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posted by Dennis-Emmanuel Cabrera at 5:10 AM

The continuation of posts in this blog will be
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posted by Dennis-Emmanuel Cabrera at 2:41 PM

The Sacraments of Healing

Many Catholics often do not really see the strong healing power the sacraments of reconciliation and the sacrament of the anointing of the sick can do for our journey to wholeness and healing. Often, we rely mainly on medications and what the physician or doctor tells us. This is true and important certainly, but we have to see that our ailments and illnesses have some rootedness in the sickness of our spirit and soul. That is why, when some of us really take seriously the sacraments of reconciliation and anointing of the sick, these people can really vouch for us that they have felt much better and begin to have a more serene and positive outlook towards their health and life.

Healing and wholeness are part of the journey to holiness and towards the direction of God, who shepherds us more and more into His life of grace and peace. This does not mean though that those who are sick do not take their medications or go to the doctor to consult with regard to what they feel that is bothering them. Medicines and medications are for the body; just like food is necessary for the body to maintain its systems. Medications and medicines are to help the body heal its systems. But to really journey into the fullness of life and wholeness, our spirits and souls must bare themselves before the confessional and before the priest who gives the anointing of the sick. When the soul is bared and our sin is exposed to the light of God's healing grace, the light of Christ dispels the darkness in our souls and spirits.

In this time of Lent, we are asked to return to God and repent from our sinful ways. When we do so, we find that we shall even journey into a wholeness and integrity that also includes the body. The more we take into serious consideration our obligations to fast and to abstain, the more we are called to a closer relationship with God. And the closer we are to the Light Himself, the more we are directed and shepherded to a quality of life that exudes His love and His peace.
posted by Dennis-Emmanuel Cabrera at 7:15 PM

Reflecting on the Miracle of the Loaves

The miracle of the loaves is a prefigurement of what we now have in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Just as Jesus multiplied the few loaves and fish into food that fed thousands of men including their wives and children, so Jesus continues to feed the world today with his body and blood in the Eucharist.

As a communion minister, I am often awed by the fact that Jesus did perform such a miracle. Sometimes I am tempted to think that what probably happened was that the loaves and the fish were blessed and broken into pieces by Jesus and the apostles in such a manner that they were so little - like morsels - and because of the spiritual power in those morsels, it satisfied and gave strength to the thousands of men and women that day. Those morsels were so blessed with Christ's spirit that it was enough to encourage and give strength to the thousands who were hungry. This may have happened but what really transpired during those days we do not really know. The Eucharist and the miracle of the loaves is a mystery. It is a mystery rooted so much in God's divine power. It takes much faith to see this and great spiritual sight to believe in such a wondrous and awesome feat of Jesus. But faith is a gift that we can receive if we pray for it and ask intently from God. Faith is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

As I distribute the communion when the priest hands me the ciborium, I remember the early apostles who distributed the loaves and the fish which Jesus multiplied. Sometimes the people who line up for my giving of the communion are so many that I feel anxious because the hosts in my ciborium might not be enough for them. When the line is still long and I see the hosts in my ciborium getting few, I pray and then start halfing my hosts. Sometimes there are so many communicants that I have to break my hosts in fourths. There are times when I do run out of hosts. I just refer the people in the line to the minister next to me who still has hosts. However, I try as much as possible to anticipate how many people will line up for my giving of communion. In this way I am able to start breaking the hosts in halfs or in fourths at the proper time.

posted by Dennis-Emmanuel Cabrera at 2:43 AM

A Cubit More is False

In the book, Eight Days of the Spiritual Exercises, Fr. Florencio Segura, SJ, speaks about our common sin of adding a cubit more to our stature. This we often do through having more things or pretending to be more than what we are. He however, distinguishes between being more as persons through love of God and being in sin when we become more through the sense of having and pretending. He calls the "adding a cubit more to our stature" as the "plus" of sin and the being more as persons intended by God as the "magis" of the gift of grace.

In our journey of life, there will be times when we will be tempted to add this plus of sin in our life. But even if we do so through a life of consumerism and deception, we can repent through the sacrament of Penance this sin of ours. And we must not be afraid to request the mercy of God because He calls not the righteous but sinners. Only after we become aware of the plus that we have added to our stature can we then realize our sin and repent and then live a new life towards love of God. This is a step we need to take before we can really be converted to a life that is in Christ and that is truly in His Spirit.

There is always hope. Hope always springs eternal. Even if we have sinned much, there is time to repent. There is time to ask for God's mercy and forgiveness. There is time to make amends. There is time to renew broken relationships. There is time to forge stronger bonds and ties of life and love with God. It begins and starts with the realization that we are really just a creature and God is our Creator. When we realize this and see how much we have really relegated God to the sidelines of our life instead of in the center, then we start to realize how much we are in need of God and that we ought to revere, serve, and praise Him as He ought to be revered, served and praised.

Advent is fast approaching. The solemnity of Christ the King will be this coming Sunday, November 20, 2005. It is a very opportune time to consider Christ as the true King of our lives. It is not political relationship, not money nor prestige, and not the pleasures of the flesh and the world that will add more to our person. It is acknowledging Christ as our King and the ruler of our minds and hearts that will save us from sin and lead us to life eternal in Him. And, as Advent approaches on November 27, 2005, let us take the opportunity for recollections and for time to slow down and reflect where we are in our Christian life journey. It is a time to go back to the Lord and see Him as we ought to see Him: as a God who has sacrificed much that we may live life in all its fullness and receive the promise of our salvation.
posted by Dennis-Emmanuel Cabrera at 4:46 PM

The Publican and Pharisee In Us

As we are called to approach the Lord in prayer, even if we may not be aware of it, we have in our being either the attitude of the Pharisee or the Publican. And often, when we pray and there are those who pray with us, we might see someone whom we despise and see as less virtuous than us. That is the Pharisee in us. At other times, we see more our sinfulness and seek mercy and forgiveness from God. That is the Publican in ourselves.

The ideal kind of person to be when we approach God in prayer, is always to be the Publican - to always have a sense of our being untrue and of having sinned against the Lord. Humility always sets us right before God. Pride will only be our downfall. Having the attitude of humility as the Publican will save us from further sin and corruption. If however, everytime we pray, we see ourselves as more virtuous than what we really are, then we are taking a dangerous course of action. We are stepping more and more into the realm of pride: saying to ourselves, I can be righteous and good on my own without the help of God's grace.

So, it is important to really see ourselves for what we really are so that we may pray as the children of Fatima prayed, "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, and lead all souls into heaven, especially those who have most need of Your mercy."

In these times when it seems that the world is heading towards more and more moral degeneration. And so many disasters dot the world. Especially now that we hear of the big earthquake in South Asia - affecting Pakistan, India, and Kashmir. And also of the many wars and conflicts that are all over the world. This is already a warning to all of us that the Lord is asking as to return to Him, to change our ways and seek His mercy and forgiveness.

As Catholics, one way we can return to Christ, is to return to a sacramental life, especially the sacraments of the Eucharist and of Penance. The sacrament of the Eucharist will help strengthen us to be more in communion with Christ and also with our brethren in order to stave off the temptations of the Evil One as he wants to deceive us into following the values of our unredeemed world and our unredeemed flesh. And if ever we have fallen out of the Lord's grace, we can always turn back to Him in the sacrament of confession. To seek God's mercy and forgiveness, we need to be purified of our sinfulness and pride.
posted by Dennis-Emmanuel Cabrera at 6:47 AM

The Eucharist is a Gift of Love

Many Catholics may not be aware of it but the Eucharist is a gift of love for us. It is the gift of universal love - a love that encompasses all peoples and all cultures. All are called to be part of the Eucharist. But to be part of the Eucharist the person must be baptized first into the Catholic Church. To be baptized in the Catholic Church entails undergoing the RCIA process. It is a beautiful and wonderful process by which a person is incorporated in stages into the Catholic Church.

In the Eucharist, we find how Christ loves us so much that He sacrificed His very life so that we may live and have life in all its fullness. He did this by doing the Father's will even if meant the pain and suffering of the cross. And so at the Last Supper, in all solemnity, he celebrated the Eucharist together with His apostles and told them to also live and celebrate the Eucharist in memorial of Him.

In our times today, not many attend Eucharistic celebrations. Because of the fast-paced tempo of life in the world, they see the Eucharist as taking too much of their time. But this should not be the case because the life that they are living is only temporary. The life that we are called to live in the Eucharist is not only for this life but also for the next.

In the First Friday Mass I attended to last September 2, our parish priest integrated the Holy Hour within the Eucharistic celebration. He constructed the celebration in a way that incorporated time for meditation accompanied by songs, both modern and liturgical, to help us in the process of meditating and praying. There were two couples in front of me. While a song was being played in the Church to help us pray, because the theme was about love, these two couples took the opportunity to kiss each other and make loving gestures to one another. This is good. Nothing is wrong about this. However, my opinion is that they can always do that outside the Eucharist. In the Eucharistic celebration, our focus must be on Christ. This is what happened though. Since their attention was diverted to one another, when the celebration continued on and much of ourself was called in terms of making more efforts to pray and meditate, the two couples left the Eucharistic gathering. Since they did not focus on Christ, their attention drifted to the world outside and so they left, probably tired and hungry since dinner time was approaching. If we do not take time to respect and love the Eucharistic presence of the Lord and place our attention on other things, then we will never really appreciate the Eucharist as a gift of love from God.

So, whenever we have the opportunity to attend a Eucharistic celebration, let us acknowledge one another's presence but keep the priority of our focus on the Lord's presence in the celebration. Soon, we will find the gift of love which the Eucharist really is. And we will be called to share that gift of love in many ways to others after we leave the assembly and are commissioned to live the spirit of the Eucharist in our families, communities, workplaces and schools.
posted by Dennis-Emmanuel Cabrera at 3:55 PM