May I share an excerpt from David Leininger’s “Collected Sermons“?

“An anonymous author made this striking comparison: Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50 and Aristotle for 40 years; Jesus for only three years. Yet the influence of Christ’s three-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men, who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity.

“Jesus painted no pictures, yet some of the finest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received their inspiration from Jesus. Jesus wrote no poetry, but Dante, Milton, and scores of the world’s greatest poets were inspired by Him. Jesus composed no music, still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach, and Mendelssohn reached their highest perfection of melody in the hymns, symphonies, and oratories they composed in His praise.

“Every Sphere of human greatness has been enriched by this humble Carpenter of Nazareth. George Handel’s Messiah has become one of the greatest musical compositions. Mozart, a music genius, paid Handel the supreme compliment in 1789 [when he] proclaimed Handel to be the greatest composer that ever lived. And this is because of the inspiration coming from the life of a simple carpenter of Nazareth. Jesus’s unique contribution to humanity is the salvation of the soul! Philosophy could not establish that, nor art, nor music, nor literature. Only Jesus Christ can break the enslaving chains of sins. He alone can speak peace to the human heart, strengthen the weak, and give life to those who are spiritually dead.”

And so, awake! Arise! Rejoice! Gaudete! This third Sunday is a joyful celebration. Although we are in the midst of a penitential period of Advent, Gaudete Sunday serves as the mid-point break from our austere practices to the rejoicing mood in the very imminent and nearness of God’s coming.

Just like the famous people in the history of arts, literature and music, whose fame came from their identification of Jesus as the savior of humankind, Jesus is asking us, “Do you know who I am?” More and more people do not know that Jesus Christ is the only reason for Christmas. There is no Christmas without Christ. The best way to celebrate this season is by having Jesus in our hearts.

At this point, we are already thinking about what gifts to give our friends and loved ones. With a very tight budget, this might not be easy. How about giving them the gifts of peace and joy? These are infinitely more meaningful and lasting.

But, we can only avail this peace and joy in our hearts through reconciliation with God. Hence, December 16 is our Reconciliation Monday. Bring a loved one or a friend to confession so we can all celebrate the joy of Christmas with peace and joy in the Lord.

Every November 2, the Church commemorates the faithful departed: All who have not yet seen God face to face or attained the eternal bliss of heaven. We are taught from our catechism that all who die in God’s grace and friendship, but who are still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation. However, after death, they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven (CCC 1030). This state of purification is called purgatory.

According to our Catholic faith, after death, our souls can go to one of three places:

1. Heaven: Only if we die in a state of perfect grace and communion with God.
2. Hell: Where those who die in a state of mortal sin are condemned by their choice.
3. Purgatory: Where most people, free of mortal sin, but in a state of lesser sin must go.

Last month, the overarching theme of the Gospels was Jesus’ call to discipleship. Indeed, we are all called to be disciples proclaiming the Kingdom of God. Aside from Jesus’ chosen disciples, we also learn discipleship from the lives of the saints. We can witness discipleship, too, in the lives of our priests, religious brothers and sisters, families in mission, and clergy and lay missionaries around the world. To be a disciple means to learn, to be a student of a teacher: Him who is the one and only Teacher. To be a student of Jesus is not just to learn in theory but to live the Gospel in our daily lives.

A few weeks ago, I got the chance to go home to the orphanage where I was born and raised. After 41 years since its foundation, I saw how the congregation has witnessed Jesus to the community, especially to the poor. The Missionary Sisters of the Poor of Christ was founded by a Spanish nun who was a member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. Through the inspiration of St. Vincent’s motto from Luke 4:18, “evangelizare pauperibus misit me” (He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor), Sr. Lourdes Lopez went to the southeastern island of the Philippines to live the Gospel by serving the poor. It all started in a small “nipa hut” (a stilt house indigenous to the Philippine culture) and has spread to the neighboring towns serving the poor and educating children and parish apostolates.

This is just one example of the many missionaries around the world who are living the life of discipleship. But we do not need to go to missions; we can be disciples in many ways in our ordinary, daily lives.

However, we need to be equipped fully in order to heed the call to discipleship. Bishop Robert Barron said in one of his reflections that, in order for us to be ready to answer the call to discipleship, “we are required to have the spiritual gifts of piety and fear of the Lord.” Fear of the Lord does not mean to be afraid of God. It means, according to Bishop Barron, “nothing to us is more important than God, that everything in our life centers and is subordinate to God. Piety means to honor God above everything else and worship him alone.”

The summer ends, unofficially, on the first Monday of September, known in the United States as “Labor Day.” The day gives tribute to workers, their contributions to society and the economy, as well as their own successes and achievements.

Labor Day started with a movement of laborers in the early 19th century at the zenith of the Industrial Revolution. During that era, an average American worked 12 hours a day to earn a basic living. People, particularly the poor and immigrants, would face unsafe workplaces and risky facilities for both health and morale. On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers in New York City marched from City Hall to Union Square; this would later be recognized as the first Labor Day parade in U.S history. A decade later, President Grover Cleveland signed a law declaring Labor Day a legal holiday.

That first march led to a labor strike on May 1, 1886 that became known as the Haymarket Affair or Riot in Chicago. The protest was against unjust wage, long working hours, and unsafe workplaces. The Haymarket Riot became violent.

Time Magazine summed up the Haymarket event:

“A few minutes after ten o’clock on the night of May 4, 1886, a storm began to blow up in Chicago. As the first drops of rain fell, a crowd in Haymarket Square, in the packing house district, began to break up. At eight o’clock there had been 3,000 persons on hand, listening to anarchists denounce the brutality of the police and demand the eight-hour day, but by then there were only a few hundred. The mayor, who had waited around in expectation of trouble, went home, and went to bed. The last speaker was finishing his talk when a delegation of 180 policemen marched from the station a block away to break up what remained of the meeting. They stopped a short distance from the speaker’s wagon. As a captain ordered the meeting to disperse, and the speaker cried out that it was a peaceable gathering, a bomb exploded in the police ranks. It wounded 67 policemen, of whom seven died. The police opened fire, killing several men and wounding 200, and the Haymarket Tragedy became a part of U. S. history.”

Today, 90 countries around the world celebrate May 1 as their Labor Day. With this backdrop, the Church saw the need to counter the secular celebration of Labor Day by highlighting a saint, one who had a quiet life but was fruitful and productive in his labor. A worker produces and provides; the perfect model is St. Joseph. Thus, the Church declared May 1 as the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. Be it May 1 or the first Monday of September, both days give honor to workers, laborers, producers and providers.

On this Labor Day weekend, in the words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, “let us pray through the intercession of St. Joseph, that we may sanctify ourselves through our labors, imitating St. Joseph who had to produce with his own hands for the daily needs of the Holy Family of Nazareth.”

St. John Paul II said, “Human work, and especially manual labor, receive special prominence in the Gospel. At the workbench where he plied his trade together with Jesus, St. Joseph brought human work closer to the mystery of redemption.” 

In 1971, Daisuke Inouke, a Japanese inventor and musician, built the first karaoke machine: The Juke-8. However, Roberto del Rosario, a Filipino inventor, holds the patent for the karaoke machine, which was later developed into the Karaoke Sing-Along system. It is not surprising, then, that Filipinos love singing; it would be an understatement to say that we love karaoke.

Almost every house has a karaoke machine, and karaoke is always a part of any family celebration from baptisms, birthdays, weddings, and even funerals. Other places in the Philippines where one can find a karaoke machine are restaurants and bars. It is in these bars that the “My Way” phenomenon was born. The song, popularized by Frank Sinatra, is the most requested in karaoke bars. It is so popular that, over the course of one night, it would often be sung by several patrons. This usually led to vicious competition and rivalry among the alcohol-fueled singers and, in many cases, ended in violence and shooting incidents. That is why, in Manila, where there is an abundance of such karaoke bars, there is this grim warning: “Be safe. Do not sing ‘My Way.’ Many have died because of this song."

Uncle Frankie’s “My Way” is not just a karaoke phenomenon but a real spiritual crisis. The world has taught us to succeed doing things “my way.” "Do everything you can, in any way you like it! Be happy and succeed! Do it your way, and I will get out of your way!" This is my way. The problem, though, is that when we do not have it our way, we become like little children throwing temper tantrums; we think the world is ending because we did not get it “my way.” What spoiled kids we are!

Because of this “my way” phenomenon, I would like us to go back and join the disciples of Jesus in asking Him to teach us how to pray. Just like He did for His disciples, Jesus has taught us how to pray: He first invites us to enter into a deep relationship with the Father as we all dare to say “Our Father.” Yes, we dare to say “Abba!”; to call Him “daddy” is not our right but a privilege given to us by the Son so we can enter with Him into the innermost divine life of the Father. By virtue of adoption, we can dare to say, Our Father.

Like every child, we must rely on the generosity of the Father. As children, we do what the Father wills for us. In the prayer Jesus taught us, we are challenged to act according to “God’s will” and not “my way.” St. Thomas Aquinas explains that “The Lord’s Prayer is the most perfect of prayers; in it we ask not only for all the things we can rightly desire, but also in the sequence they should be desired. This prayer not only teaches us to ask for things but also in what order we should desire them.” (CCC 2763)

I entitle my first article in our parish bulletin, “We Priests Come and Go,” using a quote from the farewell letter of my classmate, Fr. Seán Connolly. Indeed, he went, and I came. It is with much joy that I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to his Eminence, Cardinal Dolan, for trusting and sending me to be your new priest. Also, I extend my appreciation with a grateful heart to your pastor, Fr. Sorgie, for welcoming me as his new parochial vicar. I am very excited to work in the vineyard of the Lord in the Tuckahoe and Eastchester area.

My name is Fr. Adolfo Novio, born in the Philippines, and I will be your new priest. I came to New York a decade ago and studied at St. Joseph’s Seminary. With the grace of God, I was ordained in 2015 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral by Cardinal Dolan. This page will not cover my life and vocation story. Instead, I will share my life’s story with you on many occasions through my time here. Let me share a story and reflection.

Ernest Hemingway’s, “Capital of the World,” tells a story about a young man named Paco who wandered around the streets of Madrid desperately trying to find a job. Most of all, Paco had a deep interest in becoming a bullfighter. No one knows knew why Paco left his family. One thing was known for sure, Paco’s relationship with his dad had become estranged. A few months after Paco left their house, his dad began looking for him in the streets of Madrid. But Madrid at that time was filled with young people on the streets, and it would be impossible for him to find Paco.

Instead of walking the streets looking for his son, he placed an advertisement in the local newspaper, El Liberal. The ad read, “Paco, meet me at the Hotel Montana at noon on Tuesday. All is forgiven! Love, Papa.” Paco is a common name in Spain so, the next day, the Father was surprised meeting 800 Pacos in the Hotel Montana waiting to meet him.

Such a touching story, although written less than a century ago, reflects the family situation in our modern world. According to statistics, 20 million kids today do not have a physical father with them.

A few weeks ago, we celebrated Father’s Day, which was extra special this year because it coincided with the celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. It has become more special to me personally, because I was born in an orphanage and did not grow up with a physical father. It has always been a struggle for me, particularly in school, when we had special programs for the fathers on Father’s Day back in the Philippines. I would be alone in the corner without a tatay” (Filipino for “dad”).

After graduating elementary school, I moved into the rectory of our Cathedral so I could work while studying. There I met Msgr. Sosing, who became my spiritual father. He assured me that even though my father abandoned me, there is always the Heavenly Father who still loves me and takes care of me. I became like Paco: from a boy longing for a father to being assured that I have the Father in heaven always looking out for me. This is the basis of my vocation story.

Indeed, God is love. I, for one, am so fortunate I received this faith, that God revealed to me His innermost secret; namely, that God is an eternal relationship of perfect love. As our beloved Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI said, “God is only and wholly love, the purest and infinite and eternal love. He does not live in splendid solitude but rather is an inexhaustible source of life that is ceaselessly communicated.”

As we begin to enjoy the beautiful summertime, let us not forget that we have the Father always looking out for us. And like the Father who waited to meet his Paco at noontime in the hotel, so is our Lord Jesus Christ always waiting for us in the Most Holy Eucharist, wherever we may be.