Deep Roots, Good Fruits
Homily on Saturday, 23rd Week in OT, 12 September 2026, DSC Chapel Talamban
Back in 1984 when we were still novices, every afternoon we used to work in our banana orchard at the back of the novitiate. One day while watering the bananas, I started wondering why one particular banana seemed to be sick while all the rest were very healthy and fruitful. Then when my Novice Master came and saw the undernourished banana standing with only two leaves, he told me to stop watering it, and he ordered me to quickly cut it down and uproot it. At first, I hesitated to follow him, as I immediately thought of the time and the effort I have already invested on caring for that banana. But when I realized that I was probably the one being tested on obedience, I carried out his orders promptly. And to my surprise, what I saw after uprooting the banana validated my Novice Master’s order. Its roots were already rotten and decayed, eaten up by termites and other insects. That explained why it was not bearing fruit.
In today’s gospel (Lk 6:43-49) we hear Jesus making use of ordinary realities like trees and houses in order to show how important it is to be well-grounded and well-rooted in life. Everyone can easily understand that fruit trees decayed from their very roots will never yield good fruits. Similarly, houses built on sandy ground with no solid foundation will never last long especially when flash floods or stormy winds come and blow against them, even if they have been standing for years after their construction.
And so, it is also with us Christians who follow Jesus closely. Even if we might be praying and attending Mass regularly for years, but if we keep doing these rituals only for a show, to gain a good reputation or simply to fulfil an obligation, then we will definitely remain fruitless. Sooner or later, we will fall. …depressed and devastated, not capable of standing up again or bouncing back in life.
Today, Jesus is calling us not only to follow him, but also to root ourselves deeply in him. He wants that He himself should grow in us until we become exactly like Him, to the extent that it is no longer we who live, but it is He who is living in us. This is the only way Catholics become saints in the Church, and heroes for society.
I conclude with this true-to-life story. Back again in 1984 a certain teenager was once found dead along the shores of Cavite. That was several days after he went missing during a camping of a group of Boys Scouts from Mandaluyong. It happened that while they were swimming along the beach, the underwater current suddenly dragged some of his friends towards the deep part of the sea. When he heard his friends crying out for help, he immediately responded. He swam towards his companions and tried to rescue each of them one by one bringing them safely to the shore. He succeeded to save all of them, except himself. While he was still in the water he himself was dragged away by a sudden underwater current never to be seen alive again.
This teenager was a Bosconian, a fifteen-year-old student of Don Bosco Mandaluyong. And his name is Roderick Flores. The Salesians recalled that as a student he frequently received the sacraments. He regularly attended Mass, frequently visited the Blessed Sacrament, and often went to confession. His priest confessor, known today as Bishop Francesco Panfilo, can strongly attest to this. In fact, according to him, Roderick would usually say to him in confession “…this is my 17th confession, and these are my sins” or “…this is my 23rd confession, and these are my sins.” By doing so Roderick soon developed a firm and solid youth spirituality enabling him to follow Jesus and become like Him even to the point of laying down his life for his friends. What he did in Cavite proved himself to be a real hero and a real saint worthy of emulation.
Through our participation in this Eucharist, may we too find ourselves more and more rooted in Christ, so that we may soon bear fruits in great abundance with beautiful virtues and countless good works. GiGsss!
