Ripples of God

All Saints Day
Matthew 5: 10-12 “Be glad and rejoice, for your reward in heaven is great”


Candles, fresh flowers, rosaries, water, rice, dinuguan and adobo. All are perfectly packed. My family is now ready to visit the tomb of our Tatay Paco in Manila Memorial Park. I wonder why we Filipinos traditionally visit the tombs of our departed loved ones on All Saints Day? Are we presuming they are also “saints” in their own rights? Or this day is the best time to pray for their eternal repose to all unknown Saints of God?

In the Jesuit Cemetery in Novaliches, there is a tomb where the remains of unknown Jesuits and lay friends are laid together, bearing an interesting epitaph: “Here lies people who are unknown to men but known to God.” One of my Jesuit professors taught us that holy people do not know that they are holy (Revelation 7:13-14). They are more aware of their sins and limitations, but the love of God is also so real to them. The love of God overwhelms and compels them to offer their lives in total oblation just to seek the will of God.

Our gospel today gives us hints on how Saints lived their lives. By becoming living witnesses of faith, they create ripples in peoples’ lives. We love throwing stones in the pond. It creates circles of waves that disturb the water surface. Saints are like that. Their lives (as described by the beatitudes) are like stones thrown to us by God. They create ripples in our souls and wake us up from our slumber to do “magis” (more) for God’s glory. A Saint is someone who achieves perfect joy here on earth by placing God ahead of any comfort, honor or satisfaction - and thus opens his soul to the endless joy with God forever. Blessed are the poor, sorrowing, lowly, hungry, thirsty, merciful, single hearted, peacemakers, persecuted and insulted because they follow God, the reign of God is theirs and their reward in heaven is great! (Matthew 5:12)

Saints are totally selfless people. They die to themselves to follow God. Their only desire is to obey the will of God even at the cost of being misunderstood, hated and out casted by the world. Thus, they are beautiful in the eyes of God. They are blessed! (1 John 3:1-3) We venerate Saints not because of their great miracles, but because of their ability to offer their lives for the sake of God’s Kingdom. And when we remember their inspiring stories, they disturb us! They moved our hearts! And challenge us to move out of our comfort zones! Ripples! Saints are indeed ripples of God!

My Father died seven years ago but the ripples he created in my family left a lifetime mark in my heart. How can I forget his loving presence and how he gave us a wonderful family? Ripples! My father is unknown to many but known to God. It’s All Saints Day. Let’s honor the Saints and our “saints” by making a difference in other peoples’ lives. Let’s be ripples of God.

Today, as celebrate the Feast of all unknown Saints of God, we beg for their intercessions to help us follow God faithfully. We also remember and thank God for our departed loved ones who also created ripples in our lives.


The challenge of sainthood is to go where love takes us


- Wilfredo m. Samson,SJ
Krisong Hari Chapel, Montalban, Rizal
November 1, 2009

All is Blind

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mark 10:46-52 “What do you want me to do for you?”


Blindness was very common during the time of Jesus. Medicine has yet to discover laser treatment and eye operation to prevent blindness. Blind people are literally at the mercy of others. They beg for money or food to live Thank God we are not blind.

But today we are facing a different kind of blindness. It is the blindness of “not seeing” the meaning of what’s happening to us or the meaning of life. When one failed to understand and accept what’s happening in his life, he could end up miserable, hopeless, and lost.

Think about these: Some of us have everything in life, but unhappy and grumpy. Some will sleep tonight with an empty stomach but thankful to God for the peace of mind. Typhoon Ondoy destroyed the house of Mang Tinoy in Marikina but grateful that his family is intact after the flood. I guess some of us saw the meaning of life, while others did not.

All of us are blind. Nobody possesses a “crystal-clear” understanding of what happened to us, what’s happening and what’s ahead of us. We need the eyes of faith to see and understand things in our life. We don’t have a keen eye to see the finger of God in the midst of our pains and trials. In our present world where everything is possible and conveniently available, it is ironic that some of us are more frustrated, hopeless and lost. In our era of technological advancement, we have lost our sight to see God in all things. Suddenly we realized that Google cannot answer everything, especially the meaning of life and God’s will for us.

Our gospel today challenges us to follow the footsteps of Bartimaues. We need Jesus to heal our spiritual blindness. It is unlikely of Mark to give details in his gospel. But here, he specifically named Bartimaeus as the blind man. Mark wanted us to emulate Bartimaeus’ remarkable virtues of courage, humility, and self-detachment.

When Batimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by, he did not hesitate to shout at the top of his voice, “Son of David, have pity on me.” The crowd rebuked him but it did not stop him! And when Jesus finally called him, he threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and went to Jesus immediately. That was a display of courage and humility.

The “throwing of his cloak” was surprising. Cloak was very important for blind people for their survival. It was both for protection against weather and for begging purposes. It was on the cloak laid on the street that people would normally tip few coins. When Bartimaeus threw his cloak, he was abandoning the source of his security and leaving everything to Jesus. He realized that Jesus was the real source of security. And holding on to his securities and comforts blinded him from seeing God and His will. For all of us, our cloak may mean our personal attachments: people, things, possession, talents, honor, pride, etc. We need to set aside our cloaks to see essentials things we have taken for granted.

Jesus is passing by every day. Take the challenge of Bartimaeus. Set aside your cloak. Leave your comfort zones. Wear the virtues of courage, humility and self-detachment. Shout out loud and beg, “Jesus, I want to see.” And healing will take place.

Bartimaeus saw Christ clearly with the eyes of his faith. So must you and I.

“Miserable people are not those who are blind but rather those who refuse to see.”
- John Kiley


- Wilfredo m. Samson,SJ
Ateneo de Davao University / October 25, 2009

The Big Picture

Thursday of the 27th Sunday
Luke 11:5-13 “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find.”

We are now into the 6th day of our novena in honor of our Blessed Mother Nuestra Senora La Virgen del Pilar. But what really is a novena prayer? Why do we pray the novena? Our catechism would tell that novena is “a nine-day private or public devotion to obtain special graces. It is usually made in honor of a saint, asking his/her intercession for a specific intention.” In our case, the novena mass we are celebrating today is in honour of our Blessed Mother, La Virgen del Pilar. We are deeply grateful to our Blessed Mother for a century of accompanying us in our personal and community journey.

I am sure you have your own personal intentions for our novena mass this year. We visit this shrine to attend Mass or to just light coloured candles and say a little prayer for ourselves, our families and friends. And some of us are begging for a miracle: healing of loved ones who are sick, praying for a better job for a better life, good health, reconciliation in the family, financial problem, love life, to pass the Bar or teacher’s board exams, and others. Today we pray for the intercession of our Blessed Mother, that God will grant our prayer intentions.

But for today, in the midst of the recent events in our country, let’s think, reflect, and go beyond Zamboanga. Let’s look at the big picture.

Just a week ago, Typhoon Ondoy dumped a month’s worth of rainfall in just 24 hours causing huge flood in Luzon. More than 300 people died and thousands were forced to stay in the evacuation center. Fortunately, many Filipinos quickly responded and helped them with food and other assistance. But the struggle does not stop there, they need to reconstruct their houses and rebuild their lives. Most of their savings and things were washed away by the flood.

Last week, here in our locality, the Municipality of Indanan, Sulu experienced another armed conflict. More than 1,400 families were internally displaced when they were caught in the middle of the crossfire. Most of them are now staying in the evacuation centers. They have nothing to eat and nowhere to go.

When you go international, we see the news of powerful earthquake in Indonesia, tsunami in Samoa, and bombings in Afghanistan that killed hundreds of people. The big picture is not really good. And when we look at the big picture, we realized that we are more fortunate.


A friend of mine who complains a lot, have stopped complaining when he saw in the television how thousands in Luzon were affected by Typhoon Ondoy. A woman who lives in a shanty is very grateful that her family is not living in the evacuation center in Indanan. When they saw the big picture, their perspective changed.

The “not so good” big picture we are in today should compel us to go beyond ourselves and beyond Zamboanga. In this novena, we beg for the intercession of our Blessed Mother, not only for our own personal intention, but for the whole country and the whole world. Let’s pray for the big picture

Suddenly, we realized that we are still fortunate here in Zamboanga. We do have our own personal and family concern that we need to attend to. There is a great need for us to pray for our own personal intentions. But the “big picture” of people who are “suffering more than us” compels us to gaze our sight to them and pray for them. And we do that today through the intercession of our Blessed Mother La Virgen del Pilar.

When Fort Pilar was built on 1635 under the instruction of Governor Juan Cerezo de Salamanca and under the supervision of Padre Melchor de Vera, a famous Jesuit engineer, it was principally to protect and defend Zamboanga Peninsula against possible attacks from the pirates and armed groups.


Today, after 100 years, Fort Pilar takes a different role. It is now the symbol of Zamboangeños perseverance against the many challenges in our city and Mindanao at large. While our Blessed Mother La Virgen del Pilar remains Zamboangeños source of protection and inspiration in the midst of our personal and social challenges.

Our gospel for today teaches us the right disposition in praying the novena. Some of us have this wrong notion of novena - that God will grant any of our prayer intention after completing the novena. Some are disappointed when their prayer intentions were not granted. Novena is not a way to twist the hands of God to grant our prayers. Novena is not a magic prayer. Instead, novena prayer should lead us to be more open and dispose to the will of God. He knows what’s best for us. He knows the grand design of everything. The will of God plays a big role in the big picture. Let us learn from our Blessed Mother.

When angel Gabriel told our Blessed Mother that she would be the mother of the savior, she was dumbfounded and confused. God was proposing to engage herself in the plan of God and be part of the big picture of saving humankind. She has a personal dream. She was already engaged to Joseph. But after listening to Gabriel, she decided to submit herself to the will of God – salvation of humankind – by saying, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your will.” It was our Mother’s YES to the big picture. And the rest is history.

We have a small picture – our personal care, concern, and trials. We have a big picture – our city and country’s concern and challenges. Both are important. But each time I pray to our Blessed Mother La Virgen del Pilar, I cannot help but look beyond myself and remember the original intention of Fort Pilar – to defend Zamboanga against the enemies. We don’t have pirates anymore, but the challenges being posted to us by Ondoy, Indangan, Mindanao conflict and others, calls us to pray for our country and do something. Like our Blessed Mother, let’s contribute something to the big picture.

We don’t lose hope. We should persevere in our prayer. Perseverance could produce miracles. We have many accounts of the miracles of Our Blessed Mother La Virgen del Pilar in our history: the failed attempt to capture the Fort by a big armed group in 1734, the story of the earthquake and tsunami in 1897 and 1976, and hundreds of undocumented miraculous intercession of our Blessed Mother as the Protector and Patroness of Zamboanga.

These stories should inspire and rekindle the fire within us, to move out of our comfort zones and be engaged in the big picture.

There is always hope for those who persevere in prayer and action. We don’t lose hope in our struggle for peace and progress in Mindanao, because in the end, through our prayers and actions, the good will prevail.

Nuestra Senora La Virgen del Pilar, pray for us.



- Wilfredo M. Samson,SJ
Fort Pilar Shrine, Zamboanga City
October 8, 2009

In the Beginning

27th Sunday in Ordinary Times
Mark 10: 2-16 “What God has joined together, no human being must separate”

The sunset in Manila Bay is a beauty to behold; but the sight of an old couple holding each others’ hand as they watch the sunset is more consoling and uplifting to behold!

Our gospel for today is a foretaste of what’s happening now. More and more people are questioning the indissolubility of Catholic marriage vows. They don’t see the practicality and wisdom of couple staying together until death when marriage turns sour. They want a quick fix and divorce is the ultimate remedy to all marital problems. Fast, simple and easy.

But our gospel for today reminds us of God’s grand plan. His intention from the very beginning is a permanent union: “The two shall become one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” (Mark 10:8-9). Jesus even scolded the Pharisees and the Jews when he said that Moses was forced to allow divorce because of hardness of their hearts. They did not want to obey God’s plan.

One of the things that struck me: How come some couples who are happily married for many years will suddenly want a divorce or legal separation? What went wrong? Who are to blame, when at the beginning of their married life, they mutually agreed to live together for better or for worse? Somewhere along the way, they lost their selfless love to one another. When misunderstanding, open-ended argument, unexpressed resentment, and unresolved issues start to creep in, the foundation of married life “one flesh” is severely shaken. When I don’t see the “I in You” and the “You in Me,” selfishness creeps in. And when selfishness creeps in, I start to disengage from my vows of being in “one flesh” with my partner.

Marriage for God means undivided and unconditional loyalty and union of hearts at all times, for better or for worst. Marriage is not a question of "What's in it for me?" But Jesus wants a married couple to ask each other, "What's in it for us?"

Some marriages failed not because they married the wrong persons, but because they allowed their love to die a natural death because of distrust, hatred and non-forgiveness. Soon enough, they lost their desire to save it. They simply break their promise “to be one heart and one soul from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.”

Hardness of heart and selfishness are the main culprit for marriage break-up. If only they treat each other the way they treat themselves, their marriages will become more attractively beautiful, life-giving and emotionally stable.

Each time I preside a marriage rite, I take extra effort to remind the couple to remember their marriage day, especially when they have misgivings, to remind themselves of their “in the beginning” moments - where they genuinely and freely expressed their love to each other and promised to live together “for better or for worse, till death do us part.” To file a divorce or seek legal separation without exhausting all possible solutions to fix your marriage is to implicitly tell everybody that your vows is nothing but a big joke. In the beginning, you know it was not a joke. In the beginning, when you and your partner genuinely fell in love and mutually agreed to tie the knots, you know its forever.

In marriage, both husband and wife must say "I will do more than belong, I will participate. I will do more than care, I will help. I will do more than believe, I will practice. I will do more than be fair, I will be kind. I will do more than be friendly, I will be a friend. I will do more than forgive, I will love." - Annonymous

- Wilfredo M. Samson,SJ / St.Joseph Chapel, Zamboanga City/ October 4, 2009