My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Feast of the first Filipino saint, San Lorenzo Ruiz , and the Word of God dem...
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Feast of the first Filipino saint, San Lorenzo Ruiz, and the Word of God demands that we wrestle with the most painful realities of our nation. The readings today are not a gentle whisper; they are a prophet’s shout against the greatest sin of our age: indifference in the face of public wickedness.
Let us look closely at the three words that tie God’s Word to the life of our country today: Corruption, Cry, and Covenant.
Corruption: The Sin That Drowns
The Prophet Amos pronounced a terrible Woe upon the comfortable elite who feast in their mansions while ignoring the collapse of their people. Our Gospel shows the same sin: the Rich Man, utterly untouched by Lazarus's suffering at his very gate.
Brothers and sisters, in the Philippines today, this Rich Man is the personification of corruption and greed! We have seen the headlines: billions stolen through so-called "ghost projects" and substandard flood control. When the rains come and our communities drown—when the elderly are submerged and the homes of the poor are swept away—it is not merely an act of nature. It is the consequence of theft.
The politician who pockets the money meant for the dike; the official who signs off on the "ghost" road; the contractor who puts sand instead of cement—they are the rich man who steps over Lazarus. Their wealth is bought with the fear, the tears, and the very lives of our people. I ask you: Is this not the gravest sin against love of neighbor? The sin of active harm disguised as indifference?
Cry: The Voice of Lazarus
Lazarus, the poor man in the Gospel, received no compassion on earth. But in his agony, his condition was a Cry—a silent, powerful accusation heard by God. Today, the flood-stricken communities, the angry demonstrators in our streets, the families who lose their livelihood to water that was meant to be controlled, they are the modern-day Lazarus. Their pain is a cry for justice that is echoing through heaven and earth.
Saint Paul, in the second reading, calls us to "fight the good fight of the faith" and to pursue righteousness and honesty. The time has come to decide if we will ignore that cry! To the politicians who profess to be Christian, we must deliver this uncompromising challenge: Your faith is meaningless if your hands are stained with the money that was meant to save lives! The cross is a sign of sacrifice, not a symbol to cover up a luxurious, stolen life. You cannot serve God and a ghost project!
Covenant: The Call to Honesty
The ultimate challenge lies in the word Covenant. A covenant is a sacred oath—a promise of fidelity. San Lorenzo Ruiz showed us what fidelity looks like: he kept his covenant with Christ even to the point of martyrdom, refusing to betray his truth for all the world's power.
Today, we demand that our leaders honor their Covenant with the Filipino people. They swore an oath to serve, to protect, and to be honest. The pursuit of honesty is not just good governance; it is the very heart of the Christian faith in public life.
My brothers and sisters, we must not be complacent. The Church must be the moral conscience of the nation. Let us be the voices that amplify the cry of Lazarus. Let us be citizens who demand, not just from our leaders, but from ourselves, the courage of San Lorenzo Ruiz—the courage to live an honest life, even when it is costly, so that no Filipino may drown in floods because of the sin of another.
Let the words of Paul ring true: Fight the good fight of the faith. Let us fight for an honest government, a protected people, and a nation that is truly worthy of its saints.
Amen.
No comments