Ang kahulogan sa Kwaresma

(Excerpts from the Homily of Archbishop Romulo Valles during the Ash Wednesday Livestreaming Mass last February 17, 2021 at the Archbishop’s Residence Chapel, F. Torres St., Davao City.)

Una, niingon dinhi righteous deeds, when you give alms, when you manggihatagon – when you are giving, ayaw panghatag kay naay nagsunod-sunod nga kamera. Bishop maot man na imong example. Bag-oha pud na Bishop. Ayaw paghatag kay naay vlog, ayaw panghatag kay i-upload, ayaw na, external na na. Kon mohatag ka akong interpretation, importante mohatag ka, have a heart like that of the Lord, like that of God. God is manggihatagon, may camera o wala, ma-FB kon wala. Second nature, wala nanginahanglan og bayad ug publicity. When we give alms, kon manggihatagon ta, that is the nature of God’s children, that is very God-like. Mao nay tuyo karon giingon ni Hesus nga fasting. Kay kung second nature nimu na, mura’g ganahan ka maghatag-hatag katong imong kuyog nga lain og tuyo “ayaw sa kay shootingan raba ta; aw, naa diay shooting?” Kay kining usa wala naanad, hatag kay hatag lang pero naay mga alalay mingon mabutang ta, mag-vlog ta! Pero kadtong iyang nature na, diosnon nga batasan manggihatagon may flash o wala. Nindot nga timaan niining beginning of lent. When we try to recapture unsay tinood natong nature sa pagkabinunyagan.

Ikaduha, ingon when you pray ayaw pag-ampo nga tuyo pagpakita lang, do it in secret. Unsay pagpasabot niana? Kung mag-ampo ka sama sa akong giingon sa number one, giving alms make it second nature as it were. When you pray, you become really humble. What do you mean by humble, Bishop? When you pray, when you realized that there is somebody else. When you pray you realized that you’re being you, is dependent on that somebody. And for us who believe that somebody is God our savior, that somebody is the Son sent by the Father to be with us. When we pray dili lang blah, blah, blah pagpakita, we pray saying; Lord I am dust, Lord abog ra gyud ko, lapok ra gyud ko Lord, but please bless me and then I will live. It is humbling, but it is also the humility that strengthens our faith and it is a prayer that brings us all the more to recapture, to be reminded, to value our being sons and daughters of God, ang atong pagkabinunyagan.

Ikatulo, when you fast, when you do actions be reminded that requires efforts, dili ni ngisi-ngisi lang, effort to discipline. Akong tan-awon sa ikatulo, we come back to reality that easily you can forget to be manggihatagon. What do you mean by forget? To forget sa true manggihatagon kay usahay mohatag lang ta kung maka-reciprocate. Pero ang true ka manggihatagon bahala na you are like the richess and kindness of God, kinahanglan na’g discipline. When you fast be serious about that. When you pray that can happened to me, that can be happened to us nga careful lang ta sa outward dimension sa atong prayer. Discipline when you fast, be serious kinahanglan na, self-restraint. Sa ato pa ang usa ka anak sa Dios nagbantay sa iyang lakang, joyful, trusting but also marking his steps in this world. My brothers and sisters soon, again modawat kita sa maong nindot nga timaan. Remember, you are dust and to dust you shall return. Repent and believe in the gospel or come back to the Lord, go back to the Lord. And again, we hopefully at the end of lent will be so deeply touched, deeply humbled and deeply joyful. That once again this year we have appreciated again, we have got in touch with who you are the gift of our being baptized sons and daughters of God.