Homily of Most Rev. Mylo Hubert C. Vergara, DD, MA, SThD, Bishop of the Diocese of Pasig on the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of Ateneo College Batch ‘84 at the College Chapel, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, November 30, 2024
Our eucharistic celebration this afternoon is an anticipated Mass for the first Sunday of Advent. As we may already know, the word advent comes from the Latin term adventus which means “coming”. The four Sundays of advent invite us to prepare for the coming of the Lord, commonly understood as our preparation for Christmas day and the Christmas season. We are actually drawn to contemplate on two specific themes of advent. The first is our commemoration of Jesus’ first coming more than two thousand years ago. This is usually understood in the perspective of birthdays. We celebrate the birthday of Jesus, our Messiah and Savior in joy, merry making, and feasting. The second is about the Second Coming of Jesus. Our gospel provides a hint on what to expect as we heard these words from Jesus himself: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.… Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Lk 21:25-28) In contrast to the first coming, this we find difficult to celebrate. Who would want to celebrate the end-times or the end of the world when it will be the time of death and God’s final judgment. Yet, we are called to vigilantly and spiritually prepare for it.
Let me tweak a little bit the theme of “coming” to our ruby anniversary homecoming dubbed as ‘84ward. Like any school homecoming, our alumni homecoming as batch ’84 is actually a coming home to our college alma mater, Ateneo, this university we were schooled for four or five years. For a number of us, you may have observed that coming home to Ateneo may bring us to unfamiliar territory. There have been many changes in Ateneo after forty years. There are new buildings like the Gokongwei School of Management building, the Arete building, and of course, the Church of the Gesu. It is good that we have this Mass in this college chapel because, if you noticed, this has and is still a familiar holy place we used to pass by and stay, especially praying to the Lord that we pass our tests even though we did not study well or crammed during exams. Coming home brings back memories of where we were and how we were in the 80’s, when we were struggling to complete our college degrees. Before, we had to traverse small corridors going to the Rizal Library and Colayco Hall, climb the floors of the Berchmans, Koska, and Bellarmine buildings to go to our classrooms, and for others the Eliazo dorms where they resided. I am sure we remember our teachers, especially our Jesuit professors in Philosophy and Theology like Fr. Joe Cruz, SJ, Fr. Roque Ferriols, SJ, Fr. Vitaliano Gorospe, and Fr. Assandas Balchand among others, who gave us a hard time during oral and written exams but taught us perennial human and christian values that we make efforts to transmit to our loved ones at home and workplaces. How could we forget the friends we hung out with, our college barkada, who to this day, we meet from time to time to share our memories and personal stories. Remembering all these lead us to a grateful disposition. As the old French proverb by Jean-Baptiste Massieu goes: “Gratitude is the memory of the heart.” To remember is to be grateful. In our coming home this year on our 40th anniversary, we are grateful to God for all that has been, all that is and all that will be as we move forward in the remaining years of our life.
Our gratitude can become more meaningful if we light four candles in our hearts. At the start of the Mass, we blessed and lighted the first candle of the advent wreath which symbolizes the first Sunday of Advent. As we light three more candles on the next three Sundays, we anticipate and know that Christmas is just around the corner. Let me give a different meaning to the lighting of the candles for this homecoming.
The first candle is the candlelight of prayer. For a number of us, we have small altars or chapels at home where we have religious images. We light candles there when we go to have either private or family devotional prayers. At the start of this coming home, we have lighted the candles on our altar as we celebrate the Holy Eucharist. Let this signify, giving priority to God in this celebration, thanking him for making us reach forty years and moving forward.
The second candle is the candlelight of relationship. Then and now, we have been used to candlelight dinners, especially during Valentine’s Day. When you have dinner with someone you love and there is a candle lit on the table, there is an ambiance of romance. Sometimes, there are also lighted candles on the table during family reunions and gatherings. Lighted candles may mean rekindling and renewing relationships. We had a foretaste of this, even before this main event, during five fellowship gatherings of Batch ’84. During dinner later, let us invite each other to rekindle our relationships. Let us enjoy each other’s presence, share our stories, and thank God for the gift of love and friendship.
The third candle is the candlelight of solidarity. In the past and even now, we have had advocacies for freedom, justice, and peace. To dramatize this in some gatherings, people bring candles and light them and you witness a wave of lighted candles, showing that amidst darkness, there is light at the end of the tunnel. At times, during prayer rallies when candles are lit by numerous people, you can even hear the lyrics of a popular song: “It is better to light just one little candle that to stumble in the dark.” We know that there a many people suffering today who have been displaced due to wars and climate disasters. We have not been spared here in the Philippines after the many storms that have devastated the Bicol, Northen Luzon, and the National Capital regions. Currently, many are frustrated and fearful brought about by the effects of graft and corruption committed by those in high positions in government as well as the brewing political and military turmoil. We cannot remain indifferent. Let us light the candle of solidarity in our hearts, discern, and put into action the little we can do as men and women for others.
The fourth candle is the candlelight of hope. It is that last day of November. If you recall, on the first and second days or any of the days during this month, most of us went to the cemeteries, ossuaries, and columbaries to light candles and pray for our departed loved ones and friends. We prayed for them as they have come home to the Father in heaven. In this Mass, we also light our candles of hope for our batchmates who have gone ahead of us. We pray for their homecoming to eternal life. We also thank the Lord for their being God’s gift to us. Let us also ask them to intercede for us in prayer to God, knowing that we are in our senior years. Let us ask them to pray for us that when our time comes, we may look forward to our own future homecoming in heaven.
As we light these four candles of prayer, relationship, solidarity, and hope, may our homecoming be a graced experience of coming home to God. In the words of Henri Nouwen: “God is not in the distant heavens or in the hidden depths of the future, but here and now. God has pitched a tent among us. Even more than that, God has made a home in us so that we can make God’s home our home.”