contribution in Church may help greatly the parish priest and the poor. Even our daily waking up and works at the office may seem to be monotonous and fruitless, but they may help in building a just society. Our blood, our life is not perfect, but in Christ, it becomes precious. As a psalmist once sang, “From extortion and violence he frees them, for precious is their blood in his sight (Ps 72:14).

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Darah dan Hidup

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Hari Raya Tubuh dan Darah Kristus. May 29, 2016 [Lukas 9: 11-17]

“Cawan ini adalah perjanjian baru yang dimeteraikan oleh darah-Ku; perbuatlah ini, setiap kali kamu meminumnya, menjadi peringatan akan Aku! (1 Kor 11:25).”

chalice ihsSalah satu pelayanan pribadi saya adalah menjadi donor darah. Jika ada seseorang yang membutuhkan transfusi darah, saya berusaha untuk donorkan darah saya dan jika mungkin, mengunjungi orang sakit tersebut. Dalam biologi, kita belajar bahwa darah merupakan elemen penting dari tubuh kita yang membawa nutrisi dan oksigen ke berbagai bagian tubuh dan juga melawan elemen-elemen berbahaya di dalam tubuh kita. Dengan demikian, kehilangan terlalu banyak darah akan membawa kita ke kondisi kritis bahkan kematian. Tidak heran jika darah berterkaitan erat dengan kehidupan, dan saya berharap bahwa sedikit darah yang saya donorkan, bisa menyelamatkan orang lain.

Pada zaman Yesus, pemahaman tentang darah sebenarnya tidak jauh berbeda dengan masa kontemporer. Orang-orang Yahudi kuno menganggap darah sebagai sumber kehidupan, bahkan sebagai kehidupan itu sendiri. Mungkin, mereka mampu mengamati bahwa banyak makhluk hidup memiliki darah, dan jika mereka kehilangan begitu banyak darah, itu berarti kematian. Karena setiap makhluk hidup berasal dari Tuhan, maka darah, sebagai sumber kehidupan, tentulah kudus dan menjadi milik Allah (lih. Ul 12:23). Oleh karena itu, menumpahkan darah seseorang adalah terlarang (Kej 9: 6). Meminum darah binatang juga tidak diperbolehkan (Im 7:27). Tapi, kekudusan darah terwujud secara mendalam pada ritual keagamaan bangsa Yahudi.

Darah binatang adalah elemen penting dari ritual pengorbanan di Kuil Yerusalem. Setelah darah dipisahkan dari tubuh, darah dicurahkan di sekitar altar dan dibakar bersama-sama dengan daging (lih. Im 1). Korban bakaran memiliki dua tujuan: sebagai ucapan syukur dan penebusan dosa. Karena darah dan tubuh menjadi simbol kehidupan, cara terbaik untuk bersyukur dan menebus kesalahan adalah dengan mempersembahkan kehidupan ini secara total kepada Allah. Israel mempersembahkan yang terbaik untuk Allah melalui perantaraan hewan kurban.

Sayangnya, darah binatang dan bahkan darah kita jauh dari sempurna. Dengan demikian, syukur dan pengampunan yang sempurna tidak mungkin tercapai. Namun, kita tidak putus asa karena Tuhan memberikan solusi. Dia mengikirim Putra tunggal-Nya, Yesus Kristus, dan Yesus mempersembahkan diri-Nya sebagai kurban di salib. Dia adalah rasa syukur yang paling baik dan penebusan yang sempurna untuk dosa-dosa kita. Di tulisannya tentang Corpus Christi, St. Thomas Aquinas menulis, “Dia mempersembahkan tubuh-Nya kepada Allah Bapa di atas altar salib, sebagai korban untuk rekonsiliasi kita. Ia mencurahkan darah-Nya bagi tebusan dan pemurnian kita …” Darah saya mungkin bisa membantu menyelamatkan orang yang membutuhkan transfusi, tapi hanya darah Yesus yang dapat menyelamatkan seluruh dunia.

Saat kita meminum darah-Nya dan makan tubuh-Nya dalam Ekaristi, hidup kita terjaring dalam persembahan dan pengorbanan Kristus yang indah. Sekarang, di dalam Kristus, hidup kita menjadi persembahan kepada Tuhan. Setiap pengorbanan, besar atau sederhana, yang kita membuat untuk Allah dan untuk kebaikan sesama, akan menyenangkan Tuhan dan berkontribusi dalam keselamatan dunia. Doa sederhana kita mungkin memiliki dampak yang besar bagi jiwa-jiwa di api penyucian. Kontribusi kecil kita di Gereja dapat sangat membantu pastor paroki dan papa miskin. Bahkan usaha kita untuk bangun dan bekerja di kantor setiap harinya mungkin terasa monoton dan sia-sia, tetapi ini dapat membantu dalam membangun masyarakat yang adil. Darah kita, hidup kita tidaklah sempurna, tapi dalam Kristus, menjadi berharga. Sebagai pemazmur bernyanyi, “Ia akan menebus nyawa mereka dari penindasan dan kekerasan, darah mereka berharga di matanya (Mzm 72:14).”

 Frater Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

The Mystery of the Trinity, the Mystery of Love

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The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. May 22, 2016 [John 16:12-15]

 “But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth (Jn 16:13).”

Holy Trinity 2The mystery of the Holy Trinity is the most foundational yet the most difficult teaching of the Catholic Church. The greatest minds in the Church, like St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Thomas Aquinas and Karl Rahner have attempted to fathom the mystery, but their explanations hit a giant wall. One day, when St. Augustine was strolling along the beach, meditating the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the holy bishop saw a young boy digging a hole on the sand. He came close and noticed that the boy was trying to move the sea water inside that small hole. St. Augustine then told the lad that what he did was futile. Then, suddenly the little boy replied, ‘It is the same thing, when you try to put the Trinity inside your small head.’

Yet, we must not be in despair. To get nearer to the Holy Trinity, we will see that the mystery of the Holy Trinity as the mystery of Love. The word mystery means something that we cannot fully comprehend, yet we know that the reality is so true and undeniable. Love is a mystery precisely because at times, we cannot really understand it, but we are sure that it is real and undeniable. As parents, we love our children, we take care of them, and want the best things for them, yet we do not understand why they do not appreciate us, and often become tough to love. A young man who falls in love with his girlfriend, often finds hard time to please his girl, but he knows that his love is true. Even, for a couple who have been in marriage for decades, sometimes, they still face a bumpy road and fail to understand each other, yet again, they never doubt their love for each other.

The Trinity is love. Bishop Robert Baron of Los Angeles, explains that true love always involves the lover who loves, the beloved who receives the love, and the love itself that binds the lover and the beloved. In love, there is beautiful dynamic of the three loves. Love is one, yet it is three. The Father loves the Son totally, and the Son loves the Father radically, and the love that unites the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit. No wonder, St. John would call God is love (1 John 4:6). Again, the real love is not about theory, but a life-transformation. We can discuss about Trinity for hours, yet it is useless if we fail to help a famish beggar who is in dire need of food. St. Thomas Aquinas has written very well of God. His treatise on Trinity remains foundational for theology students seek to understand better the mystery. Yet, at the end of his life, the Lord on the cross appeared to Thomas and asked what he would wish as a reward. Blessed Thomas humbly replied, “Nothing but You, Lord.” For Thomas, all what he wrote was just like a straw compare to the Love he personally encountered.

Indeed, the most Holy Trinity is a utmost mystery that cannot be fully understood by our little and limited minds, but every time we care for others, help our friends, forgive our enemies and love truly, the Trinity lives and manifests in us.

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

The Spirit Connects!

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Pentecost Sunday. May 15, 2016 [John 14:15-16,23-25]

“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim (Acts 2:4).”

pentecost 2My first time to attend a Catholic Charismatic prayer meeting was around 10 years ago in Singapore. It was a gathering characterized by upbeat music and intensified prayers. As the prayer was getting intense, suddenly I witnessed some of participants began to experience kind of trance and utter unintelligible words. For a while I was dumbfounded, but soon realized that they may actually speak in tongue. This may refer to the one of the Holy Spirit’s charismatic gifts, described no less than St. Paul himself.  “For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to human beings but to God, for no one listens; he utters mysteries in spirit (1 Cor 14:2)”

All the way, I thought that this speaking of tongue phenomenon was what took place on the Pentecost Sunday. When mother Mary and the disciples gathered fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection and the Holy Spirit started to descend upon them and filled them with His power. They began to speak in different languages. Yet, I was mistaken, they did not speak in tongue. The Holy Spirit bestowed on them a different kind of gift. That was the gift of understanding and language. The Apostles did speak different tongues but this gift empowered to communicate clearly the Gospel of Jesus Christ. People from different regions like Syria, Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), Arab peninsula, North Africa, even Europe, certainly speaking in multitude of languages, were able to comprehend the apostles who were native Palestinian. The Spirit enabled them to connect.

The Pentecost and the gift of language speaks deeper reality about the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit that unites us. He heals our brokenness and cures our tendency to be selfishly autonomous. In Pentecost, the Spirit undid the curse of the Tower of Babylon in Genesis 11. This is a symbolical story on human egocentric desire to usurp God, to be equal with God, by building a super-tall tower that can reach God with their own efforts and cunningness. Yet, human ambition and greed for power brought divisions and ruins to human race itself. Perhaps, one of the modern depictions of the Tower of Babel is the best-seller novel and most-anticipated TV series Game of Thrones. The novel smartly narrates how men’s unquenchable passion for the Iron Throne moves various characters in the novel to employ various cunning and dirty tricks to destroy their rivals. The seven Kingdoms, formerly united, divided, falls and they are at each others’ throats.

John Maxwell in his book, Everyone Communicates, Few Connects, argues that everything rises and falls on leadership, and yet, leadership is only possible with the leaders’ ability to connect with others. United States president Abraham Lincoln once also said, “If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend.”  Yet, fundamental to a genuine connecting is all about others. It means setting aside our vain ambition and untamed desire to gain all the attention to ourselves and we make others, their concerns, their struggles as ours.

The Holy Spirit comes to bring us that original connection with God and each other. It is true that often we do not get always the ‘high feeling’ of indwelling of the Spirit, just like in the charismatic prayer meetings, but it does not mean the Holy Spirit is absent. In fact, most of the time, He is working in silence and ordinary ways. He is working when we become more persevering in the sufferings of life. He is working when we are more patient in loving people who often give us problems. He gave us little joy in small realization of various blessing we receive today. I believe fruitful and meaningful reading of this reflection is His work in us.

As we celebrate the Pentecost, we pray that we may continue to open ourselves to the grace of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to make our lives ever fruitful.

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Blessing, a Difference We Make

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The Ascension Sunday. May 8, 2016 [Luke 24:46-53]

“As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven (Luk 24:32).”

The Ascension - Luke 24:50-51
The Ascension – Luke 24:50-51

The best way to say goodbye is to bless. Every time I would leave for the Philippines and continue my formation, my parents would hug and bless me as they mark my forehead with a small sign of the cross. My Filipino friends have this ‘Mano Po’ tradition at the beginning and the end of an encounter with their elderly or people they respect. They will hold the hand of their elders, and place it on their forehead.  This is, I believe, a beautiful sign of honor and blessing. The Dominicans in Europe used to have this habit of asking blessing to their prior before they leave for mission. Indeed, it is the motto of Dominican to ‘praise, bless and preach’. Ultimately, every Eucharist celebration ends with the final blessing.

Yet, what is blessing all about? In Latin, blessing is ‘benedicere’. The word is a composition of two other Latin words: ‘bene (good)’ and ‘dicere (to speak)’. Thus, to bless is to speak good word. Since the word tends to become flesh, we wish that the good word we utter for our beloved turn to be a reality as well. If we look closely the story of creation in Genesis 1, we discover God did threefold acts: creating, seeing goodness and blessing the creations. When God created the universe, God made sure that His creations were good and because of this goodness, He blessed them. Blessing is not simply human act, but also divine. It is not simply saying good, but also discovering good. It is not only wishing good and nice words, but hoping good things to happen.

As the Father has blessed the creations before He rested in the seventh day, the Son also blessed His beloved disciples before He ascended into His resting abode. When God blessed Adam and Eve, He said, “Be fertile and multiply! (Gen 1:28)” God’s blessing names, affirms and rejuvenates the goodness in us. Because of our goodness is reaffirmed, it empowers man and woman to be fruitful, joyful and generous. God’s blessing transforms us into blessing also for others.

 To bless is our vocation as the disciples of Christ. Catherine Marie Hilkert, OP once said that preaching is naming grace, then it is also true that preaching is naming goodness. Unfortunately, instead blessing, we choose to curse. In Latin, cures is ‘maledicere’, to speak bad. Just like blessing, bad words tend to become flesh. Families are broken because we forget to say blessing, and focus on blaming. Religious intolerance, violence and even terrorism begin at the holy pulpit. Sadly, in time of election, from far West, the United States to the far East, Indonesia and the Philippines, politicians running for the offices engage in mudslinging, trade accusations, and employ nasty tricks. Defying reason, the people turn to be fanatic, frantic and partial supporters, willing to do anything for the candidate they admire.

Our world has been fractured and disfigured due to the curses we utter. Adam and Eve said no to God and passed the blame to each other. As their offspring, we continue this destructive curse. We desperately need blessing to undo this vicious cycle. Then, Jesus came and embraced all the bad things in His cross and made them fruitful again in His resurrection. Now, He ascends into Heaven and before He goes, He makes sure that His blessing remains. Ascension reminds us that we have the mission to name goodness and allow ourselves to become blessings to others. Only by becoming a blessing, we may heal ourselves, our family, our society and our world.

Bro. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

God’s Love Transforms

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Sixth Sunday of Easter. May 1, 2016 [John 14:23-29]

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him (Jn 14:23).”

god love never failsOne day, I had an opportunity to converse with one of our security personnel at our convent of Santo Domingo. I asked him if he sees God, what question would he ask of God? His answer went beyond my expectation. In Filipino, he would say, ‘Panginoon, Mahal mo ba ako?’ [Lord, do you love?] Surprised by his question, I inquired further, ‘Why that question?’ He replied in Filipino, ‘Brother, I am poor person with a lot of problems. Sometimes, I don’t really feel His presence and love.’ I realized that his question is not only single isolated case, but question of many people.

At times, we are asking the good Lord, why is life full of suffering and problems despite our faithfulness to God. We attend mass every Sunday, we pray the rosary everyday, and we never fail to be good Catholics, yet our lives seems never getting better. We continue to face many problems, from financial problems, health issues to relationship brokenness. We then ask God, ‘Lord, do you love me?’

The Gospel constantly tells us that God loves us. But, often we do not see how God loves us. Why? Because we expect a different kind of love. We expect that if we are good, we are obeying His rules, then everything will be fine. But, God is not like a spiritual ATM that grants instantly our wishes as we insert correct spiritual card of prayers and place the right spiritual code of living. But rather, God’s love works deep inside us and transforms us into His own love. God is not created in our image, then we need to stop forcing Him to be like us. Our prayers, our good works, and our faithfulness to God does not mean to give us an instant solution to our problems, but they are God’s ways to gradually form us to be like Him.

Jesus’ love did not liberate Israelites from the oppressions of the Roman Empire, nor He give them prosperity that the Jews longed for. His love rather transformed those people around Him to love like God. The disciples, despite their weakness and sufferings, gradually became more and more loving, and finally made a final sacrifice for the love of Jesus and others. Peter, the leader as well the most problematic apostle, denied and ran away from Jesus, but he progressively learned to love like Jesus. When the final moment came, he gave also his life for Christ and the Christians in Rome.

As I bide a goodbye to Manong guard and went back to seminary, I handed him a food I brought from the mall. Upon receiving the food, he said to me, “Can I share this food with some of the poor kids outside the Church?” His gesture astounded me and yet was heartwarming. Being a security guard in Metro Manila, was a dangerous job with little earning, plus so many problems I had to carry, yet his poverty did not prevent him to share a little blessing he had, a little love he received. He questioned the love of God, but he himself never stopped loving others. This simple man has become the embodiment of God’s love for others. The love of God transforms us more and more into His image, and without realizing it, we also have become the embodiment of His love to others.

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

A New Commandment: Love

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Fifth Sunday of Easter. April 24, 2016 [John 13:31-33a, 34-35]

 “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another (Jn 13:34).”

love one anotherThe first time God gave His commandment was on the Mount Sinai. To Moses and the Israelites, He made His covenant that He will be their God and they will be His People. And to live as a Holy People, God gave them the Law, famously called the Ten Commandment (Exo 19-20). Then, centuries after Moses, at the Upper Room, in old city Jerusalem, God gave His new commandment. This time, His Law is simpler and yet, more radical than the old one. Jesus handed to them the greatest command: Love one another as He has loved them.

John was called the beloved. Perhaps, it is because he was loved by Jesus in special way, but I believe, it is because among other disciples, John is the one who struggled the most to understand Jesus’ love for him and for all of us. Jesus’ love is extremely puzzling. In the culture of tooth-for-tooth retaliation, to forgive an enemy is unthinkable, but Jesus asked them to forgive them seventy times seven, to love them and pray for them! When society abhorred sinners, tax-collectors, and law-breakers, Jesus welcome them. Yet, He Himself demanded from them to repent and be perfect as the Father is perfect. When He was left alone, tortured and crucified, He manifested His greatest love as He forgave His tormentors. It does not stop there. The risen Lord came back and precisely to renew His love for His scattered and hopeless disciples. John then concluded in his letter, indeed God is love (1 John 4:8). He is not only loving, merciful, and forgiving, but love itself.

Why did God create universe, despite He is actually perfect and self-sufficient? Because Love cannot but share itself. Why did God trouble Himself by taking close care of His creations? Because Love means caring. Why did God make us human in his image? Because lLve begets another love. Why did God give us freedom despite the fact that we tend to abuse this freedom? Because Love cannot be true unless there is freedom.

Love is difficult and indeed, often full of sacrifices. Parents are struggling to understand and caring their teenage kids who are involved in drug addiction. A wife is fighting for her marriage that begins to crumble because of her husband’s secret affair. A parish priest is giving his best effort to educate his parishioners in faith despite so many criticism and misunderstanding against him. The movie Of Gods and Of Man is a true story of a community of French Trappist monks in Algeria, and they were eventually kidnapped and murdered in1996 by the terrorists. In one meeting, they were arguing whether to leave the monastery and the Muslim villagers they served, or stay and face uncertain future. One of the younger monks said to the Prior, “I did not become a monk to die.” And the prior answered back, “But you have already given away your life.” They finally decided to stay and continue to love until the end.

One time, I faced a profound crisis in my vocation. Honestly, I was confused: both to be a lay and a priest are holy and dignified call. Then, my formator would give this precious advice: “Bayu, choose the path that offers you more sufferings, because there, you may love more.” Indeed, love is tough and demanding, but only through loving, we can become the Disciples of Christ, that reflects His very image.

 Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP