Together and go far

Excerpt of the homily of the Most Rev. Romulo G. Valles, D.D. during the 50th Fiesta Celebration of GKK San Vicente Ferrer at Palanca Village, Matina, Davao City, Philippines.

How beautiful our Catholic faith is because we believe that those who are among us, those who are human like us, who were graced after living in blessed can intercede for us and help us to enter the heavens. This is so that whatever difficulties, hindrances, obstacles in life, someone who is among us would show the way and inspire us. These people may not have direct solutions to our problems but they are there to encourage us to be still, hold on, and keep the faith. In that way, we will continue in living our faith.

Others have questioned us why do we not pray directly to God. Why do we have saints? Of course that is possible. But what they say is just new. Ours is original and tested.

We must not listen to them. Why is it that even until now, we sacrifice to be under the heat of the sun to join the celebration of our patron saints. That is because we are original.

Thank you so much to the young people because there are so many of you. You are next in line.

Early Sunday morning, at the huge Abellana Sports Complex in Cebu, we celebrated a mass for the youth, the celebrant was the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Gabriel Caccia, and he shared a line that really caught me from an African saying.

“If one wants to go fast, you go alone, but if you want to go far, go together,” he said.

As I reflected, I realized how true this adage is.

Indeed, if you want to go far, be a community. What a wise saying.

If you want to go fast, go alone but it won’t be that far. If you want a sustainable, a journey to forever, go together!

I think this is the philosophy, the principle of the Church. We want to go together. We want to inspire one another.

So, brothers and sisters, what is the principal source of faith especially in these times of Easter, and in the feast of St. Vincent Ferrer?

Each one of us, the vision and desire of God, through His Son, our Savior who as preached by St. Vincent Ferrer was that we all return to Him. All of us, no one left behind in His Kingdom.