Do Whatever He Tells You

(Excerpt from the Homily of Most Reverend Romulo G. Valles, D.D., on the 20th Parochial Fiesta of the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Bangkal – February 11, 2023)

Busa karon niining atong fiesta, Viva Maria, unsa ang murag take-away nato? Unsa man ang good news? Unsa man ang mga butang nga maka palig-on sa atong pagtoo diha kang Kristo? Unsa man ang buot ni Mama Mary nga atong mapamalandongan, reflection karong adlawa?

Nia akong humble offering from the liturgy today. Una, angay natong hinumdoman nga si Bernadette Soubirous, teenager, batan-on. Consider another popular apparition, Fatima, mao rana sila, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Fatima. Labaw pa sa Fatima, ang gipakitaan sa Mahal nga Birhen mga bata. Lourdes og Fatima, all very young people. Yet ang Lourdes ug Fatima has been for years naka inspire sa pagtoo sa tanan nato, bisan mga tigulang. Yet those events, Lourdes and Fatima, the grace of God through Mary were caught, nadakpan, nahangop, nadawat through young people. Busa karong adlawa, challenge sa inyong parokya, kitang mga tigulang: di lang ta maghunahuna sa atong kaugalingon apan mutabang kita sa mga young people sa atong parish, that they will be blessed to have the ears and eyes and heart of Bernadette Soubirous ug katong tulo ka bata sa Fatima, si Jacinta, Lucia ug Francisco. Mandato sa atong parokya diay, kining next generation, your sons and daughters… tabangan nato sila to be ready, to be disposed, maanad sila to be, very receptive, anad sila sa ilang listening, sa ilang heart, sa ilang mind to see the presence of God through our Blessed Mother in our lives today.

It is said, by the way, that as a Catholic nation, we are a very young nation, ang atong Catholic population is mostly young people. Therefore today’s feast, nagdala sa atong attention nga unta daghan sa atong mga batan-on mahisama ni Bernadette Soubirous nga ready, andam, disposed nga makakita sa wonderful things of the Lord present today.

Ika-duha nga take-away nato, ang first reading today maayo pagkapili, from the book of Genesis, taas kaayong sturya sa first reading karon. And what do we have in this reading? It is a reminder today for us today, led by the Blessed Mother that our faith is a constant battle. Dili ni ngisi-ngisi, dili ni sa inEnglish pa walk in the park. Sige tag away, sige tag bantay kay ang yawa sama sa bitin, nga mopaak kanato. Dili maayo, dili healthy sa mga matuohon nga daw way kuyaw ning kinabuhia, no, it is a constant battle. sometimes hopeless battle kay bangis ang atong kaaway. Dinhi mosulti ko kay World Day of the Sick, kamo ug ako nasayod nga ang sakit, sobra pa sa bitin. Mawad-an tag paglaom, muhilak kita, way labot sa kapobre tinuod na, bisan dato mao ra. Sickness grabe, mo-away kita’s sickness. Ang sickness is already a struggle in itself pero to be sick without care and love, double jeopardy. Pero I have seen brothers and sisters, grabe ang sickness, devastating sickness but if that person is surrounded by love and kindness and patience, day after day that person becomes stronger than the sickness.

It is a constant battle but our power, our strength, like Mama Mary is to be the with the Lord.

The third lesson, very close to the second one my dear friends as we celebrate our faith in this fiesta. From the gospel, Mary said “do whatever He tells you.” Busa my dear friends, kon World day of the Sick ang hisgutan, kon ang mga challenges sa parokya ang hisgutan, sa atong mga struggles, sa atong mga kakulang we have many. The guiding voice today, the good news today, the guideline today is what the Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Lourdes told the servants in today’s gospel, “do whatever He tells you.” That is the standard, nothing more, nothing less. It is not being perfect in what you do, simply be faithful.