Clover Leaf and the Holy Trinity by St. Patrick

St. Patrick of Ireland

"The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same." "I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain”

“St. Patrick of Ireland is one of the world's most popular saints.Apostle of Ireland, born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, in Scotland, in the year 387; died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, 17 March, 461.”[1] Ireland is celebrating his life today. But, as faithful, the whole world should give him also a thanksgiving act for his courageous example of being follower of Christ.


His analogy using clover is one of the most prominent preachings being used in explaining the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity is the highest mystery of all. It could not be grasped by a human mind.  It is the mystery of all mysteries. Thus, somehow, preachers just used simple analogy in a way that people could understand it though not perfectly.   

Clover Leaf

Today, we commemorate the  feast of St. Patrick of Ireland. In his preaching of the Holy Trinity, he uses the three-leaf clover: one clover, three lobes.  Holy Trinity is a communion of three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yet, this Trinitarian Communion is but ONE GOD.  

As we pray the Apostle Creed or the Nicene Creed, do we really put in our hearts our complete faith. I believe in God, the Father Almighty,... I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,... I believe in the Holy Spirit,... Do we affirm the movement of our Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in our life?

“The Trinity is complex but there is no reason to believe that God does not want us to search out its meaning and to begin to use our reason to explore our faith. If we are open to God and meditate on his mysteries, he will teach us “all things”. So we rely on God who works through revelation, not mental gymnastics or inert models.”[2]

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[1] http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=89

[2] http://www.examiner.com/catholic-issues-in-detroit/the-holy-trinity-beyond-the-three-leaf-clover

  

Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia asin an Buhay Bikolnon

      

Sa mga Pilipino, “[t]ogether with the sense of God and His providence over the people’s lives is the sense of special help and protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”[1] “Bistado na an Bikolano bilang mga aki ni Ina. An pag-apod nin Ina ki Santa Maria debosyon na kan mga Bikolano. Ini parti na kan espiritu nin Bikolandia. Sinabi  kan Obispo kan Caceres, Leonardo Legaspi, OP, DD, “Ina is part of our identity.”[2] Dagdag pa kaini, “It can even be said that the devotion to the Virgin of Peñafrancia exists wherever there is a Bicolano.”[3]

“The miraculous image of the Virgin of Peñafrancia, patroness of the Bicol region in southern Luzon, is one of the most revered Marian images in the Philippines.”[4] Sa katunayan, “The Peñafrancia festival is considered the biggest Marian pageant in the Philippines.”[5] Saro ini sa katangi-tanging okasyon na nasa kultura asin puso na kan mga Bikolano. “The Bicolano devotion to the Virgin of Peñafrancia is but one of many faces of Christian faith interacting with Philippine culture, creating a Christian expression uniquely of its own.”[6]

            Ang debosyon ki Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia haloy nang nagpoon sa rehiyon. “In retrospect and in fact, the devotion began as a pledge of thanksgiving by Fr. Miguel Robles de Covarrubias three hundred years ago for the many favors he receives from the Lady of Peñafrancia.”[7] Kaya ngani, “Three years from now, in 2010, our devotion to Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia, a patroness of Bikol, shall mark its 300^th year.”[8]

In the course of close to 300 years, this bond between faith and culture has strengthened to a point where the overwhelming majority of Bicolanos regard the Virgin to be much more than a mere patroness. The relationship is intimate. She is a mother.[9]

            Sarong magayon na imahe sa debosyon na ini iyo an relasyon kan aki sa saiyang Ina. Nagpapahiling ini na an mga Bikolano mga maki-Ina. Asin an Ina nya mismo an saiyang modelo asin giya sa saiyang pagkabuhay bilang akin in Dyos asin bilang tawo. Kaya sa saiyang pagkabuhay ginigiromdom nya kun ano an togon saiya kan saiyang Ina. “Gibohon mo kun ano man an sabihon nya saimo!” Sa paagi ni Ina an mga Bikolano mas nagiging dayopot sa saiyang aking si Hesus. Kaya katakod kan togon nin Ina iyo an paggiromdom man sa togon kan saiyang aking si Hesus. An siring na pagtubod nakatala na sa diwa asin espiritu kan mga Bikolano.

It is simplistic to say that Peñafrancia is either Christian or pagan, either religious faith and commitment or fanaticism and superstition; either genuine Christian faith or Filipino popular religiosity; there is no one explanation. But in this mélange of Christian faith and Bicol culture comes a privileged moment of grace.[10]

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[1] Custodio, Select Readings: Philosophy of Education, Cultures and Values, 184.

[2] Leonardo Legaspi, OP, DD, “A Call to Participate in the Tricentennial Celebrations”, Ini iyo an ikaduwa sa mga series na Pastoral Letters in Preparation for the Tricentennial Celebration of the Devetion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia na ipinaluwas asin binasa sa mga misa pan-Domingo kan ikaduwang aldaw kan Septyembre, 2007, Bilang dagdag na kaaraman, tolong Pastoral Letter an ipinaluwas kan Arsobispo nin Caceres. An duwa pang surat iyo an minasunod: an enot na pinaluwas iyo an “Remembering the Gift of the Devotion to Ina” kan ika-26 kan Agosto, 2007, Sunday, asin an ikatolong pinaluwas iyo an “The Lord Has Done Great Things For Us” kan ika-26 kan Septyembre sa okasyon ng pormal na pagbubukas kan tolong taong paghahanda sa tricentenario kan debosyon ki Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia.   Vinculum. 25, no. 1 (October 2007):108.

[3] Ibid.

[4] “Viva La Virgen!”, “This article appeared in the TM HERALD, a Filipino-American newspaper published in Los Angeles, in August 1985.” Bikol: A Compilation about the History, Culture and Language of the Most Beautiful Region in the Philippines, 127.

[5] Ibid., 129.

[6] Vitaliano R. Gorospe, S.J. asin R. Javellana, Virgin of Peñafrancia: Mother of Bicol (Makati, Metro Manila: Bookmark, Inc. 1995), 87.

[7] Leonardo Legaspi, OP, DD, “Remembering the Gift of the Devotion to Ina”, Vinculum. 25, no. 1, 99-100.

[8] Ibid., 99.

[9] Vitaliano R. Gorospe, S.J. asin R. Javellana, Virgin of Peñafrancia: Mother of Bicol, 87.

               [10] Ibid., 86.

CHURCH’S CHARISM OF INFALLIBILITY

The very last words of Jesus Christ in the gospel of Matthew are eternal promise of an eternal presence of Him in the midst of the Church. On that day of Pentecost, Jesus said to the disciples in behalf of the whole Church, “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b) Through that promise, we are assured that Jesus did not leave and will never come the time that He will abandon the Church. He will forever exist in all the actions of his bride especially in terms of faith and morals. “In order to preserve the Church in the purity of faith, handed on by the apostles, Christ who is the Truth willed to confer on her a share in his own infallibility.” (CCC 889) Through this charism of infallibility, “[t]he supreme degree of participation in the authority of Christ is ensured.” (CCC 2035) Thus, again, “without which the saving truth of the faith cannot be preserved, expounded or observed.” (CCC 2051)

God always puts into consideration our very humanity in his plan for us. He will never give and ask us of what is beyond our reach. What He is asking of us is a work which He is always included in its completion. He is always present as guide that accompanies us towards end. In my own limited opinion, I think this charism of infallibility is considering two panoramas of human condition.

First, He considers the limitation of man in relation to the Truth. Man has no total grasp of it. Thus, through the compassion of Christ, He willed to guide man especially the Church to know the truth of salvation. He is doing this act through his sharing of his own infallibility.

Secondly, Jesus knows that human as we are, demand assurance especially about the things that we are believing. “What makes this something true?” “How does it become true?” “Why should I believe it?” These queries are mere examples of a man demanding for an assurance. Faith must be anchored to the One who is Truth Himself which whom no matter what, this One will never do deceiving and will never be deceived because ultimately in Himself, He is no other than but Truth. Thus, again, to give authority to the Church, Jesus is continuously sharing and dwelling in it as the very source of the Truth. This makes the Church infallible.

This gift of infallibility is given to church for a great purpose. This is not concerned primarily in defining what is beyond its sphere, or could I say, secular. It is for faith and moral discussion. But this limitation does not mean limitation per se of the authority of Christ. It is just a matter of purpose – a degree of purpose, particularly. This is primarily given to Church in defining something which is inclined to the salvific plan of God. It is for a great purpose which is salvation.

Jesus does not want man to be deprived of the Way, the Truth and the Life towards salvation. Thus, Jesus has even revealed His very self just to assure us that He is always with us until the end of time.

WHEN FAITH AND REASON UNITE

“Faith can move a mountain.”
“Truth will set you free.”
“Wisdom knows all and understands all.”
What are the relevance of these three dicta in us? In our personal lives, we encounter queries about our existence. We try to ask, seek and analyze things especially in making a decision. We try to understand things to know what to do. We would ask questions like, “Can faith really move a mountain?” “How could we move a mountain anyway?” “Why to move it?” “What is the meaning behind such mountain?”
Human reason is a wandering spirit that it naturally seeks for understanding everything just to know the truth or the meaning of existence. This is because we naturally desire to know ourselves. But human as it is, it has limited capacity over the absoluteness of truth that can cause danger in man. Sometimes, what we had found makes our reason distorted and being affected by the worldly and egoistic principles that we acquire in a pure rational way. Thus there must be a guiding foundation to direct reason to its proper end. Here is now the work of faith enters.
Faith is not merely a firm belief in something but a light to guide reason to what must be known. Dei Verbum says that, “By faith man freely commits his entire self to God.” But, how can we freely commit ourselves if we do not know the one whom we are committing ourselves to? It is the same as asking, “How could someone commit himself/herself freely if he/she does not know such self who will commit to? It is truth that will make us free. By truth, we came to commit not the incarcerated self or the superficial assent but the free one who has firm decision to believe that it is as the Absolute Truth who is God has said so. In here again, faith enters. “It is faith that allows individuals to give consummate expression to their own freedom.” To have faith is to decide freely to believe in a particular truth especially the truth concerning what God has revealed.
The aim of reason is not to destroy faith but rather to make it deeper. In a common parlance, “Faith can move a mountain” but in more special and spiritual way, “Faith with a deeper understanding can move God more.” Though “our vision of the face of God is always fragmentary and impaired by the limits of our understanding,” our efforts to know Him are more blessed indeed. We should never be stagnant or a mere nominal believer. We should not be contented “with partial and provisional truths, no longer seeking to ask radical questions” about what we believe.
Firm faith and enlightened reason are basically inviting us to have wise existence in relation to God. These will help us to realize our true selves under the shade of Wisdom where we freely commit ourselves to the knowledge and love of God. FAITH and REASON are efforts that will lead us to WISDOM and that these are being given by God and acted by man because of LOVE.