Holy Joy and Eternal Gladness

(Homily of Most Rev. Romulo G. Valles, D.D., Archbishop of Davao during the 14th Sunday in Ordinary time at San Pedro Cathedral Parish, July 9.)

“O God, who in the abasement of Your Son, have raised up a fallen world, fill your people with holy joy; for on those you have received from slavery to sin, you bestow eternal gladness.”

We are reminded that particular brand, particular color, particular menu, particular taste, holy joy, eternal gladness.

Today, ang atong gladness duha ra ka oras, ang atong gladness kutob ra sa bag-ong edition sa cellphone pagkahuman wala na, daan na. In the first reading, from the prophet Zechariah, ang context dili glorious, ang context ang Israelites, jittery, walay klaro, very difficult times, they don’t know what will happen. But sometimes our faith of that holy joy and eternal gladness can be shaken. It is a reminder for us today, we have holy joy, eternal gladness unta salamat sa Dios, because of our faith, connectedness to the source of the joy.

In the second reading, from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans, we hear St. Paul encouraging those who were still fledging in their faith, “if only, the spirit of God dwells in you, you can stand, you’ll be firm.”

In the Gospel of St. Matthew, we get a kind of video on how Jesus prays, as if nakasilip ta unsay gisulti ni Jesus sa iyang prayer. My dear friends, how many times have you felt, nga ang pagka-Kristyanos, ang pagka-Katoliko is really gibinuangan sa kalibutan? I have felt that we are the little ones, dehado. We become little, compared to the wise and the learned in the world.

It is Jesus, through Jesus, in Jesus, in His spirit, that we come to know, joyfully, gladly, take these thruths into our lives. For those who would use their reason only, it’s difficult to accept the mysteries of faith, but for those who can be open to the spirit, these mysteries are quite easy to integrate into our lives and we become in Jesus and through Jesus, God’s children.

Therefore, if God sees us today, as sinners as we are, as limited as we are, as sinful as we are, when we gather like this, we give joy to Jesus.