Greater than ourselves

The story is told about three boys who were relating how their grandfathers died. The first one said: “My grandpa died as a soldier serving our country.” The second one said: “My grandpa died as a policeman in the line of duty.” The third one said: “My grandpa died peacefully in his sleep, unlike the people around him who were all screaming in the bus he was driving.”

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Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. In today’s Gospel (Jn. 10, 11-18), Jesus tells us what a good shepherd really is – one who is willing to lay down his life for his sheep. Let us ask ourselves today: For whom and for what am I living for? For whom and for what am I dying for?

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We all will die. There’s no question about that, and we are all equal on that. However, the question we should ask is how we will die. More correctly, what will we die for? On that question, we will not be equal. Some die for money, for power, or for glory. Some die for a cause, for love, or for a life mission. Whatever, what matters is that we die for something or for someone greater than ourselves.

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It inspires me no end to meet people who dedicate their lives for the good of their children, for the good of the country, for the good of mother nature, or for the good of God’s Kingdom. But then I also meet, with disappointment, people who are so focused on themselves and have no thought of who or what comes after them.

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Do you have a flock you care for? Do you have a cause or advocacy in this world? Do you have a mission you live for and will die for? Do you have an outreach, or an apostolate? If you don’t, then you are an empty, vain, selfish, unworthy person who is just occupying space in this world.

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As a priest, I have the chance to be a good shepherd when I say Mass for different congregations, or do TV Masses reaching out to people all over the world via TFC. But I feel most what it is like to be a good shepherd when I counsel a troubled person, hear a sinner’s confession, or visit a sick or a dying person. It is at such moments that I really feel I am not just a hired man who works for the pay, but a shepherd who has concern, compassion and sympathy. I praise and thank God for giving me such a privilege and opportunity, especially ministry moments in hidden-ness and anonymity.

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Today is the World Day of Prayer for Vocation. We realize that more than our efforts to search or direct vocations, we must continue praying to the “Lord of the Harvest” to send vocations for the priestly and religious life. Please pray, search, and encourage vocations.

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In two days it will be the month of May, the month of flowers, the month of Mama Mary! Let us take courage in the thought that we have a Mother who not only loves and protects us, but who also directs us and challenges us. Do you need help? Do you need guidance and strength? Do you need direction? Go ask Mama!

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In her “Magnificat,” the Blessed Mother exclaims: “My soul magnifies the Lord!” What or who do you magnify in life? How many of us live just magnifying ourselves and our own interests? Unless and until we learn humility and self-effacement, we will never be truly happy in this life. Worse, we may end up with the fate of the mighty who the Lord will cast from their thrones.

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Do you tend to magnify your woes, sinfulness, or sorrows? There are people who focus on and who constantly relate their miseries and misfortunes. Please do not forget that we have a Good Shepherd who cares and provides, who directs and reaches out. Yes, let us magnify the Lord! Let us entrust all our cares to Him!

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We will be electing our leaders again next year. The bottom line is that we elect leaders who will become our shepherds. Yes, let us elect good shepherds who are in it not just for the money or for the show, but for the service. Sad to say, money has become the deciding factor in the way we do politics nowadays. There are a lot of good shepherds out there who will never be given a chance to rise, serve, and shine because they don’t have the means, and they don’t stand a chance.

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Inviting you to our traditional “Walk with God to Manaoag” on May 5, starting at 6 a.m. in Urdaneta Cathedral in Pangasinan, ending with a Holy Mass at our Lady’s Shrine in Manaoag. This 13-kilometer walk is our way of asking Mama Mary’s intercession for our petitions, and our way of thanking her for blessings received.

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I would like to thank Dr. Pitoy Palafox,

Dr. Iggy Agbayani, and Dr. John Ravago, who did a good job of fixing the fractured elbow of my nephew Luke Orbos last week. Déjà vu! I had the same operation in 1966 when I was 12 years old and in my first year at Christ the King Seminary. Let us remember and thank the Lord for all the good shepherds who are instruments of God’s peace, love, and healing.

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, teach us to live and to die for something or someone greater than ourselves. Amen.