TO LOVE IS PERSONAL

          TO LOVE IS PERSONAL.  This is the insight that came to my mind when I observed how the TITHING SYSTEM is being implemented in our Barangay, Centro 07, Tuguegarao City.

                                         

          At the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines, held in 1991, it was decreed that the ‘Tithing System’ be adapted in lieu of the present ‘Stole Fees System’.  The rationale behind this is to make the people understand that the administration of the Sacraments are not for sale.  Hence, the system of charging fees when the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Matrimony are administered should be eliminated and substituted with the Tithing System.

          The Tithing System is a way by which the parishioners are invited to voluntarily offer some amount regularly to the Church as an Act of Thanksgiving  to God for blessings received.  This love offering of the parishioners will then become the main source of funds to defray Church expenditures. 

          Since June of 2011, our Barangay (Centro 07) has been giving the biggest amount of Tithes  which has been offered during the celebration of monthly Community Mass at our Barangay.  This was gratefully acknowledged by our Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Gerard Ariston P. Perez.

          I have observed, however, that many of those who gave their love offerings were not present at the celebration of the Holy Mass.  They just gave their ‘tithe’ to an Area Coordinator, who in turn submitted these tithes at the Offertory during the Mass. 

          Reflecting on this observation, I asked myself if God would be pleased by this way of giving something to Him through someone else.  Since tithing is an act of love, manifesting one’s gratitude to God, I believe it should be done personally, because love is a person to person relationship.  One cannot love God through someone else, just as one cannot eat through another one.  In other words, LOVE cannot be delegated.  It has to be done personally. Hence, I believe that those who want to offer their tithes to God should be present during the celebration of the Holy Mass and give their love offering personally during the Offertory.

          For the proper implementation of the Tithing System I, therefore, see the need for some catechetical instruction so that it be correctly understood.  The emphasis should be made on the motive for this system, which is a grateful manifestation of love to God in response to His Unbounded Love.

By: Buddy Cagurangan 

February 26, 2012

DOING GOD'S WILL NOW

            DOING GOD’S WILL NOW MAKES ME HAPPY.  This is how I feel whenever I become aware that what I am doing is what God wants me to do now.

            In the Gospel today, Feb. 17, 2012, JESUS says: “If a man wishes to come after me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross and follow in my steps.  Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.”(Mark 8:34).

           For the past several days I have been experiencing real peace and joy whenever I am doing something that I believe is what God wants me to do.  It is a joy that comes from a conviction that it is God’s Will and, therefore,  it is an activity that pleases Him which gives me  an opportunity  to serve Him and thus manifest my deep gratitude for all the blessings He has bestowed on me.

              To paraphrase the words of Jesus in Mark 8:34, “TOTAL SELF-SURRENDER TO GOD IS WHAT PLEASES HIM”.  To me, this means:

1.  To sincerely desire to know what God really wants in any given situation.

2.    To be willing to do whatever needs to be done.

3.    To do it in the best way possible.

    While meditating on these words of our Lord Jesus Christ,  I was

 looking at the crucifix, and somehow I saw how in His crucifixion, death and resurrection He exemplified what He meant.

              Before His crucifixion Our Lord Jesus Christ prayed: “Lord, not my will but your will be done.”(Mark 14:36).  And so, despite all the sufferings that He had to undergo, He surrendered Himself to those who wanted to crucify Him.  He even prayed: “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”(Luke 23:34). 

             After his crucifixion and death, however, came the RESURRECTION.

This is the great mystery of God’s omnipotence which can overcome any evil and which is beyond the power of anyone to disregard.  Hence, to the total self-surrender that Our Lord Jesus Christ manifested God’s response was a GLORIOUS LIFE. 

             For me, therefore, I believe that a total surrender of myself to the Will of God now shall blossom into a Glorious Life of UNION WITH GOD FOREVER.

By: Buddy Cagurangan

February 19, 2012

JUST DO WHAT YOU CAN

            “JUST DO WHAT YOU CAN AND LET GOD DO THE REST”.  This is an advice I heard several times in the years past.   At present it is still ringing in my ears.   I believe there is much wisdom in it.

            Now and then I feel that my hands are full of several duties, assignments and commitments that I am expected to do or comply with.  Human as I am, I realize that I am finite and limited in my capacities to fulfill these tasks.  Even with my wholehearted willingness to do the best I can,  I realize that I can do only so much and the end result of my performance may not be always satisfactory. 

            I am reminded, however, by what I heard from a CICM priest, Rev. Fr. Clement Daelman: “God does not expect us to be successful, but He expects us to be always faithful.”   These words have, indeed, encouraged me to really just do what I can possibly do and leave the rest to God.

            Looking back at the past,  I realize that one’s productivity  and capacity to engage in various activities depends much on his physical fitness and strength.   While proper food, exercise, vitamins and a healthy style of living may help to maintain one’s vigor of life,  I have to admit that the phenomenon of aging has a toll of its own.  Hence, as I am now at the age bracket of Senior Citizens, being already 83 years old,  I feel that I am no longer as strong as I used to be at a younger age.

            Be that as it is,  I take to heart what the advise says: “JUST DO WHAT YOU CAN AND LET GOD DO THE REST”.  Therefore, everyday I size up myself and ask: “What is it that I still can do today to fulfill whatever task has been entrusted to me?”  Answering this question, taking into account my present capabilities, I then pray:  “Here I am, Oh Lord God, I come to do your Will.  You know me more than I know myself.   Help me to do the best I can with all the strength that you are giving me now.  I leave to You the rest.”

            With this frame of mind I feel at peace and no matter what may be the result of my endeavors I  pray : “Lord God, you know whatever I have done with all the graces You have given me.  I lift up to You everything.  If there are failures on my part, please forgive me.  If there is anything good that I have contributed through Your help, I offer it unto You for your greater honor and glory.” 

By: Buddy Cagurangan

February 5, 2012

THE IMPORTANCE OF PREPARATION

“Failure to prepare is preparing to fail”.  These were the words of wisdom from Ms. Tina M. Palma,  TV Announcer of ABS/CBN.   She make the remark after observing what transpired at the opening of the Impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Her words made me reflect on the importance of PREPARATION.

Indeed, for any event, big or small, preparation is needed, for  the success of any endeavor or  event depends much on the preparation  undertaken.

Looking back at past events, I could say that when time, talent and treasure were invested on the needed preparation, the expected event has been very successful.

Applying this in my own life, I consider my entire life time on earth as a preparation for the next life. I do believe that the next life is an intimate personal relationship of love with God as our Father.  To prepare for this kind of relationship, I believe that here on earth all my activities should be motivated by an unselfish love of God and geared towards the goal of being truly united with God.

There are certainly many different ways through which this personal relationship of love can be achieved.  For me, however, the simple way is to consider myself as God’s servant and all that I have to do under the various circumstances of my life should always be a service of love, in accordance with God’s Holy Will.

Hence, everyday, as I wake up in the morning, I pray: “Lord, God, what is it that You want me to do today.  Grant me all the graces I need to be able to serve You today with all the love I can give and in the best way I can, all for your greater honor and glory.”

By: Buddy Cagurangan

January 29, 2012

A STREET CLEANER’S REMARK

        A street cleaner’s remark made me reflect on the need for evangelizers.

         

      One day as I saw a street cleaner sweeping the road I made an observation: “Everyday there is always some dirt for you to clean.”  Then he remarked: “Well, if there is no more dirt there would be no more need of street cleaners.”

    

      The truth of this remark made me ponder on the mystery of evangelization.  Indeed, if this world were a perfect world where everyone is good and there would be no evil deeds, then there would have been no need for the Lord Jesus Christ to have come for the work of Redemption.  There would be no need for a Church to do the task of evangelization.

    

    The reality, however, is that there is so much evil in this world.  Men, abusing the gift of freedom are doing things that separate them from the love of God, focusing on their selfish interests instead of responding to God’s love by living according of God’s Holy Will.  Hence, the need for evangelizers to sow the good seeds of love and overcome the bad seeds of evil.

     That there is evil in this world created by God is, indeed, a mystery – a reality beyond human understanding.  Hence, the need for God Himself to redeem mankind from this sinful evil in this world – the reason for the Son of God, JESUS CHRIST, to become Man in order to break the cycle of evil and enable men to be reconciled with God thru the grace of Redemption.

      While JESUS initiated and continuous to provide through the Holy Spirit the graces necessary to enlighten and empower men to be redeemed, He, however, has instituted a Church , a community of believers, to carry out throughout the whole world the task of spreading the Good News, which is called “EVANGELIZATION”. 

      Hence, the need for EVANGELIZERS – people dedicated to the task of overcoming evil in this world through the Gospel of LOVE.

By: Buddy Cagurangan

January 22, 2012

HEAVEN IS SERVING GOD NOW

        “HEAVEN IS SERVING GOD NOW.”  This is my present concept of HEAVEN.

            

     The Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC) (No. 2102) says: “Heaven means the state of “being with the Lord” (cf. 1 Thes 4:17), enjoying the “depths of God,” the Father, the Risen Christ, our Savior, in their Holy Spirit, in the presence of the whole Church in glory.  We often call this state of seeing God “face to face” (cf. 1 Cor 13:12) the “beatific vision” because it causes unspeakable joy and happiness in communion with all the saints.  “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor 2:9).

        

        When I asked myself, however, the question: “What is it that would really fill my heart with the greatest joy?” my simple answer is: “TO SERVE GOD”.   This is premised on the following convictions:

1.   God is the Supreme Being in this world.

2.  God is the ‘Alpha and Omega’, the beginning and the end of everything  in this world.

3.  God is the Creator of the Universe, and everything depends on His creative power for its existence.

4.  God is LOVE  and He created the world, men in particular, to share His love and infinite happiness.

5.  God is the Source of all true joy.

6.  Serving God  is the best way for me to manifest my heartfelt gratitude for all the blessings He has bestowed on me and for all the other blessings He will bestow on me.

7. Right NOW, God is giving me an opportunity to SERVE HIM, by simply doing whatever I am expected to do in the particular circumstances of my life.

Hence, for me HEAVEN is simply SERVING GOD NOW, by doing everything

that I have to do in the best way I can according to His Holy Will.

By: Buddy Cagurangan

January 15, 2012

FOCUS ON THE WILL OF GOD

          “FOCUS ON THE WILL OF GOD.”  These are the words that came to my mind in answer to my longing for something that would simplify my life as I go about doing things, big or small, significant or insignificant, challenging or routine.

      The words of our Lord Jesus Christ then also flashed in my mind as I further pondered on the veracity or truthfulness of the said answer: “Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to me.”  (Mark 3:35)

         Life on earth is, indeed, a series of activities.  Day in and day out I do a lot of things, some planned, others unplanned.  Knowing why I should do each activity is important, for without an appreciation of the purpose I would be just like a robot doing things not knowing why I do them.  I realize then that ‘focusing on the Will of God’ is a simple way of making every act in  my life significant.

    This, however, requires an Act of Faith arising from the following convictions:

1.    That God is the Supreme Being who created everything in this world, and that without Him nothing can exist.

2.   That God is all- knowing and all-powerful, so that for Him nothing is impossible.

3.  That God is the ‘Alpha and Omega’, the Beginning and the End of everything in this world.

4. That God created the world out of love, so He can share His everlasting happiness to all those who would love Him in return.

5.    That Jesus Christ is God’s Son Who became Man to redeem men from sin and enable them to be reconciled with God.

With these convictions I base the rationale of focusing on the Will of God as a simple way of unifying all my actions towards a grateful response to the love of God for me.  When in all sincerity I do everything in accordance with the Will of God, I believe this is what pleases God, and this is my humble response to God’s love for me.

        In the past few days I have tried to be more conscious of focusing on the Will of God.  So, every now and then I ask myself: “Is this what God wants me to do?”  When I realize and accept that it is what God wants me to do, I then  try to do it in the best way I can to please Him.  This simplifies my life.


By: Buddy Cagurangan
Jan. 9, 2012

GIVE IT TO JESUS

               “GIVE IT TO JESUS.”  These were the words that came to my mind when a little boy extended his hand to me and begged for some money.  I then opened my wallet and gave a coin.  A further reflection on the said words brought to my mind the words of Jesus to those gathered on his right at the last judgment: “Truly I say to you: whenever you did this to one of the least, to my brothers, you did it to me.”  (Matt. 25: 40) These words of our Lord Jesus Christ is to me  the great challenge of Christianity.

The Great Challenge is, I believe, THREEFOLD. A challenge to my mind, to my heart, and to my hand.

1.    It challenges my mind because it demands a conviction that, indeed, every human being I meet is Christ’s representative.   Somehow I need to see in every person the face of Christ.  This requires from me a great act of Faith,  especially with those who cause some difficulties and sorrows in life, the so-called ‘unlovable’.

2.    It challenges my  heart for it demands a willingness to serve the needs of others.  In other words, it requires from me an unselfish generosity  in giving anything to anyone in need.

3.    It challenges my hand to be open and ready to act and do whatever is directed by my mind and heart.  A wholehearted decision should be put into action.

            The words “Give it to Jesus” made me recall also what is stated in the National Catechetical Directory of the Philippines (NCDP): “The heart of catechesis is not a doctrine, or a moral principle, or an act of worship, but a Person, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth”. (CT5)  This means, therefore, trying to see the “Face of Jesus” in every person I meet and serve him in whatever way I can.  How can this be done?

 How really could I render service?  The repeated 3 Ts – of Time, Talent, and Treasure, came to my mind.  Yes, I could serve someone by sharing my time – by simply making him aware of my love thru my presence.  I could serve by sharing my talent – doing whatever I could do within my competence.  I could serve by sharing my treasure – offering whatever I could give from whatever I have.

To be able to meet this great Challenge of Christianity I must humbly

 acknowledge my dependence on God’s grace.  I must admit that without the   grace of God I simply cannot meet the demands of those three challenges. 

By: Buddy Cagurangan 

January 1, 2012

THE GREATEST LOVE STORY

               The Greatest Love Story is what our Christian Faith tells us in the Mystery of Incarnation which we celebrate today – December 25 – the CHRISTMAS DAY.

            Time and again I have been wondering how such a LOVE STORY could happen in the history of mankind.  That man is created by God – the Mystery of Creation – is a reality that every right thinking man accepts.  That man is aided by God to become holy – the Mystery of Sanctification – is also accepted by all men of humble heart.  That God, however, has deigned to become Man, to live in this world for 33 years, and allow Himself to be criticized, to be scorned, to be condemned to death, to be cruelly scourged, crucified and put to death – the Mystery of Redemption – is, indeed, very hard for me to believe. 

            Scripture says, however, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that all those who believe in Him should not perish, but  have life everlasting.”  (John 3:16)

            It is said that the whole Bible is summarized in this Scripture verse (John 3:16)  It simply shows how deeply God loves mankind to the extent of becoming a man like us, so He could  carry the CROSS of SUFFERING and accept even DEATH, in order to obtain for mankind  the GRACE OF REDEMPTION FROM SIN and BE REUNITED WITH GOD.

            This for me is a LOVE STORY that astounds me, even as it is a story that has been told over and over again, orally as well as in writing not only in the Bible but in many other publications.  It is a story that has inspired and strengthened thousands of men and women to dedicate their lives to spread its significance, and embrace all the crosses, even death, to testify to its veracity and power.

            With all these observations, I cannot but bend my knee and say: “Oh, Lord, my God, I can never fully grasp the depth of your Love for mankind, for me in particular.  But with deep gratitude I do accept this Great Mystery of Your Love.  Please give me the grace to respond to your GREAT LOVE according to your HOLY WILL.

By: Buddy Cagurangan 

December 25, 2011

THE JOY OF SERVING GOD

               “THE JOY OF SERVING GOD” is to me the greatest joy that can ever fill my heart.  While there may be many others that could give joy to me, they cannot compare with the joy that comes from the privilege of ‘SERVING GOD’.

            This is the conviction that comes to me as I view the happenings in my life and search for the root cause of my joy. 

            First of all, the one thing that really fills my heart with joy is “SERVICE”.  When I know that somehow I have done something to serve someone in one way or another I simply  feel happy. 

            When I read the story of Sergeant Calaguas, a soldier who was honored with the highest Military Award that could be given to a soldier, so much so that when he wears this medal and meets a General, the General should salute him first.  When, however, he was interviewed and praised for his bravery, I was struck by his statement:  “I AM ALSO AFRAID, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO SERVING MY COUNTRY, I GIVE ALL I HAVE GOT”.

           

            These words of Sergeant Calaguas have been ringing in my ears,  and kept me reflecting on why a human being like him could sacrifice his own life for the sake of his country.  It is, indeed, in the name of “SERVICE’ – to fight and protect his country.  For this he was willing and ready to die… It was a JOY for him to do so.

            I then asked myself:  If Sergeant Calaguas can find meaning and joy in serving  his country to the extent of sacrificing his own life, can I not find meaning and joy in serving the LORD, GOD, by living my life according to His Holy Will?   The answer is, indeed, a CONVICTION that SERVICE TO THE SUPREME BEING, MY GOD, IS  THE GREATEST PRIVILEGE THAT CAN EVER BE GIVEN TO A HUMAN BEING.   Consequently, I believe, that the Greatest Joy that could ever fill my heart is THE JOY OF SERVING GOD.

            Everyday, therefore, as I wake up in the morning, I pray: “Lord God, in what way would You like me to serve You today.  Here, I am, Lord, I come to do Your Will.”  I then rise up filled with joy that God is giving me the privilege to SERVE HIM TODAY.

By: Buddy Cagurangan 

December 18, 2011