Saturday, June 14, 2008

"Action and Suffering as Settings for Learning Hope"

Last night, I was the presider in the Novena-Mass in preparation for the parish fiesta. The theme chosen for the eight day was "Action and Suffering as Settings for Learning Hope." The themes for the nine days are actually taken from the recent encyclical letter of Pope Benedict XVI entitled "Spe Salvi."

This is my homily:

Many of us want to make this world a better place to live in. Many of us are engaged in action for justice, peace, poverty alleviation, environmental protection, to get rid of corruption. We want to get rid of the evils in the world.

Yet most often we realize that we are not accomplishing much. We experience so many failures and set backs. Despite of our efforts the evils in our society persist. What is worst is that we often suffer because of our actions. This can fill us with a sense of helplessness and sometimes we want to give up.

What keeps us going?

In his encyclical letter, Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict reminds us that action and suffering are the settings for learning hope.
It is hope that keeps us going. It is hope that prevents us from giving up, inspite of the apparent failures, setbacks and suffering that we go through. We keep on hoping in the midst of a seemingly hopeless situation.

What is the content of our hope? That in the end, good will triumph over evil, that the Kingdom of God in its fullness will triumph over the reign of evil.

Our actions and the suffering that we bear, no matter how insignificant and seemingly ineffective can make a difference to make the future better than the present.

Archbishop Oscar Romero once wrote:
“We simply plant seeds that will one day grow. Nothing we do is complete. This enables us to do something and do it well. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. We may never see the end results. We are workers, not master builders, servant leaders, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.”

3 comments:

apol legario said...

Hi father! Apol here. Lector. (katong nangayo sa kopya sa imo homily). Im becoming a fan. haha. Salamat sa homily... literally, salamat sa kopya. i posted it on my friendster blog too. hope its ok. gi-cite man tika, promise. bweheh. im contemplating on signing up for VSO Bahaginan GXP Program. VSO is a development org that aims to eradicate poverty and disadvantage. i was apprehensive kc i know that my career(so to speak) would have to take a toll if i should pursue. also, ultimately, i was worried of what my father would say. surely, he probably envisioned his daughter to climb the laddder of success at 24. unfortunately, walay ladder of success sa journeying with the disadvantaged. hehe. your sermon did it for me. it was the extra push that i needed. im in the process of filling out forms now. i'll probably ask fr. senen to be a reference, kung musugot.. hopefully, mapili ko... ipangampo ko pads... hehe. see you around. :)

Fr. Picx said...

Hi Apol. I glad to know that my homily has made a difference even in one person's life & future. We priests are not really sure how much impact we make on others.It is feedback like yours that keeps us going.

jogarde said...

Father, I agree with you regarding what our countrymen calls "HEROES". I appreciate what Manny Pacquiao is doing in boxing. But i do not consider him a hero. I am also an athlete but i don't consider boxing a form of sport. Why do they have to hurt others, physically, in order to achieve their goal. Is it because of "money". When money is involve, it is not a sport for me anymore.
Hindi pera ang magdadala sa buhay natin. Kailangan tayo ang magdadala ng pera para sa buhay natin.