"Today, in the Philippines, we are all called to be witnesses—to justice, to love, to be united as a people, and to take care of our planet."
"Today, in the Philippines, we are all called to be witnesses—to justice, to love, to be united as a people, and to take care of our planet."This Sunday, we commemorate the ascension of Christ to heaven. It is a familiar story. As Jesus disappears from their sight, the disciples continue to gaze upwards into the sky. It is then that two men wearing white clothes stand beside them and say: “Men of Galilee, what are you doing looking at the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” And assured of their Master’s abiding care they went back to Jerusalem, ecstatic.
While Jesus’ glorified body departed to signal the end of his physical presence on earth, it was also the beginning of his presence in a new way. He promised them the Paraclete that would anoint them on the Feast of the Pentecost and to guide his church until the end of time. Indeed, it was an occasion of rejoicing, for their Master died and on the third day rose from the dead. His disciples, who were once fearful of their fate, are emboldened by the guarantees of their Lord the Savior. They are imbued with boundless hope and happiness, ready and willing to embark on the mission that the Lord has given them, ready to face the perils of propagating the new faith to pagans and unbelievers. This is also the commission given by Christ to all the members of the church—to be heralds of the good news and witnesses for Jesus Christ, the only savior of the world. In accomplishing this mission, we will be accompanied by the Holy Spirit for effective ministry.
Each person follows different avenues towards Christ. As a father, mother, child, and in whatever situation one finds himself of herself in, the mission is the same—witness to Christ while following different routes. We may not be called to follow the footsteps of the Apostles who with great vigor preached the Good News to all peoples and in the end offered their lives as martyrs but we can do so in obeying the will of the Father in our own personal capacity.
St. Therese of the Child Jesus, the saint of the ordinary, teaches us how to be little yet great in the eyes of the Lord, saying—“Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.” Without love, even the greatest of deed means nothing. A true believer in Christ is one who finds Christ in every person no matter how repulsive that person is, sees the hand of Christ in every situation no matter how despicable and wretched the situation is. One may say—this is easier said than done. Yet we often forget the power of the Holy Spirit which Christ promised his church until the end of time.
The Spirit of God makes us endure the impossible, to do the impossible. This is no empty promise because it has been demonstrated by thousands of men and women who, through the action of the Holy Spirit, offered their lives in obedience to Christ.
Our very own Filipino saints Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungsod accepted martyrdom with joy, faithful to the Lord, filled with desire to follow Him to heaven.
“You are witnesses.” We are all called to be that.
Although the word “witness” may imply merely the experiences as eyewitness, the word witness implies a more active kind of witnessing not much like a spectator in a sport or an audience in a concert or as mere bystanders in a spectacle. It is witnessing in an active sense. Acting, saying, hearing and using all our senses to perform acts that will promote the mission that Christ has commissioned us to accomplish. One cannot say that he is righteous because he has not sinned, or done evil things, Yet sin can also come in the form of omission for it is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.
Today, in the Philippines, we are all called to be witnesses—to justice, to love, to be united as a people, and to take care of our planet.
With regard to the environment, I support fully the global student climate strike movement. I make mine the words of its leader, Swedish student Greta Thunberg:
“If people really knew about these things, they wouldn’t need to ask me why I am so passionate about climate change. If people really were aware of these [things], they wouldn’t ask why we are school striking for the climate and taking it to the streets. If people really knew the full consequences of the climate crisis, they would join us on the streets, striking from their work, moving on from words to action.”
“This is an emergency. And world leaders are not acting accordingly. But if they won’t do anything, we will. We will try to do everything we can to make them act.
It is we children and future generations that are going to suffer the most from these consequences if we fail. It should not be up to us to take responsibility. But since most world leaders are behaving like children, we have no other choice. The older generations have failed us. Our political leaders have failed us . . .
Our political leaders can’t seem to think beyond the next election, and that must come to an end. This ongoing inaction of people in power, and the companies responsible will in the future no doubt be remembered as a crime against humanity. Those who know of the consequences of business as usual for all living species must be held accountable if they’re still not doing anything.
During the last months, we have shown that activism works. So I’m asking you to act.”
Yes, we are called to follow Jesus in heaven. But that starts by following His commands to love people and planet here on earth.
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