Don Bosco Philippines South Province

Homily on Thursday after Ash Wednesday, 23 Feb 2023; St Teresa Chapel, Valladolid, Carcar City

Bag-o lang kita nagsugod sa panahon sa Kuwaresma.  Tungod iniin, gitangtang na ang mga buwak sa altar; ang vestments sa pari, violet na ang color. Ug kitang tanan nagsugod na sa pagpenitensiya.  Ang uban sa inyo naa pa siguro’y badlis sa inyong agtang, kay wala pa kaligo gumikan gahapon.  Actually for your information in the Old Testament and in the early years of Christianity people would abstain not only from eating meat but also from taking a bath for forty days. They would also put aside their usual clothing and wear sack cloths, sprinkle some ashes on their heads and keep them for the next forty days.  All these they would do in order to ask God’s pardon for all the sins they have committed.  Today we Catholics still continue most of these practices especially during this penitential period called Lent. 

Sa atong panahon karon, mao kini ang gitanyag sa Simbahan nga buhaton nato sulod niining panahon.  This Lenten program consists of three pious practices: (1) prayer, (2) penitence, and (3) almsgiving.  Sa bisaya, tulo sila ka letrang P: pag-ampo, pagpenitensiya ug paglimos.  If PPE was used against the corona virus during the pandemic, kining PPP is highly recommended to us Catholics as a strong defence against the virus of sin especially during this season of Lent. 

During this “tempo forte” the Church asks us to intensify these religious practices as our most fitting preparation for the coming Easter.  The keyword which I would like to highlight here is “intensify.” The call therefore of this season is that we become (1) more prayerful, (2) more patient and penitent, and (3) more compassionate and charitable.  In other words we are not only called to repent and make a return to the Lord but we are also challenged to be transformed and become more like Jesus Christ.  Giawhag kitang tanan dili lamang sa paghinulsol sa atong mga sala, kondili sa pagpaningkamot nga mahimong sama ni Kristo. And so in the next few weeks while we humbly acknowledge before God our being sinful we also accept Christ’s challenge to become holy and saintly.  It is true, we are sinful but by God’s grace we can surely become saintly.  Makasasala man kita, apan pinaagi sa grasya sa Ginoo posible gayod nga kita mamahimong mga santo.

Sa ebanghelyo nga nadunggan nato karong adlawa, si Jesus nagsulti sa iyang mga tinun-an bahin sa unsay mahitabo sa katapusan sa iyahang public ministry… that he would suffer greatly, be rejected by the authorities and be killed; however on the third day he will be raised up.  Mao kini ang gitawag nato nga “misteryo pascual” as it refers to the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection.  But what is God really telling us on this second day of our novena and on this second day of the Lenten season?  I believe God wants to make us aware of the real purpose of this 40-day period, which is precisely to help us prepare for the celebration of the paschal mysteries, nga kita maandam sa pagsaulog niining misteryo pascual, ang labing importanteng piyesta sulod sa tibuok liturhikanhong tuig sa Simbahan. 

In this season therefore, the Church offers us the opportunity to encounter God in a very special way. For the Bible says, it is God himself who calls us to make a return to him.  He says “Come back to me with all your heart.”  Kay ngano? He wants us to experience his infinite mercy. He wants to forgive all our sins, all our faults and all our failures. But we have to do our own part. We are asked to be more prayerful, to be more penitent and patient with pain and suffering, and to be more kind, charitable and compassionate to others.  Giawhag kita nga mahimong mas maampoon, mas mapailubon, ug mas maloluy-on. These are three virtues among many which Venerable Camomot alias “Nyor Lolong” manifested impressively when he was still alive and serving as a bishop.  Nyor Lolong spent hours praying fervently but he also gave everything he had to help the poor.

One day his nephew, after noticing how worn-out and dirty his uncle’s shoes were, gifted him with a brand new pair of costly shoes. However the next time his uncle came home again he noticed him still wearing the same old dirty pair of shoes. He eventually came to know from his mom, the sister of Nyor Lolong, that his uncle gave the new pair of shoes to the poor, because according to him “the needs of the poor are more important for him than his own.” Ingon ana gayod ang pagkamapailubon ug pagkamaloluy-on ni Nyor Lolong bisan dili panahon sa Kuwaresma.

If we want to imitate Ven. Camomot’s patience and compassion, we should imitate him also in his prayerfulness. Kay ang sekreto ni Nyor Lolong sa iyang pagkamapailubon ug pagkamaloluy-on anaa sa iyang pagkamaampoon. We can only be Christ-like in our patience and compassionate love for the poor if we are Christ-like in our trust-filled prayers and bonding moments with the Father.

One day the same nephew as a child saw something unexplainable about his uncle. “It was twilight when he saw his uncle Nyor Lolong walking back and forth at their balcony while praying.  He could not see his uncle’s feet.  He seemed to be walking without touching his feet on the floor. Was he floating? Was he levitating? So he asked his mom about it. “He will become a saint one day” was her reply to him.

By divine coincidence, today we also honor St. Polycarp. Kinsa man si San Policarpio? St Polycarp was the Bishop of Smyrna who was martyred on this day February 23 in the year 155 A.D. simply because he refused to offer incense in honor of the Roman Emperor (worshiped by the Romans as one of their gods).   But before he was executed, he was actually given a chance to renounce his faith in Christ.  With great courage he responded saying, “For eighty six years have I have served Him, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?”  After hearing these words the Proconsul tried to threaten him with the cruelest punishment he deserved. Amazingly Polycarp firmly replied by saying, “You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour, and is then extinguished, but you know nothing of the fire of the coming judgment and eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly.” Having said those words, he challenged the Proconsul by telling him: “What are you waiting for? Bring on whatever you want.”

Moved by savagery, then, the Proconsul ordered the bishop’s hands to be tied up behind him. Then the fire was lighted up slowly turning into a blaze. On his part Polycarp just looked up to heaven, and prayed. He showed readiness to be offered up as a living sacrifice to God, like a distinguished ram chosen from a great flock for sacrifice, sama sa usa ka karnero nga gihalad sa Ginoo.

Surprisingly those who were privileged to witness the execution saw a great miracle. While the flames were blazing, the fire suddenly shaped itself like an arch, and it formed a circle around the body of the bishop. Inside it, the saintly martyr looked not like flesh or barbeque that was burning, but like bread that was being baked. And he smelt with a sweet scent, like frankincense or some such precious spices.

When the Proconsul saw that his body could not be consumed by the fire, he commanded an executioner to pierce him with a dagger. When this was done and Bp Polycarp finally died, a dove was suddenly seen flying out of him, and blood flowed from his wound so profusely that the fire was extinguished. Napalong ang kalayo tungod sa kadaghan sa dugo nga nigawas gikan sa iyahang samad.

After that the centurion immediately took the body and publicly burnt it for fear that the Christians would take it and make it another object of their worship. Later on, however, the Christians came to gather up his bones, which they considered more precious than jewels and better purified than gold. And then they gave the bishop’s remains an honorable burial.  In that holy place a special devotion to Bp Polycarp began in the Church. Every year Christians would gather to celebrate the anniversary of his martyrdom with great joy and gladness. In the history of the Church St Polycarp became one of the very first saints who was publicly venerated by the early Christians with so much honor and devotion.

From the second century onwards we Christians have kept this tradition of honoring and venerating not only the martyrs but also Christians who lived saintly lives. And this is why we are honouring Ven. Teofilo Camomot today with these Novena Masses. By honouring him and many other saints we are actually giving honor to no less than Jesus Christ himself, whom the saints tried to follow and imitate.

During this season of Lent, may we be so empowered by the Spirit of the Lord to put up a good fight against every trial and temptation.  With this same Spirit may we diligently fulfil the Church’s Lenten program for this season:  to become more prayerful, more patient and penitent, more compassionate and charitable every single day of this season. And we pray in this Mass that through the intercession of St Polycarp and of Ven. Teofilo Camomot we may become more and more like Jesus, and better prepared to celebrate Easter.  GiGsss!

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