January 2021
Vol 18 Issue 1
It was because of the Lord’s fidelity
Dt 7:8
Dear brothers and sisters,
A happy New Year to everyone!
This year 2021 marks the 5th centenary of the coming of Christianity in the country. It is also the Year of missio ad gentes. The CBCP recalls the challenge of Pope John Paul II during his 1981 visit to the Philippines: "I wish to tell you of my special desire that the Filipinos will become the foremost missionaries of the Church in Asia." This is a clear invitation to the Philippine Church, in particular, to our CFC community, as we celebrate this year our 40th anniversary, to fully engage in missio ad gentes. One simple yet profoundly meaningful and powerful way of engaging in missio ad gentes is to pray the World Mission Rosary. In 1951, Venerable Fulton Sheen introduced the World Mission Rosary with five colors representing the regions of the world.
Let us seek the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe by praying the Mission Rosary, because like her, we treasure God's fidelity.
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
April 2021 2nd Issue
Vol 18 Issue 5
How long, Lord?
Ps 13:2
Dear brothers and sisters,
We have just sent you the April 2021 issue of Letters of Aquila and Priscilla. But as we reflect on the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ this Good Friday, and having read the lament that was shared by Bishop Ambo David, we are inspired to share with you our thoughts and feelings on the current pandemic, particularly the dire situation that we are now again experiencing even after a year-long lockdown of varying degrees. As we reflect on Psalm 13, with Bishop Ambo David, we are urged to ask, "How long, Lord?"
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
June 2021
Vol 18 Issue 9
The netherworld shall not prevail against it
Mt 16:18
Dear brothers and sisters,
If you have seen the documentary The Keepers, you can fully appreciate these reflections. If you have not seen it yet, you may wish to watch it on Netflix. Then please join us in praying for the protection of all bishops and priests from the attack of the devil, the weakness of the flesh, and the deception of the world. In particular, please join us in praying for our 14-year old grandson, Sean James, who is discerning if he truly has a calling to the priestly vocation.
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
October 2021
Vol 18 Issue 13
Mary, of her was born Jesus
Mt 1:16
Dear brothers and sisters,
We resume our reflections on Mary. She is at the core of salvation history. Of her was born Jesus. This is evident in Matthew's genealogy and in the ever-widening covenants of God with his people starting with a couple (Adam and Eve), a family (Noah), a tribe (Abraham), the enslaved tribes of Israel (Moses), a kingdom (David), and finally the whole of mankind (the New Covenant, Jesus).
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
December 2021 2nd Issue
Vol 18 Issue 17
On entering the house they saw the child
Mt 2:11
and They found the infant lying in a manger
Lk 2:16
Dear brothers and sisters,
Although we have been focusing our recent reflections on the Synod on Synodality, we cannot allow Christmas to pass without sharing with you a reflection on the birth of Jesus. During this Christmas season, we encourage you to read and ponder on the Nativity Narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. You will discover that they are different from each other, but the message is the same - Jesus is Son of David and Son of God and this Good News must be shared universally to both Gentiles or Jew. The Messiah, the Savior, is born. May you all have a MERRY AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS!
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
2021
February 2021
Vol 18 Issue 2
They shall bear fruit even in old age
Ps 92:15
Dear brothers and sisters,
During this already year-long pandemic, we have all been given ample time to ponder: What will be the length of our years? How long can we support ourselves from savings? How can we make the rest of our years more meaningful? How can we continue actively serving the Lord? Can we still volunteer and support ourselves financially to go on mission to other countries? To all our senior readers, we hope that these reflections will help you find ways "to bear fruit even in old age" (Ps 92:15).
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
April 2021 3rd Issue
Vol 18 Issue 6
Your father and I have been looking for you
Lk 2:48
Dear brothers and sisters,
As we prepare for the consecration of the Philippines to St. Joseph on 1 May 2021, we wish to share with you this reflection on this great saint. His greatness is precisely because he was the spouse of Mary and the father of Jesus. Imagine how great a privilege God has given to Joseph that the Word of God was subject to his supervision and discipline during Jesus' formative years. As we have shared before, after our pilgrimage to Our Lady of Lourdes, events confirmed to us that authentic devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary will always lead us to Jesus. Likewise, our devotion to St. Joseph will lead us to Jesus since as Mary and Joseph look for Jesus, they will lead us and together we will find him.
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
July 2021
Vol 18 Issue 10
A thorn in the flesh was given to me
2 Cor 12:7
Dear brothers and sisters,
Among the most difficult to understand passages in the New Testament appear in Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians. In these verses, Paul describes a difficulty he has which he calls "a thorn in the flesh". What is this "thorn in the flesh" that Paul begs the Lord three times to remove from him? Bible scholars have at least three different opinions: a physical defect or ailment, a spiritual temptation, or a certain person who makes Paul's life extremely difficult. We all suffer from some form of difficulty or hardship. But God does not always remove all difficulties from our lives even when we ask him to. We need to learn to receive what we have been given. Most of all, we need to learn that Jesus is in charge even if a thorn in the flesh is given to us.
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
November 2021 1st Issue
Vol 18 Issue 14
We shall see him as he is
1 Jn 3:2
Dear brothers and sisters,
The month of November has become known as the month of the dead. St. Ambrose wrote that "death is no cause for mourning, for it is the cause of mankind's salvation." But Pope Benedict XVI, in his encyclical Spi Salvi, notes "a contradiction in our attitude." He says, "On one hand, we do not want to die; above all, those who love us do not want us to die. Yet on the other hand, neither do we want to continue living indefinitely." During this month, let us then ponder on our mortality and on the life that God has in store for us.
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
March 2021
Vol 18 Issue 3
If it dies, it bears much fruit
Jn 12:24
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today, we reflect on the Gospel for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, and we focus on Jesus' strangely enigmatic response to some Greeks who wish to see him. The Greeks must have heard of the signs and wonders performed by Jesus, and they want to see who this person is. We too would have desired the same thing. But Jesus is not a movie idol to be visually adulated. Rather, he is a way to be followed, a truth to be personified, a life to be lived. To see Jesus, we must become like a grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies so that we may bear much fruit.
May you all have a meaningful Holy Week and joyful Easter, and see Jesus as he offers his life and rises again so that we can join him with the Father in heaven.
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
May 2021 1st Issue
Vol 18 Issue 7
Pray without ceasing
1 Thes 5:17
Dear brothers and sisters,
We should have sent this reflection much earlier because our main purpose is to encourage you to join Pope Francis' Holy Rosary Marathon daily during the month of May. But if you are too sleepy or tired to join the midnight Rosary, you may view it the following morning at YouTube, Vatican Live. God will cause the mutation of this Covid-19 virus into a less virulent variant if we will all pray without ceasing.
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
August 2021
Vol 18 Issue 11
When all peoples and kingdoms gather
Ps 102:23
Dear brothers and sisters,
Hospitals are again full, ICU beds are occupied, there are long waiting lists for hospital admission, and long lines to the ERs. Horror stories abound about the experiences of friends and acquaintances who contracted the virus. Families endure much suffering and isolation, and most of all bear the astronomical costs of hospitalization. But what we miss the most during this pandemic is the face-to-face, personal fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the CFC community. Virtual meetings, teachings, retreats, assemblies, and recollections are fine but they are no substitute to the warmth of handshakes, embraces, kisses, and direct dialogues, banters, and conversations. Virtual recollections or retreats do not provide opportunities for sacramental confessions or for pastoral directions from the retreat master or for kneeling down in prayer and silent reflection before an exposed Blessed Sacrament. Thus, we need to storm heaven with our prayers and supplications asking God to end this pandemic. It is for this reason that we wish to share with you this reflection.
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
November 2021 2nd Issue
Vol 18 Issue 15
While they were conversing and debating
Lk 24:15
Dear brothers and sisters,
We wish to share with you our reflections on the Synod on Synodality which Pope Francis inaugurated in Rome on 9-10 October 2021. This synod is a consultation process throughout the church that will be conducted over a period of two years. It will first be conducted in parishes and dioceses, then in national and regional bodies, and will culminate in the Synod of Bishops in the Vatican in October 2023. In this reflection we have proposed a favorite topic of Pope Francis - the matter of delivering good and well-prepared homilies - to be among the issues discussed during this synod. Hope you will find this reflection inspiring and informative.
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
April 2021 1st Issue
Vol 18 Issue 4
Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot
Jn 13:26
Dear brothers and sisters,
We wish you all a blessed, peaceful and safe celebration of the Easter Triduum. May we all see the triumph of Jesus, our Savior, on Easter morning. And may the triumphant Jesus keep us all safe from Covid-19.
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
May 2021 2nd Issue
Vol 18 Issue 8
For those who love him
1 Cor 2:9
Dear brothers and sisters,
Have you ever wondered and asked yourselves the following questions: Where is heaven? What is heaven like? What are we going to do in heaven? Are we going to eternally play the harp, sing and pray, and praise and worship God with the angels in heaven? Are we not going to get bored spending eternity in heaven? In this issue, we wish to share with you some of our thoughts on this subject.
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
September 2021
Vol 18 Issue 12
They did not understand
Mk 9:32
Dear brothers and sisters,
The chapters from Mk 8:22 to 10:52 comprise some of the most elegant writings of Mark. These chapters are bound together by two blind-men stories that serve as "bookends", the first "bookend" about the cure of the blind man of Bethsaida and the second "bookend" about the cure of the blind man Bartimaeus. Within these two blind-man stories are the three predictions of Jesus' passion, but the disciples do not understand.
The continuing persistence of the Covid-19 pandemic is also difficult to understand. The Holy Father has done everything to plead for God's mercy to end the pandemic. And many of us pray for the same intention. But why has the pandemic in our country even surged this year to more than five times of last year's maximum daily cases? Is it because many still live in darkness and in continuing blindness to the love and healing that Jesus offers?
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
December 2021 1st Issue
Vol 18 Issue 16
It shall not be so among you
Mt 20:26
Dear brothers and sisters,
We are pleased to share with you the second part of our Letter on issues that we think are of importance to Pope Francis to be considered in the ongoing Synod on Synodality. In this Letter, we cite statements made by Pope Francis from 2013 to 2021 on the issue of clericalism in the hope that you may be led to ponder more deeply the Holy Father's statements in the light of the reforms of Vatican II. We pray that, at the very least, you may find this Letter informative.
With our love and prayers,
JUN and JEAN
