The two forthcoming events namely, the Holy Week and the fiesta are opportunities for faith-sharing, personal-sharing, and renewal.

Both activities are centred in the action of God in our history and in our lives.

As Church, we are a people united in our faith in Jesus. While Jesus nourishes us with his own body and blood in the Eucharist, we are also called to nourish each other. Remember before Jesus multiplied the bread for the multitudes the apostles wanted to send the people away and find food for themselves but Jesus stopped them and told them to feed the people themselves. We are called to nourish each other - faith sharing.

Embodied in faith-sharing is the sharing of our person. Pope Leo the Great said, “Be what you receive.” Meaning because we receive Jesus (in the Eucharist), the bread of life, we should become bread of life for others.

Sometimes, I encounter people who ask me “Father, mataas ba ang blood pressure mo?” My usual response is “It depends on who I am talking to.” There are two kinds of people. Those who can give you peace and calm, and those who can make your blood-pressure rise. Robert Wicks asks this question which is worth pondering - “How do people feel when they are with me or when I am with them? What does my daily behaviour say about the person I really am?”

Renewal is central in the preaching of Jesus. It is consistent with the call of the prophets in the Old Testament and John the Baptist. The purpose of renewal is to become the person that God wants us to be and so that we will be able to nourish others through our faith and our person (being).

Two important elements, then, are necessary: time and presence. Faith-sharing, sharing of our person (being), and renewal demand our time and presence.

I enjoin you to come and join in the celebration of Holy Week and the fiesta in the chaplaincy in March.

Share your faith. Nourish others.