Tag: English

True Healing

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13th Sunday in Ordinary Time [B]

June 27, 2021

Mark 5:21-43

In today’s Gospel, we encounter two persons who are seeking healing. One is Jairus, the synagogue’s official, who wants his dying daughter healed, and the second one is a woman who desires to be cured of her incurable haemorrhage. Both have done almost everything but in vain. Then, as their last hope, they turn to Jesus. They humbly beg Jesus and trust that Jesus can work miracles.

Often, we can relate to the situations of Jairus and the woman. Perhaps, like Jairus, we are panicking when we know our little children are having fever and experiencing pain. Maybe, like the woman with a haemorrhage, we are battling a particular illness. We try almost everything, spending a lot of money and enduring painful treatments, yet we are not getting any better. We realize how limited and fragile we are. We have no one to turn to but God, and we become instantly pious and start praying different novenas, attending the mass, and healing services. The thing is that while some of us may receive miraculous healing, some may not.

One of the best times during my seminary years is when I was assigned to the hospital as an associate chaplain. I had to visit different patients and attend to their spiritual needs. There, I talked to several people battling cancers for years. I listened to several men and women who were losing their kidneys and had to undergo countless dialysis. Initially, I thought I possessed the gift of healing, but after several intense prayers of healing, not much happened. I realized that I did not have the unique gift of healing, and it was a bit frustrating to learn that the conditions were not getting better. I finally asked, “why didn’t God answer our prayers?”

Yet, as I journey together with them, each one has a story to share and has a face to show. They were not just a man with cancer or patient B21, but a real person with real name and real life. It is only when I see deeper in each story, in each tear, in each pain, I gradually discover the presence of God. God’s love is felt through the care of selfless family members. His hope is heard through the effort of tireless doctors and nurses. His presence is inside those people who continue to offer me a smile despite the pain they endure.

Jesus indeed healed Jairus’ daughter and the woman, but He did not come to cure every illness in the world. His healing is beyond mere physical wellness. He comes so that we receive salvation and eternal life. He comes so that we may touch and feel God’s love in our midst, and His graces empower us to love beyond our imagination. Indeed, we may not find physical healing, but we may discover what is truly essential in life. Wealth can quickly disappear, success can be instantly blown away, and physical appearance can deteriorate, but faith, hope and love remain. Indeed, we may not see our beloved getting better, but we are allowed to love, serve and sacrifice beyond human limitations. In sickness and even death, if we have faith in God, we grow and find the fullness of life.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

The Lord of the Storms

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The Lord of the Storms

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time [B]

June 20, 2021

Mark 4:35-41

In today’s Gospel, Jesus and His disciples crossed the sea of Galilea. The lake of Galilea was a body of fresh water in northern Israel. The lake provided a fish famously named after St. Peter and a connecting water highway to different towns around the lake. It has become the socio-economic center of Galilea. No wonder many people living here were fishermen, including some of Jesus’ disciples. Many of them spent their adult lives in and around the sea of Galilea. The lake was their home and their livelihood. However, there were times that the lake behaved in unpredictable ways and turned to be a place of great danger. Even Simon and James, the most seasoned fishermen, were powerless before the mighty storm. Their home soon may become their graveyard.

photocredit: emeliano arano

The disciples saw Jesus sleeping, and indeed, it was a weird scene to behold. Yet, the disciples instinctively woke their Master up and expressed their fear. Jesus responded to their call and ordered the wind and the sea to calm down. The sea and the wind immediately obeyed! Jesus proved Himself not just as the wonder-healer, but He is the Master of nature and creations. In the Old Testament, only God stands above the mighty waters. Only God can control and command the ocean because God is their creator. Seeing this phenomenal display of power, the disciples became more afraid. They were not only facing the storm, but they are encountering the Lord of the storms.

Often, we are like the apostles sailing through our familiar territory, yet we suddenly face unexpected and crushing storms. We believe that we are doing fine in our works or business, but surprisingly the pandemic hits us hard, and we are losing our financial stability. We used to have a great family and relatives, but suddenly, we must face a bitter reality that covid-19 kills one of our loved ones. We are having a wonderful and growing ministry and community, but now, we cannot gather and serve, and we are losing our direction.

We are afraid, and we are disoriented. Perhaps, we need to do what the apostles did: to call louder and cry harder to God. Yet, to our surprise, the Lord of all storms is just there with us in the same boat all along. He allows us to face mighty storms, to test our faith. Yet, He never leaves us but just appeared to be sleeping.

As a priest, the most challenging moment in my ministry is when I need to preach in a funeral mass for those people who die an untimely death. What should I say to the parents? What should I offer when God seems to be silent? What shall I bring when prayers seem unanswered? As I struggle with the mystery of suffering and death, Iike the pious Job, I ask the Lord for the answer. And just like to the disciples, Jesus’ response is, “Why are you afraid? Do you not yet have faith?” Through these times of crisis and trials, we are called to have even greater faith to see that even the most tremendous storms in our lives are under His command, and these take place as His providential care for us.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

The Mystery of the Kingdom of God

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11th Sunday in Ordinary Time [B]
June 13, 2021
Mark 4:25-34

The Kingdom of God is arguably the core of Jesus’ gospel. At the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, His first sentence was, “This is the time of fulfilment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel [Mar 1:15].” Jesus’ mission is certainly to express love, save us from our sins, and so we will be able to partake in the life of God. To achieve this mission, He was establishing the Kingdom of God. Since Jesus is God, we can say that the Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of Jesus. No wonders, we celebrate the solemnity of Christ the King because He is the head of the Kingdom of God.

Yet, the real question is, what is the Kingdom of God? We shall go back a little to the Old Testament. In 2 Samuel 7, David was planning to build the house of God, the Temple in Jerusalem, but God, through the prophet Nathan, told David that instead of David constructing God’s house, it was God who would build the house of David. God promised that God would establish the Kingdom of David’s son, and the throne of his Kingdom would reign forever. However, if we learn the history, we are aware that after Solomon, the Kingdom of David was divided and declining. The northern Kingdom was demolished in 721 BC by the Assyrian empire, and the southern Kingdom was destroyed in 587 BC by the Babylonian superpower. Many Israelites were exiled and deported far from their homeland. Where was the promise of God to David?

Thus, when Jesus came and preached the Kingdom, many Jews were asking, “Is this the promised Kingdom? Is He for the real deal or just another mad man?” To the public, Jesus did not give a straightforward answer but parables. These parables both hide and reveal the truth of the Kingdom of God. For those who hated Jesus, these parables were just bizarre stories. For those who expected Jesus to be the militaristic messiah, these parables were confusing. ‘The kingdom of God should be like a mighty cedar tree, not like a mustard!’ However, for those disciples who believed in Jesus, these parables revealed the great mystery of the Kingdom.

Introducing the Kingdom of God like a mustard seed indeed shocked the people who hoped for the empires like Egypt or Rome. Surprisingly, the Kingdom of Jesus indeed behaved like mustard. It began with Jesus and His small and imperfect companions, but it gradually and slowly filled the whole world. The Kingdom does not conquer other nations with military and political maneuvering, and, like its head, the Kingdom has been subjected to countless cruel persecutions. However, despite the setback and trials, the Kingdom continues to grow and become the most prominent human community on the earth.

As part of the Kingdom of God, this is excellent news. We do not have to believe that we are majestic oak tree or mighty cedar and think that we can do everything with our strength. Otherwise, when we fail, we will get depressed. Yet, if we consider ourselves nothing but mustard seeds, we allow trials and failures to be part of our lives and let God work wonders. That is how amazing our God is.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

The Fullness of Love

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The Solemnity of the Body dan Blood of Christ [Corpus Christi] – B

June 6, 2021

Mark 14:12-16;22-26

The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ or Corpus Christi is the estuary of all the great feasts we have celebrated. We started from the great Holy Week and culminated in the Easter Triduum. Forty days after Easter Sunday, we worship Christ, who ascended into Heaven, and then He sent the Holy Spirit among the disciples on the day of Pentecost. And, just last Sunday, we gave our most excellent adoration to the Holy Trinity. Now, we have Corpus Christi. But, why this feast?

photocredit: annie Theby

Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church has recognized the importance of the solemnity of Corpus Christi. The entire economy of creation and salvation streams down to this mystery. God created the world so that the world may share in His love. However, men and women fell into sin and departed from God’s love. Yet, His love and mercy are infinitely bigger than our wickedness, and He commissioned His Son to take up human nature and live among us. Not only to become a human, but Jesus also offered Himself on the cross for our salvation. St. John perfectly summed up, “For God so loved the world, He sent His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in may not perish but may have eternal life [John 3:16].” However, it is not the end of God’s amazing love story! The risen Christ miraculously transformed into the Eucharist to become our daily bread. In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist, “the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained [CCC 1374].”

For those without faith, this bread is just a white tasteless wafer, but for us, who are called to eternal life, the bread is no longer bread but the fullness of Christ. When Jesus is there, the Holy Trinity is there as well. When the Trinity is there, the entire angelic hosts and choirs of saints are there as well. Receiving the Eucharist is receiving the whole Heaven, the eternal life. This is the will of Christ Himself, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, [Jn 6:53-54].”

The Eucharist is the proof of God’s love. It is not enough for God to become human, not enough for Him to die and rise for us, not enough for Him to open the gates of Heaven. He wants us to share His divine life and love now and here.

Yet, Heaven is meant to be shared. As Jesus shares His life and love in the Eucharist, we are invited to become little Eucharists in our daily lives. As Jesus nourishes us with His Body and Blood, do we nourish people with our body and blood? As parents, do we offer our bodies and blood to our children so that they may experience true heavens? Do we bring Heaven to our family and communities? Do we become the agent of love to our societies?

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

The Mystery

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Trinity Sunday [B]
May 30, 2021
Matthew 28:16-20

The mystery of the Holy Trinity is at the heart of our Christian faith. The Church duly recognizes that this is the mystery of all mysteries and the mystery of God in Himself: One God in three divine persons. While acknowledging that it is fundamentally impossible to explain the Trinity in this short writing, this simple reflection may help us appreciate the beauty of this sacred mystery.


Firstly, we need to recognize that this is the mystery. The Trinitarian mystery is not like mystery movies where the audience is kept in suspense and guessing until the film’s end. The Trinitarian mystery is not mysterious, as if there are many secrets and an atmosphere of strangeness. Far from being mysterious, the Trinity has been preached and proclaimed publicly since the birth of the Church. The mystery of the Trinity is like the mystery of love. The mystery is very real, and yet we do not have the intellectual capacity to grasp it fully. Often, we do not understand why this pretty woman falls in love with this not so handsome guy, yet the love between the two is undeniable. The same with the mystery of the Trinity, we do not fully comprehend it, but it is fundamental in our faith and life.


Secondly, we need to see that we are invited to be part of that mystery of Trinity. This is what amazing about the true mystery. We may not fully understand it, but we are drawn to the mystery, and if we open our hearts, we will share in that mystery. Again, like the mystery of love, we often will not reach a solid logical analysis of the reasons behind a sacrificial mother’s love for her children. Still, we know that is true, and we are called to participate in that kind of radical love. It is the same as the mystery of the Trinity. St. Peter, our first pope, has declared that by the help of grace, we are to share God’s divine nature, the life of the Trinity [2 Pet 1:4]. St. Peter knew well the meaning of this mystery. Heaven is becoming part of this love that unites the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.


Thirdly, we need to do our parts to enter that mystery. Being part of the mystery is exceptionally precious because we cannot earn it no matter what we do. It is freely given. Like love, it is entirely free but never cheap. We cannot force someone in return, yet when we receive the love, we need to do our part to grow into that love. Love is an utter gift to the other. It is the same with the mystery of the Trinity. God freely offers His friendship, but we need to do our parts to live and grow in this mystery.


We begin our lives in the Trinity when we were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but do we live and grow in this mystery? When we make the sign of the cross, do we mean to become the sign of the Holy Trinity in our lives? We are blessed in the name of the Father, and Son, and the Holy Spirit, but do we genuinely turn to be a Trinitarian blessing for others?

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

The Holy Spirit and Us

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Pentecost Sunday [B]

John 20:19-23

May 23, 2021

The Pentecost is the feast of the Holy Spirit. We are celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Church, and this event commences the age of the Holy Spirit. With the help of the Holy Spirit, the disciples slowly grew and gradually expanded into the biggest community in the world. However, among the three divine persons, the Holy Spirit is often left behind and sometimes misunderstood. Surely, this reflection does not and cannot cover the entire subject of pneumatology, but it offers us a little piece of information that hopefully will lead us to gratitude.

Firstly, Faith in Jesus Christ is fundamentally a gift of the Holy Spirit. St. Paul reminds us that without the help of the Holy Spirit, we will not believe in Jesus as our Lord and God [see 1 Cor 12:]. To believe in a creator and almighty God may not be difficult because our mind can discern His existence. However, to believe in the God who took the human nature in the womb of a humble woman, and eventually suffered death on the cross is just beyond human ordinary reasoning. This Jesus did not stop on the cross, but He rose from the death, and decided to be present sacramentally and really in the Eucharist. The God of the universe become a small white host! Without this supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit, it is naturally impossible to have this extraordinary faith. Yet, for those who have the gift of faith, believe in Jesus seems as natural as breathing. 

Secondly, the Holy Spirit animates and strengthens the Church here on earth. Often, we mistakenly thought that the Holy Spirit only functioned when someone begins speaking in tongue. Yet, the Holy Spirit’s roles are more much massive and fundamental that. The Holy Spirit strengthens us in the time of trials. That’s why we ask for the gift of fortitude. The Holy Spirit enlightens us when we are having hard time in understanding our faith and the meaning of life. That’s why we ask for the gift of understanding. These are just two of seven gifts of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the Sacred Scriptures that they were empowered to produce the Word of God. And, only the Holy Spirit can make the sacraments the means of God’s grace.

Thirdly, the Holy Spirit is the source of our holiness. The Holy Spirit does not only make the beginning of our faith possible; He does not only sustain and nourish our growth in hope, but He also gives spiritual fruits. For us who are persevering and relying on the Holy Spirit, we enjoy the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control [see Gal 5:22]. In fact, the eternal bliss in heaven is a gift of the Holy Spirit. We recall that the only sin that will not be forgiven is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit [see Mat 12:30]. The Church has taught us that this sin is the final impenitence [CCC 1864]. If we obstinately reject the works of the Holy Spirit within us, we throw insult to the Holy Spirit, and if until our dying breath, we close our hearts to Him, then salvation is lost.

The Holy Spirit is in the beginning of our journey of faith, He is present along the way and He grants the final gift of salvation. Praise be to the Holy Spirit!

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Sanctified

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7th Sunday of Easter [B]
May 16, 2021
John 17:11b-19

John chapter 17 is traditionally called Jesus’ prayer as a high priest. This prayer was in the context of the Last Supper and just before His passion and death. Jesus prayed to the Father and interceded for His disciples and all of us who believe in Him. It was a beautiful and powerful prayer.

Bl. Carlo Acutis


One interesting subject that Jesus asked from the Father is that Jesus did not plead that the Father took the disciples from the world but rather to protect them from the evil one. We remember that Jesus was soon returning to the Father in the ascension, but Jesus did not want them to follow Him yet. Instead, Jesus then asked the Father to sanctify the disciples in Truth.


To sanctify is to make holy. Often our understanding of being holy is limited to those people who already in heaven. We call them the saints or the holy men and women. Yet, the fundamental meaning of ‘to be holy’ is ‘to be set apart’. In Biblical Hebrew, the word for holy is “Kados”, and it has the same meaning. Therefore, to be sanctified means to be set apart for purposes. For example, holy water is not just ordinary water because it has been blessed and set apart from everyday use like drinking or washing. It is now only for religious purposes.
In His prayer, Jesus was sanctifying His disciples. Jesus was making His disciples holy, and He was setting them apart from this world, for the Truth. Though the disciples were in the world, they no longer belonged to the world. They were consecrated to the Truth that is Jesus Christ Himself [see John 14:6]. The disciples belonged to Jesus. Thus, they remained in the world, not because they enjoyed and attaching themselves to the world, but they were to preach the Truth and bring Jesus.


Jesus’ prayer is not only for His apostles two thousand years ago but for all of us. When we are baptized, we have been set apart from the world and for God. We belong to God. Yet, the same baptism makes us share in the mission of the apostles. We remain in the world because God sent us to bring Christ to more people.
However, the temptation is that we often forget how we are and believe that we are part of the world rather than belong to Christ. We are not only simply in the world, but we become too worldly. We become too attached to the world and busy with many temporal affairs. Indeed, I am not suggesting that we all enter the monasteries or turn to be hermits. We remain in the world as who we are now, as parents, spouses, workers, teachers, students, yet in all of these, we bring Christ. Thus, holy parents do not mean those who pray in the chapel 24/7, but who raise their children with dedication and bring them to Christ. Holy workers are not those who come to workplaces and mediate the whole day, but those who work hard and honestly.


We remember Blessed Carlo Acutis. He loved to go to Mass and pray the rosaries, but He was an ordinary student and a computer geek. He used his passion for the computer to establish a Catholic website to spread the devotion to the Holy Eucharist. If Carlo Acutis can do it, why can’t we?

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

The Holy and Good Shepherd

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Fourth Sunday of Easter [B]

April 25, 2021

John 10:11-18

  • photo by Steven Lasry

Often, we associate vocation with the vocation to the priesthood or religious life, become a priest, or become a religious sister. However, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, does not only call a few sheep to follow Him, but the entire flock. Jesus invites everyone to follow Him, and thus, everyone has a vocation.

The fourth Sunday of Easter is commonly known as the Good Shepherd Sunday. The reason is that every year, the Church always chooses the Gospel from John, especially chapter 10 [year A: John 10:1-10; year B: John 10:11-18; year C: John 10:27-30]. In this chapter, Jesus introduces His identity as the Good Shepherd. This Sunday is also famously called the Vocations Sunday. In 1964, Pope Paul VI established the World Day of Prayer for Vocations on the fourth Sunday of Easter. Why ‘Vocations Sunday’? The word ‘vocation’ comes from the Latin word, ‘vocare’ that means ‘to call’. In the same Gospel, Jesus says that the shepherd ‘calls’ his sheep by name and they hear his voice [see John 10:3-4].

Generally, in the Church, we have the clergy and the laity. The clergies are those who received the sacrament of Holy Orders or ordination. Under this group are the deacons, priests, and bishops. Meanwhile, those who do not receive the ordination are the laity. Under this distinction, we have married people and those who remain single for the Lord. There is also a special category, that is people with vows. Traditionally, we have three vows or promise to God, the vow of obedience, the vow of chastity and the vow of poverty. Christians who professed vows usually belong to communities [technically called institutes of consecrated life] like the Order of Preachers, the Society of Jesus, and many others. When a laywoman professes vows, she becomes a religious sister of a specific community like Sr. Maria, OP. When a priest has vows, he is called a religious priest, like Fr. Joseph, OFM. A priest who does not profess vows and attached to a diocese is called a diocesan priest. Indeed, these categories are oversimplified and fail to do justice to many other forms of lives within the Catholic Church. The point is that the Good Shepherd is calling all of us to follow and to be with Him. It is a universal call to holiness.

Yet, what is holiness? Does it mean when a man is ordained to be a priest, he is automatically holy? Is wearing a religious habit a sign of holiness? Is constant prayer and piety manifestation of holy persons? If holiness is following and becoming one with the Good Shepherd, then to be holy is to live and act like the Good Shepherd Himself. What, then, is the main character of the Good Shepherd? Jesus tells us, “The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep [John 10:15].”  The Good Shepherd is ‘Good’ because His love is radical and sacrificial.

To be holy is to love radically and sacrificially, and true love is performed every day in every way possible. Holiness is when a man works hard every day for his family. Holiness is a mother who cares for her baby and ready to lose her sleep every night. St. Theresa of Avila used to say, “Know that if you are in the kitchen, God walks among the pots and pans.”

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

The Glorious Body

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Third Sunday of Easter [B]

April 18, 2021

Luke 24:35-48

Miracles are rare occurrences, but some are even rarer and more precious than others. Miraculous healings are exceptional but coming back to life after death is even extraordinary. However, there is one miracle that is wholly unique and incomparable: resurrection. Yet, what makes resurrection different from other miracles?

Resurrection presupposes death or permanent separation between body dan soul. Thus, resurrection is the reunion of body and soul. Our Gospel today informs us that Jesus showed His disciples His body as well as His wounds. He wanted to show them that what disciples experienced in the upper room was not an illusion or fantasy. They did not see a ghost or disembodied spirit. What they encountered was a living human body.

Moreover, the wounds prove that the resurrected body of Christ is the same as the crucified body. He was not an imposter! Jesus even asked for food and ate the baked fish. He acted just like an ordinary living person, and the disciples should not be afraid anymore but believe.

However, Jesus’ resurrection is fundamentally different from what happened to Lazarus [see John 11]. Lazarus was dead, but Jesus raised him from the dead, but Lazarus would eventually face death once more. What happened to Lazarus is usually called ‘resuscitation.’ Meanwhile, Jesus was raised from the dead and will die no more. The resurrected Christ will no longer experience death because He received no ordinary body. His body was a glorious one. It is the same body that Jesus received from Virgin Mary, the same body that walked in Galilee, the same body that preached to the disciples, and the same body that was tortured, crucified, and buried in the tomb. Yet, the divine power has transformed this body.

What makes this glorified body unique? Firstly, this body is immortal. Secondly, it is no longer experiencing suffering like pain, sickness, or aging. Thirdly, the body will be subjected to the laws of nature and freed from the limitation of time and space. This explains why Jesus was able to enter the locked upper room [see CCC 645]. Fourthly, the body can change its appearance. This explains why the disciples often did not recognize the risen Lord. Resurrection does not only about the reunion between the soul and the body but about the body glorified and sanctified for eternal life.

The reality about the resurrection amplifies the fundamental truth about our bodies. The Book of Genesis narrated that God created the physical world as something good. Human persons, including their bodies, were blessed, and called ‘very good.’ God plans that His magnificent creation will not go to waste in death and decay. He wills that this amazing and blessed body continue to exist for eternity and become part of His marvelous heaven.

From this realization, do we prepare our bodies for heaven? Do we abuse our bodies with unhealthy lifestyles? Do we use our bodies to honor God in prayer and good works? Do we destroy our body, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, with vices and addictions? Do we offer our bodies as a living and pleasing sacrifice to God?

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Easter Joy

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Easter Sunday [B]

April 4, 2021

John 20:1-9

photocredit: Larm Rmah

Jesus has risen! Alleluia! He is indeed alive, and we have reason to celebrate and rejoice exultantly. From Palm Sunday till Good Friday, we have witnessed the most excellent drama at the center of our faith. Jesus was received as a king by his people, who would eventually condemn Him. He gave up His body and blood to His disciples and brothers, who ultimately sold, betrayed, denied, and abandoned Him. He was innocent, yet He was condemned as a criminal and suffer horrible death on the cross. He is God, but He was buried just like any man. Yet, these dreadful things are not the end of the story. There is a marvelous twist! He rose from the dead and conquered death—his love triumphs over hatred and sin.

The good news is that Jesus’ story is real. His story is radically different from the box-office-hit movies like the Marvel series. The Avengers may dramatically defeat Thanos and resurrected the missing half of humanity, but they remain the great work of fiction. Jesus is real, as even more real than all of us. And because He has risen, our faith in Him is not in vain. We are saved, and we are redeemed. This is the unshakable foundation of our joy! Blaise Paschal, a Catholic French Philosopher, once commented, “Nobody is as happy as a real Christian.”

Yet, what does it mean to be joyful in our world now? Many of us are still struggling with pandemic covid-19, and we are not sure when this will end. Some of us are losing our beloved ones, and others must face an uncertain future due to economic meltdown. We are becoming more unsure of our lives. What should be joyful? We need to see that joy of redeemed people is not simply fleeting good feelings or outbursts of emotions. If we know this kind of sensation in the Church, we may get disappointed.

To have faith in Jesus means we believe that our lives will eventually make sense in Jesus. Thus, our joy is coming from following Jesus, participating in His drama of love and redemption, including in His cross and death. Jesus’ suffering is not the suffering of a helpless victim but a courageously loving man. Jesus’s death is not the death of a sore loser but a total sacrifice of the lover. Jesus loves us to the fullness, and absolute love demands death. In Christ, our suffering is not a sign of our weakness but our radical love. Our joy is following from the truth that we discover that in Christ, we are created beyond ourselves, but for the infinite love, for God Himself.

In this time of crisis, we may endure more uncertainties, but we may have this moment to die to our illusion that wealth, position, and power can save us. In this time of trials, we may face more hardship, but we can turn this opportunity to love deeply and even to offer ourselves in Christ.

On March 27, 1996, seven Trappist monks were kidnapped from the monastery of Tribhirine, Algeria, by the extremist group. All eventually murdered. They had been warned to leave the monastery as Algeria’s situation worsened, but they refused to go because they wanted to be with the people they served. Brother Christian, the leader, wrote in a letter, “I am certain that God loves the Algerians and that He has chosen to prove it by giving them our lives. So then, do we truly love them? Do we love them enough? This is a moment of truth for each one of us and a heavy responsibility in these times when our friends feel so little loved.”

Happy and Blessed Easter to all of you!

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP