Misa de Gracia of St. Michael the Archangel Parish
Dagupan City

Homily by Rev. Fr. Jasper Hebron
Parish Priest, St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Dagupan

Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Manaoag,
Manaoag, Pangasinan
22 May 2020
[video]

Ang pagdiriwang po ng “Misa de Gracia” sa mga taga-Pangasinan ay isang natatanging tradisyon na nagpapatuloy na bigyang kahulugan ang pananampalataya’t takbo ng buhay ng bawat mamayanan. Dahil sa pamamagitan ng pagtangkilik ng gawain na ito ng pananampalataya, nagkakaroon tayo ng kaalaman na tayo po ay bumabalik sa tahanan ng Diyos para mag-alay ng pasasalamat at ayon nga sa ating kaugalian sa tulong din ng Birheng Maria mas lubusan po nating nakikilala ang paraan ng tamang pagbabahagi ng pagpapasalamat sa Diyos dahil nga sa mga pagkakataong tayo ay nabiyayaan sa nakaraang taon tayo muli ay malugod namang tatanggap sa bagong bukas ayon sa biyaya at kalooban ng Diyos.

(The celebration of the “Misa de Gracia” among the people of Pangasinan is a unique tradition that continues to define the faith and pace of every citizen’s life. Because by enjoying this work of faith, we gain the knowledge that we are returning to God’s home to offer thanks and that it is our custom that with the help of the Virgin Mary we know the way more fully. the proper sharing of thanksgiving to God because of the opportunities we have been blessed with in the last year we are again welcome to the new tomorrow according to God’s grace and will.)

Kaya mapapansin natin, tama nga yung sinasabi nila na (So we notice, that’s exactly what the saying is) “gratitude becomes the attitude of the heart.” Kaya kung tayo nga ay naghahangad na maramdaman, malaman, makita kung paano mamuhay ng tama (So if we really want to feel, know, see how to live right), we should always bear in mind the sense of gratefulness kasi sa bagay na iyon makikita natin kung paanong ipinagpapatuloy ng Panginoon na ipaalam sa atin kung paanong mamuhay ng tama (because of that we can see how the Lord continues to let us know how to live right) and usually through the help of gratitude we would always remember, brothers and sisters, that the best way of living can only be defined by such concern or realization that we receive this love from God and after receiving it, the Lord asks us also to share this love to other people. And Mother Mary would always like everyone to recognise this noble intention of our faith so we would know how to live.

Brothers and sisters, we would say that despite the difficulty that we have somehow, we find ourselves being challenged by this kind of reality that COVID-19 brings us. Sa kabilang dako, mapapansin natin para bang iisipin natin ano ba kaya ang dapat ipagpasalamat, nakikita natin sa iba’t-ibang lugar marami namang nawawalan ng buhay, marami namang nagkakasakit, marami naman ang hindi nakakatanggap ng kontribusyon o donasyon para sila’y mamuhay, ano ba dapat ang ipagpasalamat? Pero kung ating pong babalikan yung buhay na iyon ay hindi sinasabi sa atin na mas dapat natin tignan na mahigit pa ang pangyayaring ito sa pag-ibig ng Diyos kasi hindi po iyun yung tamang pakiramdam ng taong nagpapasalamat kasi yung tamang pakiramdam ng taong nagpapasalamat ay nakikita sa ugali din ng Birheng Maria. (On the other hand, we notice as if we were thinking about what we should be thankful for, that we see in many places many who have lost their lives, many who are sick, many who do not receive contributions or donations to make a living, what we to thank for? But when we go back to that, life does not tell us that we should see that this event is more than the love of God because it is not the right feeling of the grateful person because the right feeling of the grateful person is seen also in the habit of the Virgin Mary)

As the Gospel describes it, iyun ba yung nararamdaman ni Inang Birheng Maria na katulad ng pagkakaroon ng hirap sa panganganak at sa panganganak na iyon ay ibinibigay niya nang todong-todo ang mga panahon, ang mga kailangan para mabuhay ang bata, ganon din ang pakiramdam ng isang namumuhay na may tamang pananaw sa pasasalamat. Kasi yung taong marunong magpasalamat, kahit na alam niya na iyung tinatanggap niyang pagmamahal sa Diyos ay parati niyang ibinibigay, nagkakaroon siya ng sakripisyo dahil sa kanyang pagbibigay at sa pamamagitan nito ay nakakaramdam siya ng (does that mean that the Virgin Mary feels like having a hard time in childbirth and in that birth she gives all the time, the necessities of life for the child, so does the feeling of one who lives rightly on the perspective on gratitude. Because the person who is grateful, even though he knows that what he accepts in his love for God, is always giving, he makes sacrifices for his giving and through this he feels) sufferings at that. In the end, that person will still find joy kasi nakita niya ang sense of living according to sense of giving thanks to God.

Kaya masasabi natin kahit na anong mangyaring pagsubok, huwag nating kaligtaan ang magpasalamat (So we can say that no matter what the test is, let us not forget to be grateful) because this would always teach us, brothers and sisters, to know what it means to live well according to the love of God. Kaya nga sa kaugalian po ng mga taga-Pangasinense ay binibigyang halaga ang Misa de Graciang ito kasi natuto muli ang mga tao para alagaan ang buhay (So it is customary for Pangasinense people to value this Misa de Gracia because people have learned to care for life.). And if we may ask “bakit nga ba nararapat ang magbigay ng pasasalamat sa tulong rin ng Birheng Maria? Bakit nga ba yung paraan ng kanyang pasasalamat ang dapat nating tignan?” Kasi yung kanyang pasasalamat, na siya rin ang binigyang kabuluhan ng ating Ebanghelyo (“Why is it appropriate to give thanks for the help of the Virgin Mary as well? Why is that the way we should look at her gratitude? “Because of her gratitude, to whom our Gospel has been valued), that gratefulness whether it is lived with sacrifice and suffering yet in the end there is joy, that gratitude would always teach us how to pray.

I believe brothers and sisters, iyan ay isang bagay na hindi dapat makaligtaan ng taong gusting magpasalamat araw-araw sa pamumuhay (that is something that the person who wants to be thankful for every day should not miss) because prayer opens our faith that only God can give and only God can teach us how to give to other people as well. Without this prayer, we do not know what it means to be loved by God, we cannot also know what it means to share this love to other people. Mother Mary teaches us how to live with a sense of gratitude if we always give importance to prayer life.

Bakit gratitude ni Mama Mary? Kasi yung pangalawang rason (Why gratitude of Mother Mary? Because the second reason), Mother Mary would teach us how to prioritize what is in the heart of Jesus. Marami tayong pwedeng maipagpasalamat sa Diyops dahil marami tayong pwedeng hilingin sa Diyos pero sana tignan natin kung ano ang nilalaman ng puso ng ating Panginoon baka kasi yung mga ibang kailangan natin ay bubulagin lang tayo para intindihin lang ng ating sariling pangagailangan, baka yung sinasabi nating gusto natin ay hindi naman para sa ikabubuti ng kabuhayan natin at ikabubuti ng kabuhayan ng iba, baka yung hinihingi natin ay pilit tayong binubulag para makita natin kung paano tanggapin ng pagmamahal ng Diyos at itulad ang pagmamahal na iyan para sa iba (We can thank God a lot because we have so much to ask of God but let us see what is in the heart of our Lord so that those of us who need it will only blind us to understand our own needs, lest we say our will. we are not for the good of our own livelihoods and for the welfare of others, lest we ask that we be blinded so that we can see how God’s love can be accepted and reflect that love for others).

We should only know these priorities, the things that we can find inside the heart of Jesus. Iyun ang nakita ng Birheng Maria at iyun ang itinuro niya sa Apostol ni Hesus at dahil doon, nagpatuloy silang namuhay ng mapayapa, masaya at may pagpapahalaga sa buhay (That is what the Virgin Mary saw and that is what she taught the Apostle of Jesus and as such, they continue to live a peaceful, happy and meaningful life).

Yung pangatlong rason bakit yung pasasalamat ng Birheng Maria ang dapat nating matutunan (The third reason we must learn why the Virgin Mary is grateful )? Because the gratefulness that Mother Mary teaches would always teach us how to put into practice the thanks that we can learn from the love of Jesus. Kaya nga sinasabi ni Inang Birheng Maria (That’s what the Virgin Mary says) “Do whatever he tells you” kasi doon natin malalaman na kapag tayo ay tinuruan ni Hesus, tinuturuan tayo kung paano ibigay yung bunga ng pag-ibig na mayroon sa kanya (because there we know that when Jesus taught us, we are taught how to give the fruits of the love he has).

And in that sense, brothers and sister, we can come up with the best miracle of life and that is to allow other people realise that they are loved by God and to teach other people to also put into practice the simple lesson of the love of Jesus. Lahat ng ito ay magsusustain sa atin kung paano bigyan ng halaga ang sense of gratitude and through which we would know how to live well (All of this will help us to value the sense of gratitude and through which we would know how to live well).

Nawa’y ang Misa de Graciang ito, sa tulong din ng Birhen Maria, tulungan tayo at turuan tayo na mamuhay ng tama at mamuhay para sa iba.
(May this Misa de Gracia, with the help of the Virgin Mary, help us and teach us to live right and to live for others.)