Skip to main content
Krus at Lipunan: A Filipino Theology of Liberation

“HE BEGAN TO TEACH THEM…”

Is 50:5-9a | Ps 116:1-2,3-4,5-6,8-9 | Ja 2:14-18 | Mk 8:27-35


“kung edukasyon ang sagot sa kahirapan, bakit mga edukado ang nagnanakaw sa bayan?” (If education is the solution to poverty, why then the educated persons steal from the people?) I saw this slogan in one of my social media platforms and it got my attention as I reflect upon on our readings this Sunday. I could not help but to reecho the same question inside of me. Yes, it is true that those people who were convicted of plunder and those who we know as corrupt are people with esteemed academic background. What made them steal if in fact these persons knew what is right from wrong, good from evil, moral from immoral and legal from illegal? Sadly, most of this people came from Catholic schools which ideally instructs the students the values of the Christian faith. What happened to the products of our Catholic schools that they failed to live on the values that Christian education is fostering? Where did we fail in our instruction? In our Catholic schools? Catechesis? And even in our ministry as teachers and leaders of the community?

In our gospel, Jesus asked two questions to his disciples; “who do people say that I am?” and “who do you that I am?” The first question is more on the head level. The basic truths about who Jesus is? What does our faith in Jesus implies for us as his believers and members of his body the Church? It is here that our catechists in our parishes and our religion teachers in our schools plays an important role in educating the mind. No doubt, we are good, if not better, in transmitting the faith in this level. Most of these “questionable” officials has finished with flying colors in our Catholic schools; some can even post their Sunday reflections in their social media accounts. But it was just in the head, we failed as a Church to form the heart of our students, the youth who are the future of our country and even of our Church. We never dare to ask them the second question; “who is Jesus for you?”

This lack of personal relationship with Jesus prevented the truth that we know in our mind to sink down into our hearts. It is why Catholic officials who finished their studies in our schools did not turn to be the ideal alumni we are dreaming to produce. We failed to challenge them to see and to know Jesus personally and be intimate with him in the presence of those who are suffering. We have taught them the faith but never taught them to be faithful in their works. As what the second reading is telling us about faith and good works.

In this time of the pandemic, when many of us suffers from its ramifications and most of all from the mismanagement of those in power to control the spread of this disease—let us ask ourselves, as a teaching Church, where did we fail in teaching our flock to be faithful not just in their minds but as well in their hearts? A discipleship that comes from our intimacy with Jesus that moves us to do what is just. Or we are partly to be blame for the misery of countless people for not being effective teachers of the faith? Because we produced educated leaders but with hearts that is closed to see the suffering Jesus in the poorest among us who in the first reading is the suffering servant. It is good for us to examine our being a Church; are we a good teacher?


_________________________________
* Photo not mine

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord

Krus at Lipunan: A Filipino Theology of Liberation “Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord” Boyet Dalogdog Image source: INQUIRER.net Facebook page "Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever." (Daniel 3:57, NABRE) Every handiwork of God — whether great or small — gives praise to the Creator. The whole of creation sings a continuous hymn, glorifying the One who grants each creature its very being. To silence even one of them is not merely an act of environmental negligence; it is a theological affront — it deprives that creature of its rightful participation in the chorus of creation. "Ang sakit sa mata pagmasdan itong kapuputol lang na puno na para bang literal na dumudugo pa." (It is a pain in the eyes to look at this freshly cut tree — it literally looks like it is still bleeding.) These were the words of GMA News reporter Mark Salazar in a reel that found its way into my social media feed. Reportedly, the Department of E...
Post a Comment
Read more

USQUEQUO, DOMINE? (Open-Letter to our Shepherds on World Mental Health Awareness Day 2025)

Krus at Lipunan: A Filipino Theology of Liberation USQUEQUO, DOMINE? (How long, O Lord?) Open-Letter to our Shepherds on World Mental Health Awareness Day 2025 October 10, 2025 “How long, O Lord? Will you utterly forget me? How long will you hide your face from me?” — Psalm 13:1 (NABRE) Dear Shepherds — bishops, priests, religious, and all who bear the scent of the sheep — Peace be with you! I do not write as an authority but rather as one who has gone through silent periods, times when faith was hardly there and the heart was so heavy that even words found it hard to express. During the quiet time of praying and suffering, I discovered that a lot of people among us have hidden weights. Some identify them as mental health problems, while others simply say it is a time when making it through the day is the only grace there is. I write to invite you to join me not to answer my query, but to listen — the listening that gets one healed. The psalmist is not doubting God'...
Post a Comment
Read more

“The Cross and the Sickle”

Krus at Lipunan: A Filipino Theology of Liberation “The Cross and the Sickle” Rev. Boyet Dalogdog, Jr., MTh The Catholic Proletariat stands as the heart of society, the faithful masses whose overlooked yet sacred dignity pulses with the very life of the Church. They are the workers, farmers, skilled laborers—people who labor with sweat and sacrifice, sustaining communities and bearing heavy burdens. These souls are not forgotten by God but cherished, made in His image (Genesis 1:26 NRSV), and called to rise with a collective strength rooted in faith, justice, and mercy. Dorothy Day , through her profound witness in the Catholic Worker Movement, invites us to see the poor as "the jewels of society," reflecting the divine image with unspeakable worth. Her prophetic voice pierced through the complacency of her era, denouncing the hypocrisy of those who scold the poor yet shield the sins of the wealthy. She lived out the mandate of Proverbs 31:8-9, pleading, "Open your m...
Post a Comment
Read more