Prefigured to be Food for all

(An excerpt of the homily of the Most Rev. Romulo G. Valles, D.D., on the 56th Anniversary of the Shrine of the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague, Shrine Hills, Matina, Davao City, January 15, 2024.)

Without faith, without this trust in God, you will tell me “Bishop, di mao akong kinabuhi, di magsilbi akong kinabuhi, something kulang, I have again and again to bring myself to the Lord, to pray, to go to church, to express my faith in the Lord.” That’s why faith is a gift, and by looking at you I’m sure with Fr. Roy and the deacons, we are encouraged nga in our limitations, makasasala mi and then we give our lives to the Lord as priests, and then we see you manifesting your faith. Tama siguro mi, nga mag-alagad, pag-alagad sa simbahan, busa together with you we thank the Lord for the gift of faith. And not only in the Philippines, Filipinos bring this faith to many parts of the world, we are known as mga buhi kaayo nga Katoliko, many parishes in the world are alive because ang mga Pinoy in their parishes; Misa de Gallo, Sto. Niño, Lorenzo Ruiz, very expressive in our faith.

Ang atong Catholic faith ipakita sa daghang paagi, pero kining debosyon sa Sto. Nino is so beautiful, you know that. Now I’d like to say three lessons for today, takeaways, atong madala.

1. Ang atong first reading karon, kung namata mo sa Misa de Gallo, pasko ni nga pagbasa, dunay nindot kaayo nga message, for today let us again review the style of God, para makabantay ta, para ma santo ta, what is the style of God? According to Isaiah, “the people who walk in darkness have seen a great light, upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shown, you have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing as they rejoice before you as at the harvest as people make merry when dividing spoils, for the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulders, and the rod of the task master, you have smashed as on the day of median, for every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel in flames, for a child is born to us.” Be careful with the style of God, he comes to us like a child. We look for drama, we look for big things, always victorious, but that is a small thing, that cross, pildi mana ba, nanagan man gani mga apostoles, “di ni maong style sa Ginoo da”, nanginahanglan tag lig-on kaayo, hari kaayo, a child is born to us. Magbantay ta kay basin masipyat ta nga daw walay pulos. To be a child, to be helpless, to be daw pildi ning kinabuhia, watch for the style of God, to be holy, watch for the style of God. Be careful with the style of God, double take because lahi ang style sa Ginoo, daw dili kasaligan; a child is born to us.

2. A child, unless you become a little child, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Simple, but lisud ang takeaway. For tonight, for this fiesta, let us ask again, you have children, most of you have children, prangka lang, kana inyong anak, muingon ba kaha na, “naa ba kaha koy pamahaw ugma noh? Ugma naa paba kaha si mama, ugma inig mata nako?” Bisan pag musipyat ta, a child comes back to us, again and again. So today, the second takeaway on this fiesta, Jesus became a child to show us, the great trait of a child, totally dependent siya on the Father, so tonight simple lang nga takeaway, we ask ourselves, “are we like a little child?” Totally, dependent on the goodness of God, I repeat you have children, ang purity and wonder and strength of your children, atong experience nga day after day after day, they trust us and the same trait of a child is proposed to us, he became a child totally dependent on Mary and Joseph, totally obedient to the will of the Father, we expect miracles, tama kana but dependent gyud ang miracle on our faith, faith that totally bring ourselves total trust and dependence on the Lord.

3. When the child Jesus was born in Bethlehem part of the description of the birth of Jesus, he was placed by Mary on the pasungan, on the manger and the boy was wrapped in swaddling clothes. The early fathers of the church, duna silay description of the baby Jesus in Bethlehem, the manger is the place where ibutang ang pagkaon sa mananap, a place for food signaling that this child in the future will be our food the, Eucharist. Second, swaddling clothes, ingon sa mga early fathers, the swaddling clothes already pre-figured kadtong namatay siya, giliminan siya, meaning this child to give us food will first die on the cross, he will give up his life for us, so that we may attain life eternal. … That is why nindot kaayo kitang mga Catholics, devotees of the child Jesus, the boy placed on a manger in Bethlehem we come always to the mass, to eat the body of Jesus, he is our food and we are comforted because he was the one who faced that [cross] wrapped in swaddling clothes… he embraced that for us prefigured us. Therefore, kada misa nato, we remember even the child Jesus, in the beginning of his life on earth, signaled already as the baby placed on the manger wrapped in swaddling clothes that later on truly in the Eucharist will become our sacrifice and our food.