BE A DOMINICAN BROTHER

FOR INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT

THE VOCATION PROMOTER:

BR. MELENCIO GARCIA, O.P.

Saint Albert the Great Pre-Novitiate House

Colegio de San Juan de Letran Bucal, Calamba City, Laguna Tel. no. 545-5431/ 545-1085

Dominican Novitiate of the Annunciation

2430 Manaoag, Pangasinan E-mail: dppi_novitiate@hotmail.com Mobile: 09495086529

Pagtugon sa Tawag

Sto. Doming Convent 537 Quezon Avenue, Quezon City 1114 Tel.no/Mobile: (02) 712-6275/0915784728 E-mail: op_vocation@live.com.ph.

Bahay Dominiko

8 Biak na Bato St. Sta Mesa Heights, Quezon City Tel. no.: (02) 743-7762/743-7763

~ Catechesis ~

God had a Mother? (see page 6)

January 2018 Celebrations for the Month of January 1 Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God 2 St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctor 6 Solemnity of the Epiphany 7 St. Raymond of Penyafort, Priest 8 Feast of the Baptism of the Lord 13 St. Hilary , Bishop and Doctor 15 St. Francis de Capillas and Comp. Martyrs 17 St. Anthony, Abbot 18 St. Margaret of Hungary, Virgin 20 St. Fabian, Pope and Martyr

20 St. Sebastian, Martyr 21 Feast of Sto. Nino 21 St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr 22 St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr 24 St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor 25 Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle 26 Sts. Timothy and Ttitus, Bishops 28 Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor 31 St. John Bosco, Priest

DOMINICAN NOVITIATE OF THE ANNUNCIATION

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Series 18-07

Let me enumerate some per-sonalities: Manny Pacquiao, Liza So-

berano, Vic Sotto, Willie Revillame,

and Vice Ganda. I am sure these per-

sonalities ring a bell whenever you

hear or read about them. They star in

your favorite shows and teleseryes.

You see them on bill boards. You can

even identify their favorite food, plac-

es where they went for vacation, their

waistlines, and favorite cosmetic prod-

ucts. You know them because of their

extensive media exposure. You even

choose the clothes that somehow re-

semble what they wear in their shows.

And perhaps when you see them, you

would rummage for a camera just to

get a good selfie.

Now, let me try to enumerate

another set of “personalities”: Mario

Bergoglio, Joseph Ratzinger, Karol

Wojtyla, Socrates Villegas, Elmer

Mangalinao, Giovanni Bosco, and

Dominic de Guzman. Do any of these

names ring a bell? Do we know their

favorite food? Do we know what they

wear? Do we know where they go? Or

at least, do we know what they do?

I do not blame you for not

knowing much of these people. The

media do not find their lives to be

profitable. The media found it profita-

ble to commercialize love, miracle,

happiness, sorrow, and friendship.

They have made a star out kilig love

teams that is supposed to be our model

for a meaningful relationship. They

have made a star out of beauty prod-

ucts that are supposed to miraculously

whiten our dark skin. They have made

a star out of money and easy prizes

that are supposed to satisfy the ulti-

mate pursuit of happiness. They have

made a star out of confessional talk shows as channel for reconciliation.

And they have made a star out of bling

-band groups that are supposed to por-

tray as true friendship.

We become like our stars. If

your star is kilig, then you might fall

into the trap of expecting a happy ever

after without struggle. If your star is

your cosmetic products or the beauti-

ful clothes you see on TV, then your

star led you to the vanity of the ex-

traordinary dictatorship of worldly

standard far reaching. If your star is

money, then you are no different from

a slot machine that entices you to gam-

ble more for easy prices – an easy way

out from your boredom and material

problem.

Did you ever realize that

none of your stars could ever make

you happy forever? Yes, they give you

momentary pleasure but that may be

gone in an estimable amount of time

because of too much familiarity. Noth-

ing in this world could make us ulti-

mately happy. Money, kilig, and de-

ceptive standards of beauty are just

lights that need battery. They never

last. Their glow expires. Slowly but

surely their glow dims and suddenly

leaves you behind in darkness without

a sense of direction.

Who is our star? Like the star

of Bethlehem who led the three Magi

to the child Jesus, let us follow the

stars that do not lead us to the dictator-

ship of anger, hatred, gossip, envy,

and pride. Let us look for the stars that

will lead us to our ultimate happiness

–God.

We Become Our Stars By: br. John Wilson F. Nucum, O.P.

Matthew 2:1-12 | January 7, 2018 | Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

2| BINHI

EXCHANGE THE “KNOWN”

FOR THE “UNKNOWN” By: br. Tommy Riezky Tiyanto, O.P.

John 1:35-42 | January 14, 2018 | Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

WE ARE EQUAL By: Oktavianus Geor, O.P.

Mark 1:14-20 | January 21, 2018 | Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

7| DNA Gospel Sunday Reflection

We greeted the New Year by celebrating the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. This title of Mary sparked controversy because of the question: does God

ever have a mother; does God need to be created by His own creature? To understand this, we must first understand the divinity of Jesus. Jesus is

both God and Man. He is the second person of the Trinity. John the beloved apos-tle started to describe the “Word” in his Gospel. “In the beginning was the Word

and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He is in the beginning with

God. Everything came through Him, and without Him nothing came to be (John

1:1-3).” Jesus is the Word. God became man to save us in the person of Jesus. “He was in the world and the world came to be through Him, but the world did not

know Him (John 1:10).” He came down from heaven to assume our human nature

and thus it is said: “the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us and

we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).”

A prophecy was fulfilled when angel Gabriel greeted Mary: “Hail Full of Grace the Lord is with you”, and Mary responded: “Be it done to me according to

your Word.” Isaiah prophesies: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel

(Isaiah 7:14).” Mary became the mother of the Word made Flesh. God created

Mary to be His passage way here on earth. She was chosen from the beginning for

all eternity. There was no lottery, no audition, and no pageantry. It was prophesied

that this woman would be Blessed for all eternity. Thus, we read from Saint Paul:

“When the designated time had come, God sent forth His Son born of a woman, born under the law, to deliver from the law those who were subjected to it, so that

we might receive our status as adopted sons (Galatians 4:4-5).”

The early church found it necessary to bestow on Mary the title: Mother

of God for the reason of protecting our understanding of the divinity of Jesus. To

call her simply the mother of Christ – is a zip to separate Christ’s divinity from his

humanity. She is the mother of Jesus Christ – God and Man from the moment of

His conception and not a single moment later. The Church never taught that Mary

produced God. It is never taught by the Church that a human creature could ever

produce divinity. She is the Mother of God because of Jesus’ nature as both God

and Man.

God took a human form from Mary. She is the only woman who could

say: “He is the bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” She is the only woman on

earth who has the right to say: “He is my body and my blood. I give Him up for

you.” Does this diminish the glory of the Trinity? No. St. Athanasius said, “Even

when the Word takes a body from Mary, the Trinity remains a Trinity, with neither

increase nor decrease. It is forever perfect. In the Trinity we acknowledge the God-

head, and thus one God. The Father of the Word is proclaimed in the Church.”

Now, who is your best Mother? The Mother of God will never claim the

throne that rightly belongs to our own mother. But I am sure our very own mother

would pay homage to the “best of the best mother of all” to ask for her intercession

and protection, to talk to her Son to guide us and take care of us – their children –

because Mary, the “best of the best mother in the world”, always leads us to God,

her only creator.

tagapagturo ng Batas na laway lang ang puhunan sa pagtuturo, inaan-

yayahan tayo ng Panginoong Hesus na tularan ang kanyang paraan: ang pangangaral na hindi lang puro nga-

wa bagkus ay isang pangangaral na pinagtitibay ng kanyang mabubuting gawa at magandang halimbawa.

Hindi pa huli ang lahat. Ang pagbabago ng mga kabataan ay nak-asalalay sa pagbabago ng mga naka-

katandang nangangaral sa kanila. Sa tulong ni Hesus na siyang ulirang

tagapangaral ng mga pasaway na Israelita, ay magagawa din natin magabayan ang ating mga kabataan

patungo sa kagandahang asal at pag-mamahal sa Diyos. Umpisahan natin

ito sa ating mga sarili, gawin natin ang mga unang hakbang ng isang

bagong paraan ng pagtuturo at pangangaral sa kabataan at pihadong mapapa-isip at susunod

ang mga nakababata, gaano man sila kapalalo o kapasaway sa ating pan-ingin.

Takang-taka ang lahat ng mga naki-kinig kay Hesus at nag-usap-usap

sila: “ Ano ito? ISANG BAGONG PAG-

TUTURO NA MAY KAPANGYARI-HAN! Inutusan niya kahit ma-

ruruming espiritu at

SINUNOD NILA SIYA. (Marcos 1:27)

6| BINHI

~ Catechesis ~

God had a Mother?

The Son Who Gave Birth to His Mother By: br. John Wilson F. Nucum, O.P.

My mother is the best mother in the world. I am sure you want to get the

claim that your own mother is the best mother in the world. I will not contest that.

No matter how the glorification of my mother reaches to the highest exaggeration,

no matter how I convince you that my mother is the best mother in the world, I am

sure my mother cannot replace your own mother. Our mothers are the best. No

mother can replace our own mother. We have the guts to say that our mother is the

best because they did a good job in bringing us up.

How do we determine a good mother? We can determine a good mother

by the quality of children she has. I am not talking about physical quality. If the

child is loving, respectful, have a sense of responsibility, and uncontested fear of

God, then we may say that his/her mother did a good job.

I think if someone could boast of the best mother in the world, it would be

Jesus. Jesus would say, “My mother is the best of the best.” Why would He say

that? He being both God and Man was brought up by a poor Galilean woman. He

had every right to say that His mother is “the best of the best” because in His

uniqueness, He was brought up by a woman to be our savior. He had the guts to

say that His mother is the best because His mother brought Him up for the greatest

salvation story the world ever had.

The story about Jesus call-

ing his disciples is personally fas-

cinating for me. Over the years, the

disciples lived their lives in securi-

ty. They had a fixed job, most of

them were fishermen. One of them

was a tax collector. They knew

what they were doing. They were

secure. Jesus came and called them

by name to be his disciple.

To be His disciple was not

easy. It entails an exploration of

the unknown. They did not even

know where Jesus was living or

what His daily activity was. Every-

thing seemed abstract and vague.

Jesus looked at them ten-

derly and said, “Come and see”.

Have you ever thought that it was

such a crazy idea? “Come and see”

required the disciples to leave eve-

rything. They had to let go of their

boat, their net, their job, their mon-

ey, their house, their family, their

friends, and everything. It was a

total surrender to Him. They ex-

changed all they have ever

KNOWN in their lives for some-

thing UNKNOWN.

My friends, how many of

us would say that we would like to

follow Jesus? Do we realize the

great responsibility involved in

following him? Following Jesus

means to let go of everything and

to give everything to Him. Many

of us only give ¼, ½ or ¾ of our

hearts. But it is not enough. He

asks for our whole heart. He asks

for our total surrender in His love.

EXCHANGE THE “KNOWN”

FOR THE “UNKNOWN” By: br. Tommy Riezky Tiyanto, O.P.

John 1:35-42 | January 14, 2018 | Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Hi, my name is Oktavianus

Geor, but you can call me, brother

Ophin. I came from Flores, Indo-

nesia. Four years ago, I entered the

Dominican Order to become a

priest. Some of my relatives,

friends, siblings and even my par-

ents asked me the popular question

to me: “why you want to become a

priest?” I do not have other reasons

except, I just want to follow Jesus.

I believe that Jesus calls

me to follow Him. I also believe

that being at this stage of my for-

mation here in the Philippines is a

confirmation that God is still call-

ing me. Brothers and sisters in

Christ, I believe that this is my vo-

cation. I am now on the way to

follow Him.

How about you? What is

your vocation? I am sure whoever

you are, reading this reflection,

you also have a special vocation.

Maybe you are a nurse, a farmer, a

teacher, a driver, a businessman/

woman, a catechist, or a gardener

etc. Remember! Whatever job you

WE ARE EQUAL By: Oktavianus Geor, O.P.

Mark 1:14-20 | January 21, 2018 | Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

3| DNA Gospel Sunday Reflection

have, you are special in the eyes of

God. As a Dominican brother, I am

no more special than you are. I say

to you, no one is more special in

the eyes of God. We are all equal

in the eyes of God, no one is high-

er, and no one is lower than the

other.

Brothers and sisters, we

are human. We have the tendency

to compare ourselves to others. We

easily say, “I am better than him”.

We easily criticize. But, we must

be grateful because God chose to

become a man. He does not com-

pare each one of us, like we do.

Try to see the moon in the

dark of the night. That moon does

not shine only for those people

who are afraid of darkness. It

shines for all people in the world

including those who do not like the

moonbeam. That is like the love of

God, He never gives His love only

to those people who are good but

also for those who are in darkness.

All of us are special in the eyes of

God. We need to remember that

you and I have different vocation.

It is because God calls each one of

us by name.

I invite each one of you to

love our vocation. No matter how

simple your job is, no matter how

small you salary is, and no matter

how hard you work is. God still

loves you. Remember! You are

one of His beloved children. He

never forgets each one of you.

Again, love your vocation. If you

are a nurse, be a good nurse. Help

the doctor to cure and save lives. If

you are a farmer, be a good farmer.

If you are a businessman/woman,

be a good businessman/woman.

Give your best in your duty for the

sake of God. Amen

4| BINHI

MA„GULANG’ NA MAGULANG By: br. Jimbo M. Mendejar, O.P.

Mark 1:21-28 | January 28, 2018 | Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Ibang-iba na talaga ang mga kabataan ngayon!”

Hindi maikakaila na ibang-iba na nga ngayon ang mga kabataan: sa pananamit, sa mga ki-

nahihiligang libangan o di kaya na-man sa paraan ng kanilang pagpapa-hayag ng sarili. Tuluyan na ngang

binago ng panahon ang tradisyunal na mukha ng kabataang Pilipino. Sa opinyon ng mga nakararaming

magulang, isa umano sa kapansin-pansing kaibahan ng mga kabataan

ngayon ay ang kanilang pagsasawa-

lang bahala sa mga pangangaral ang mga magulang. Hindi na daw

marunong makinig at sumunod ang mga kabataan ng ating kasalukuyan. Ngunit kung ating pag-iisipan, ano

nga kaya ang dahilan ng hindi paki-kinig ng mga kabataan ngayon sa mga nakatatanda? Mga kabataan

lang ba ang dapat pagbuntunan ng sisi sa problemang ito? Kung ating pag-iisipan, wa-

la namang bago sa mga pangangaral ng mga magulang noon hanggang

ngayon. Ang mabuti noon ay

5| DNA Gospel Sunday Reflection

mabuti pa rin naman hanggang nga-yon (sapagkat hindi naman nagbaba-

go ang pamantayang moral ng mga Kristiyano). Ang pagpatay, pagnanakaw at kawalang respeto sa

mga nakakatanda na masama noon ay masama pa rin naman hanggang ngayon. Subalit bakit kaya unti-unti

nang nagiging endangered species ang mga ititnuturing nating mga “mabubuting asal” at critically

threatened naman ang mga kabataang nagsasabuhay nito. Buma-

lik tayo sa tahanan at doon mahahan-ap ang kasagutan. Ang tahanan ang unang silid

-aralan at simbahan ng mga kabataan kaya wala tayong dapat isisi sa mga guro o mga pari. Mga magulang,

tanungin natin ang ating sarili: Hinihikayat pa ba nating magsimba

kasama natin ang mga anak tuwing Linggo o maging tayo ay mas pinipi-li nating ipagdamot sa Diyos ang

isang oras ng pasasalamat (1 hour lang po ang Misa!) na hinihingi ng Diyos mula sa 168 hours na meron

ang pitong araw? Nirerespeto ba natin ang ating kapwa o maging ang ating mga anak ay mga saksi sa

kung paano natin siraan at pag-chismisan ang ating mga kapitbahay

gamit ang ating makakating dila? Ang ating tahanan ba ay isang lugar kung saan ang komunikasyon at pag

-uusap ang paraan ng pagresolba ng problema o isang lugar kung saan sigawan, dahas at mga pagmumura

ang karaniwang eksena?Nanalangin pa ba kayo bilang mag-anak o mag-

ing kayo ay nahihiyang mag-antanda ng maliit na Krus sa hapag bago kumain? Kung negatibo ang

sagot mo, sa malamang at sapol ay

may problema ka sa mga anak mo ngayon dahil matitigas ang ulo nila

at ayaw nilang pakinggan ang pan-gangaral mo sa kanila. Sa Bibliya, mababasa natin

na nagulat ang mga tao sa pangan-garal ni Hesus sapagkat nangangaral siya nang may kapangyarihan

(authority), hindi gaya ng mga guro ng batas (Marcos 1: 21-22). Kung ating titingnang mabuti ang pagku-

kumparang ito, ang reaksyong ito ng mga Israelita ay nag-uugat sa kawa-

lang kredibilidad ng mga tagapag-turo ng Batas. Bagaman pareho lang ang itinuturo ni Hesus sa mga ta-

gapagturo ng mga Batas, ang ma-laking kaibahan ay ang paraan ng

pangangaral. Ang mga tagapagturo

ng Batas ay nagtuturo gamit ang

salita lamang subalit ang ginagamit

ni Hesus ay ang salita na mas nagi-ging kapanipaniwala dahil sinasa-

mahan niya ito ng gawa. Ano kaya

ang matututunan natin dito patungkol sa pangangaral sa ating mga anak at sa mga kabataan sa

pangkalahatan? Simple lang. Kailangan lagyan natin ng ka-pangyarihan ( authority ) ang ating

pagtuturo sa mga bata. Ang authori-ty na ito ay hindi patungkol sa pag-

bulyaw o pagggamit ng situron o anumang uri ng dahas sa pagtuturo. Mas higit na kinakailangan ngayon

ng mga kabataan ang isang ma-

gulang na magulang ( isang taong maituturing nilang mas may gulang

(mature) sa buhay, mas malawak ang pananaw at isang taong kayang

isabuhay ang kanyang mga itinutu-rong pangangaral.) Talaga nga na-mang hindi biro ang pangangaral sa

mga nakababata. Hindi tulad ng mga