Lessons from the feast of Christ the King

Happy feast day Christ the King!

We heard the 2nd Mass in the morning in our parish.  It was not our parish priest who said the mass but a guest priest who I see every now and then, whenever our parish priest has something else to do.

We particularly like this priest kasi ang bait bait niya sa bata. He likes kids and believes that the number of kids that hear mass in a parish determines the life of the parish.

Kung bata pa lang marunong nang magsimba, hanggang paglaki at magkaroon ng sariling pamilya, yan ang mai papasa nila sa kanilang mga anak. Hindi mamamatay ang simbahan sa parokya.

Anyways, his sermon, hit me straight to my heart. AS in sapul kung sapul. It was actually about being able to forgive people who hurt us in the past. He started his sermon with this story:


A former drug addict, was talking to a priest and telling his life story on how he became dependent on drugs and finally coming into terms with God.

The young man said that when he was a little boy, his father used to hurt him for no apparent reason. He hurt him for the slightest mistakes he committed, he slaps him, bang his head on the wall, insult him and say he is not worth his life. This continued until he was a teenager and for him to get over the situation, he turned to drugs. He was rescued by an organization and taught him about Christ and His works, and he slowly healed from his past.

Until one day, he heard that his father had a stroke and can no longer fend for himself. The young man went home and took care of his father. He fed him, help him take a bath and put on clothes. 

In short, his father is fully dependent on him.  This is the time when all the past came rushing back to him. How his father hurt him physically, emotionally and psychologically.  He wanted to retaliate and push his father's face into the plate, knowing that his father can no longer hurt him back.

But instead of doing so, he just continued to take care of his father, unconditionally. The young man asked the priest, "Father, why is it hard for me to hurt my father, the way that he hurt me when I was young?" The priest said, "It is because God lives in your heart. And when God lives in you, you can no longer feel the need to get back at the person who hurt you." "You see, God is bigger than any of our sins, He is bigger that any of our challenges and problems. Accepting Him in your life, freed you from all past hurts, anger and resentment."

Mga muthers, diba tagos na tagos? Father even asked us, how many of us are living in anger? How many of us are not talking to our parents? Is there a brother or sister of ours that we have not talked for so long? Meron ba tayong kapit bahay na nakaalitan? Because if you answered yes, then you are a sad person. Napakalungkot mong tao because Jesus is not in your life. Punong-puno ka ng galit at paghihiganti.

 My tears were already falling, kasi sapul. Sapul sa lahat ng sinabi nya. Pasimple ko tiningnan ang katabi ko, nag pupunas ng mata, ang kaharap ko nag pupunas din ng mata, ang asawa ko pasimpleng nag pupunas ng mata. Ang anak ko, inaantok, hehehe.

Everything came back to me. Lahat sila na nakasakit sa akin. My tears were non-stop kasi relate na relate ako and I was not ready to let go of that thing in the past. Then I realized baka sad person nga ako kasi ayaw kong mag-let go.

And I prayed, prayed hard that little by little, I will be able to let go of it all. I know that when that time comes, it already means that God is already in my life. He is bigger that any of the things that I have experienced in the past.

Two lessons learned from yesterday's sermon. The first one i can relate so much, the 2nd one, I can relate a little. And here are those:

1. God is the bigger picture. He is bigger that any of the biggest problems and challenges combined and number

2.  Being a King means serving others, it does not mean you are the one being served.

I will blog my views on the second one in my succeeding posts.