Members of One Body

(Homily of Most Rev. Romulo G. Valles, D.D., Archbishop of Davao during the Pentecost Sunday May 28, 2023 at San Pedro Cathedral.)

• The question: What way would help us appreciate this great Solemnity of the feast of Easter?
• We call this feast “Penetecoste” Dili lang 50 but ika 50th. This is because 50 days paatras sa Passover, what we called pagkabanhaw sa mga Kristyanos, 50th day karon.
• Sa ika-50 days, naay harvest ang mga Jewish.
• Sa ika-50 days, a big day for them to bring their halad for the harvest.
• Iremember sa mga Jewish kada tuig sa ika-50 days human sa Passover the giving of the law to Moses.
• The Lord has given them the 10 directives and strong guidelines for them to keep themselves people of God.
• Now, the giving of the Holy Spirit–a new mode of law given to us.
• The Lord said in His word, I will not leave you–this can be confusing. The Lord means to say that He’s gonna give us His Holy Spirit, and that wherever we go, He’s always here with us.
• The Word of the Lord tells us and for one spirit that we are all baptized into one body–the Church.
• With the coming of the Holy Spirit, we should deeply consider the two truths. First, we become part of the mystical body of Christ. We interact with one another. No one is walang kwenta, appreciating the grace of being a member of the body of Christ.
• Now, isip nickname sa karon nga adlaw ang birthday of the Church, let us also thank the Lord for the grace of Baptism and take this time to evaluate how strong is our connection to each one in the Church.
• The Church is the body of Christ. We should remain here.
• Let us always thank the Lord for His grace that binds us together including the weak and unworthy ones.
• The Apostle Paul tells us the two (2) graces: Me becoming a member of the body of Christ, now a child of God (inside); and grace of service (outside).
• Teaching, healing, disciplining, and caring–these are the acts of the ‘outside’ grace.