Pope Francis: The differences of others are an occasion to love better

VATICAN— We should treat the physical and social differences of others as a chance to love, not as an inconvenience, Pope Francis said in his Angelus address on Sunday.

The pope’s weekly message focused on the day’s Gospel reading, which recounts Jesus’ miraculous healing of the blind man.

Francis pointed out the reactions of the different characters in the story and invited people to reflect on how they might respond in a similar situation.

“How do we welcome the difficulties and differences of others? How do we welcome the people who have many limitations in life, either physical like this blind man or social like the beggars we find on the street?” he asked. “And do we welcome these people as inconveniences or as occasions to draw near to them with love?”

Pope Francis addressed approximately 25,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square on March 19. He also led everyone in praying the Angelus, a traditional Marian prayer, in Latin.

He encouraged everyone to read chapter 9 of the Gospel of John.

“Read about this miracle” of the healing of the blind man, he said. “It’s beautiful the way John recounts it.”

“You can read it in two minutes. But it shows how Jesus proceeds and how the human heart proceeds. The good human heart, the lukewarm human heart, the fearful human heart, the courageous human heart,” he continued.

The pope said the Gospel passage shows how each of the different characters react to Jesus’ healing of the man born blind. Some are skeptics and some find it unacceptable, he said.

“In all these reactions, for various reasons, there emerge hearts closed in front of the sign of Jesus,” he said, “because they seek a culprit, because they do not know how to be surprised, because they do not want to change, because they are blocked by fear.”

This is similar to many situations today, he added. “When faced with something that is really a message of a person’s testimony, a message from Jesus, we fall into this: we look for another explanation, we don’t want to change, we look for a more elegant way out than accepting the truth.”

The blind man, instead, is the only person who accepts Jesus’ gift well, the pope

AN association of Catholic schools has voiced concerns about a measure that prohibits any school policy that bars students from taking examinations due to unpaid tuition.

The Catholic Educational Association in the Philippines (CEAP) said the measure may place the financial viability of private schools at risk.

Pope Francis invites Catholics to renew consecration to Immaculate Heart of Mary

explained. “Happy to see, [he] testifies what happened to him in the simplest way: ‘I was blind, now I see.'”

Pope Francis said the Gospel is asking us to imagine ourselves in the same scene, so that we might ask what our own reaction would be.

“What would we have said then? And above all, what would we do today? Like the blind man, do we know how to see the good and to be grateful for the gifts we receive?” he said.

He added: “Do we bear witness to Jesus, or do we spread criticism and suspicion instead? Are we free when faced with prejudices or do we associate ourselves with those who spread negativity and gossip? Are we happy to say that Jesus loves us and saves us, or, like the parents of the man born blind, do we allow ourselves to be caged in by the fear of what others will think?”

Or are we, he continued, “the lukewarm of heart who do not accept reality, and do not have the courage to say: ‘No, this is how it is.'”

After praying the Angelus, Pope Francis expressed his closeness to the people of Ecuador, who were hit by a 6.4-magnitude earthquake on Saturday.

Hundreds of people were hurt and at least 15 people killed in the quake, which mainly affected southern Ecuador and northern Peru, BBC News reported.

“I am close to the Ecuadorian people and I assure of my prayers for the deceased and all those who are suffering,” the pope said.

He also wished a happy Father’s Day to all the fathers.

In countries such as Italy, Portugal, Spain, Bolivia, Honduras, and several others, Father’s Day is celebrated on March 19, the Catholic feast of St. Joseph.

“Today we wish all fathers well. May they find in St. Joseph the model, the support, the comfort to live their fatherhood well,” Pope Francis said, inviting everyone to pray the Our Father for fathers.

In 2023, due to March 19 falling on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, the liturgical feast of St. Joseph is moved to Monday, March 20. Hannah Brockhaus/Catholic News Agency

CEAP Executive Director Jose Allan Arellano said that private schools have no other fund source, unlike their public counterparts, which are funded by the government.

“We hope they will understand why we do it in the Catholic education and the private education, where we really need

“Icome that they might have life, and have it to the full” (Jn. 10:10). This bible quotation summarizes the mission of Jesus. Jesus is the life giver. All that He did and said had one purpose, to give life. This means enhancing the quality of life of the people of his time by healing the sick, by freeing those under the influence of demons, by lifting the burden of sin and guilt through his forgiving ministry. He also multiplied bread for those who were hungry and he turned water into wine in a wedding feast. He told stories to show that there is something more in life to hope for. He called this the “Kingdom of God,” It is not just a future in this world but a promise beyond this earthly existence, |”In my Father’s house there are many rooms and I go ahead to prepare a place for you so that where I am you also may be.” We call this eternal life or salvation, details of which cannot be fully comprehended or described. Jesus’ promise of life encompasses both this world and the next.

Reflections

Rev. Fr. Antonio P. Pueyo, DCC tonypoy_dcc0@yahoo.com

This Sunday, the gospel narrates the story of Jesus resurrecting His friend Lazarus. There were other instances when Jesus raised the dead to life such as the son of the widow of Naim and the daughter of Jairus. The raising of Lazarus was more spectacular because he had been dead for four days. Even Martha the sister of Lazarus, raised the issue that there would be a stench by now. Still. Jesus proceeded and Lazarus left the tomb still wrapped in his burial shrouds. I had the privilege of visiting Lazarus’ tomb in Bethany and one has to go down a narrow underground passage to see the tomb. I cannot imagine the people’s reaction to Lazarus leaving the tomb. His sisters and relatives certainly were glad for his return. Eventually he would die again, perhaps of old age but this incident is a sign of Jesus conquering death. Of course, the greatest sign would be His own

VATICAN— Pope Francis has invited Catholics to annually renew an act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25. The solemnity of the Annunciation on Saturday marks one year since Pope Francis consecrated Russia and Ukraine to the Blessed Virgin Mary in St. Peter’s Basilica with a prayer asking for peace in the world.

At the end of his general audience on March 22, the pope recalled his historic act of consecration and called on parish communities and prayer groups to annually renew the Marian consecration. “Saturday will mark the solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, and our thoughts turn to March 25 last year when, in union with all the bishops of the world, we consecrated the Church and humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” Pope Francis said. “Let us not tire of entrusting the cause of peace to the Queen of Peace,” he said. “Therefore, I would like to invite each believer and community, especially prayer groups, to renew every March 25 the act of consecration to Our Lady, so that she, who is Mother, may guard us all in unity and peace.” Pope Francis also urged people not to forget to pray for “martyred Ukraine, which is suffering so much.”

Last year, Pope Francis asked all the bishops of the world to join him in consecrating Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, one month after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

From the tip of Florida to Seattle, every U.S. diocese participated in the consecration in one form or another. The bishop of Fairbanks prayed the consecration on the shores of the Bering Sea, facing Russia, his diocese’s neighbor just a few hundred miles to the west. The act of consecration was also read simultaneously by Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal.

In Moscow, Catholics tuned in and prayed along with a live broadcast of the pope’s consecration from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

The Virgin Mary specifically asked that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart in the 1917 apparitions at Fatima.

The Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship defines consecration to Mary as an overt recognition of the “singular role of Mary to require payments of the tuition from parents,” Arellano said over Radio Veritas.

CEAP is composed of some 1,500 Catholic schools and universities across the country.

All 22 senators on Monday voted for the passage of Senate Bill 1359, otherwise known as the “No Permit, No Exam resurrection.

As we approach the Holy Week, we will be involved in some traditional and liturgical activities but let us not forget what Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection is all about. He came to bring life through his own death. He brought salvation by his own sacrifice on the Cross. By His wounds we are healed and by His death we were given life. Theologians say that the pattern of the life, passion, death, and resurrection Jesus should also serve as a pattern of our own life. Just like a candle that gives light while slowly dying, so Christian living is about giving light and life as long as we are on this earth. We honor heroes, martyrs, and saints because through their own life they manifested for us what life is all about.

It is not just heroes and martyrs who are able to do this. Even ordinary folks show this everyday. Mothers risk their lives giving birth to their children. Fathers brave risky conditions to support their families. Overseas workers go to unfamiliar lands to make life much more comfortable for their families. Same with missionaries who face a different culture just to bring the gospel of Christ. There are many people around us who make sacrifices just to give others life. As Jesus said, “No greater love is there than for a man to lay down his life for his friends.” Once I read a true story of a father who literally bled to death to earn some money for his family. He sold his own blood every week. Don’t ask me why he was allowed to do this by the medical facilities, but he did. He died from loss of blood. These are extreme measures, perhaps even considered foolish, but when one truly loves he gives his life for the beloved. “We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.” in the mystery of Christ and of the Church, of the universal and exemplary importance of her witness to the Gospel, of trust in her intercession, and of the efficacy of her patronage.”

In the past, several popes have consecrated the Church and world to Mary. Pope Pius XII consecrated the entire world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Oct. 31, 1942.

St. John Paul II — who consecrated the entire Church and world to Mary three times during his pontificate — taught that by consecrating oneself to Mary, we accept her help in offering ourselves fully to Christ. Before praying the consecration last year, Pope Francis explained that it is “an act of complete trust on the part of children who, amid the tribulation of this cruel and senseless war that threatens our world, turn to their Mother, reposing all their fears and pain in her heart and abandoning themselves to her.”

“It means placing in that pure and undefiled heart, where God is mirrored, the inestimable goods of fraternity and peace, all that we have and are, so that she, the Mother whom the Lord has given us, may protect us and watch over us.” Courtney Mares/Catholic News Agency

Prohibition Act”.

In December last year, the House of Representatives also approved HB 6483 that aims to allow college students with unpaid and other school fees to take periodic and final exams on “good cause and justifiable grounds” such as force majeure and emergencies. CBCP News

Readings: no. 251, p. 463

1st Reading: Daniel 13.1-9, 15-17,19-30, 33-64++ (longer) or Daniel 13.2, 4-6, 8, 15-16, 19-23, 28, 41-46, 48-64++ (shorter)

Gospel (Years A and B): John 8.1-11

Readings: no. 252, p. 472

1st Reading: Numbers 21.4-9

Gospel: John 8.21-30

Readings: no. 253, p. 474

1st Reading: Daniel 3.13-20, 24,49-50, 91-95++

Gospel: John 8.31-42

Readings: no. 254, p. 478

1st Reading: Genesis 17.3-9

Gospel: John 8.51-59

Readings: no. 255, p. 480

1st Reading: Jeremiah 20.7, 10-13++

Gospel: John 10.31-42

Readings: no. 256, p. 483

1st Reading: Ezekiel 37.21-28

Gospel: John 11.45-57

Editorial

ThePhilippines as an island is best described as a cozy tropical country; usually described in Tourism brochures as dotted with Coconut Palm Trees, especially along the beach or coast. These coconut trees are the source of income to many Filipinos since almost all parts of the coconut tree have uses –the stalks provide wood for housing, the liquid are sources of vinegar and the native “tuba”, the nuts provide “copras” and the flesh of nuts provide the favorite food which is converted into candy and other food supplements such as “gata”. Not the least is the use of the leaves (fronds) which is used for house roofing/ side walls and a lot of others.

But the most distinct use of the palm is during the recreation of Christians of Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem during the Lenten Season. Thus, every Lent, the palm takes on an importance which Christians love to commemorate.

Every Lenten Season, (semana santa in the local dialect) the week always starts with Palm Sunday. The Holy City of Jerusalem as described in the bible is full of pilgrims who flock to the city for the annual Passover celebration. As they came near Jerusalem, Jesus told two of His disciples to go into a nearby village and bring a donkey that would be waiting there. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey. Crowds of people spread their coats on the ground in front of Him. Some waved branches of palm trees, a sign of victory.

We now see the importance that the religious ritual which palms play in the start of Lent. It is therefore an important factor in the religious festivities, since it symbolizes the victory that carried Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.

However, as we look at the situation that the Palm trees are now found in the country, there seem to be a lack of attention given to this important agricultural crop. The present crop of coconut are too old, and needed upgrading. It now competes with African Palm Oil which command a higher price in the market. But considering the role that coconut trees have in our history, it is about time to come up with a modernization program that will put the coconut tree among our top income earners.

I still long to sleep on the beach under the waving leaves of the coconut tree. It brings back memories of the non-stressful time when Filipinos enjoy the beach and the sea- which makes us uniquely Filipinos. Shouldn’t we take this seriously – giving attention to the coconut fronds that gives our Lord the royalty He deserves? MC

OnTuesday, March 21, the Philippine weather bureau, PAGASA, officially declared the end of the northeast monsoon season and the start of the dry season.

The national weather agency said warmer temperatures are expected in the coming months and rainfall across the country will be influenced mostly by easterlies and localized thunderstorms. It cautioned about the “increased likelihood of a transition to El Niño” which increases the likelihood of below-normal rainfall conditions and could lead to dry spells and droughts in some areas of the Philippines. The weather phenomenon, PAGASA said, could start in July, with its effects felt by August or September.

Filipinos are no strangers to the effects on El Niño on their lives. This is especially true for the people of Central Mindanao – in the four provinces of Region XII and the then Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao – considered to be among the worst-hit by the 2015-2016 El Niño, said to be one of the strongest on record. In these four provinces alone, 101,000 hectares of farm land were affected by El Niño, resulting in USD 17.9 million worth of production losses between February 2015 to July 2016.

Within the six months that the El Niño lasted photographs of dried-up rice paddies became a common fixture in both local and national papers as well as in social media posts. Rants about the impact of the weather phenomenon on water and even food supply were all too common.

Most impactful perhaps was the tragic event of April 1, 2016 in Kidapawan City where a dispersal of barricading farmers left 2 farmers dead and hundreds of combined police and protesters injured. The protesters demanding rice from the government in the face of the devastating impact of the long-drawn dry spell brought by the prevailing El Niño on their farms and livelihood were met with bullets after they fought with police trying to dismantle their ranks. According to authorities, the protesting farmers, mostly from the Arakan Valley Complex municipalities of Arakan, Antipas, President Roxas and Magpet, with support from a number of farmers from Makilala and Kidapawan City, had a rally permit good only for a day. The rally however morphed into a blockade of the Cotabato-Davao national highway by the second day, disrupting traffic flow, until the April 1 dispersal. The rally had been peaceful until then.

In a statement on the tragic incident, International Alert, one of the world’s leading peacebuilding organizations helping people find peaceful solutions to conflict, urged the government to immediately (1) put in place a targeted emergency assistance in the form of additional cash transfers and soft loans coupled with hinking A loud Carlos C. Bautista caloyb@gmail.com the distribution of drought-resistant seeds and the propagation of mulching technology before hunger leads to further starvation and consequently to more violent conflict; (2) ring-fence a significant portion of national and international funding for climate-change relief and target this towards the building of village-level stockpiles in critical areas; and (3) national and local government officials must immediately revise the rules governing access and distribution of food stocks to ensure their swift, equitable, and efficient transfer to households and communities during complex emergencies.

PROPOSALS to amend the 1987 Constitution are long-overdue, according to two Muslim members of the 1971 Constitutional Convention.

Lawyer Michael O. Mastura of Maguindanao and Maranao lawyer Ali Pangalian M. Balindong, both delegates to the 1971-1973 Constitutional Convention, are very much into active service, respectively, in the academe and in the Bangsamoro Legislature.

It said “the threat of violence (during instances of severe El Niño) will not subside unless immediate actions are taken.”

With the likelihood of another El Niño looming on the horizon, we hope for two things: that it would not be as extreme as it was in 2015-2016, and that the government has indeed in the years that have transpired since then put into place the necessary mechanisms proposed by organizations like International Alert as well as agencies like the World Health Organization and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

Governor Emmylou Taliño Mendoza was at the helm of Cotabato province at the time the tragic dispersal of the farmers’ blockade happened in Kidapawan City. She is back as provincial chief executive and only last week gave her State of the Province Address at the Cotabato Provincial Capitol before an audience of thousands from various groups, sectors, and communities in the province. Among the good news she announced was the availability of a stand-by Quick Response Fund of P67,475,950.63 to be used during natural and man-made calamities. She also said Cotabato has been ranked number 1 in Region XII, number 3 in Mindanao and number 10 in the whole country in rice production. The province has registered a yield volume of 510,973 metric tons of rice and is 134% rice sufficient, she said.

With all these, we hope another El Niño, if ever it does happen, does not have the same devastating and tragic impact it had on Cotabateños in 2015-2016 especially on the farmers in the countryside.

Two Moro constitutionalists join calls for Charter Change

An El Niño remembered MC P enlight Nash B. Maulana nash.penlight@gmail.com every Saturday by the Mindanao Cross Publishers,

Address: mindanao.cross@gmail.com | mincross101@yahoo.com.ph