Homily on the occasion of the opening Mass of the 26th National Convention of the Canon Law Society of the Philippines

To Bishop Jack Jose, the chairman of ECCL, and all of you delegates to this year’s annual convention of the Canon Law Society of the Philippines, thank you very much for believing in Fr. Junar Dela Victoria, your president, that it is safe and fun to have your convention here in Davao. As you can see the tag of Davao City is “Life is here.”

We welcome you in faith that is why our gesture of welcome is mainly this Eucharistic celebration. As we all know almost needless to say, it is in the Eucharist that we conceive again and again the beauty of our vocation and the beauty of our particular ministry in the Church.

It is in the Eucharist that we encounter Jesus in a very special way and in His presence. Now, how often it has been said, discipline under the law is what the Philippines needs, not mercy and compassion.

You are familiar with how the argument for that proposition goes. There are over six (6) million Filipinos in foreign lands, abroad. They pay their taxes, they wait for their turn and form a line. They know how to use the garbage bin. In a word, Filipinos abroad have respect for the law and consequently enjoy the rewards of prosperity within a well ordered society. Here in the Philippines, (in my own words) it is acceptable to escape payment of one’s taxes. Traffic is a mess because no one wants to wait for one’s turn. Litter and trash abound because garbage cans have been either stolen or ignored. In a word, Filipinos at home have little respect for law and thus are condemned to a backward, chaotic and economically depressed existence but if I may add, this is improving.

The logical conclusion, what we need is not love but law. Not more legislation but more effective enforcement of the law. Mercy and Compassion are luxuries we can’t afford. Strange but not a new mantra, that in fact is the same phrase mouthed by Pharisees and Sadducees of our Lord’s time. They believe that Israel’s most urgent need was to know and obey the law of Yahweh. For the law that was revealed through Moses and the prophets was no less the will of God as it was the foundation of the society they wish to establish. And so, those learned in the law like the Pharisees considered it their mission to teach the substance and complete details of the law to call for its compliance and enforcement and to keep reminding the people of Israel that the creation of the new Jerusalem to which all nations will look up to depended on their obedience to the law and the prophets.

But today, we continue to hear the words of Jesus, Our Lord, Be Merciful just as your Father is Merciful.