PART I “Do whatever he tells you.”

Excerpt from Archbishop Romulo G. Valles’ homily during the 46 TH Parochial Fiesta of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish last June 17, 2018 @ Bajada, Davao City.

Viva Maria! Viva!

We come to this particular Church, always conscious that in this Church, our devotion, our affection, our trust in the Blessed Mother is always renewed. Renewed in the sense or comforted in the sense or helped in the sense that she brings us to Jesus, a wonderful Mother.

That icon, she carries the Child Jesus… but come to think of it, maybe change the picture, she would carry us… change the picture, the blessed Mother embracing us, a gentle hand or both hands holding us… Holding us, touching us and carrying us, yes, with her strength… with the strength of her Son and that’s the beauty, the fruit when we say that she is our Mother, our Mother of Perpetual Help.

Mary said: “Do whatever He tells you.” That thought, line in the gospel has come to me as I’ve prepared in this Mass… at the foot of the cross, Jesus said to her: “Behold your son, behold your child, behold your children… You will be the mother of them all.” And here again is the truth, she says: “Do whatever He tells you.” But she gave and continue to give that beautiful example of doing what Jesus desires of her, she is our mother and being a good mother as I have been repeating she brings us to Jesus.

And if I may insert, being a Mother, in the Philippines, Mama Mary must be pained, must have tears in her eyes because three of the companions of her Son, three Priests were killed in the past few months. “Do whatever he tells you.” Three Priests who said yes, Jesus called them; be a Priest. Three Priests who struggled right to be faithful priests, companions of her Son, three killed recently. I am just bringing this up because we have a Blessed Mother in
this fiesta and I think it is not far-fetched to say that during our fiesta, a little bit, she is happy to see us, but our Blessed Mother has a little figure of sadness in her face because three Priests were killed who tried to do what Jesus has told them to do.

And so, let us ask our Blessed Mother and let us ask her Son that those who are responsible for preventing crime, those who are taking in charge of bringing criminals to justice, those who were involved in the whole thing of keeping peace and order that they would work hard, work night and day so that our trust will be restored… justice will be given to us, I think it is the heart of our Blessed Mother these days. So we pray for those who are helping us in this investigation.