Holy Mass on the Sixth Day of the Novena
in Honour of Our Lady of La Naval

Homily by Rev. Fr. Julius Paul Factora, OP

Santo Domingo Church, Quezon City
7 October 2020
(video)

Naranasan niyo na bang iwanan? Nakaranas na ba kayo na maiwan? Ikaw ba ay napagiwanan ba? Tatlong magkakaibang tanong pero magkakaugnay pero magkakaiba ang halaga at pakiramdam.

You know the Gospel reading that we have read for tonight is something which is very familiar to all of us, bakit familiar? because the Gospel that we have read ay palagian nating binabasa sa iba’t-ibang kapistahan, Solemnidad na ating cine-celebrate sa Simbahan. Kapagka March 25 during the Solemnity
of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, itong ating binasang Ebanghelyo ang binabasa at kapagka papalapit na ang Kapaskuhan, tiyak isa sa mga Simbang Gabi ang Misa, ang Pagbasa ay yung bating binasang Ebanghelyo. At sa palagiang nagdarasal ng Angelus, yung ating sinasambit na dasal ay hango sa tagpo na ating binasang Ebanghelyo. In fact, we are too familiar not just with the story but with the details of the gospel reading an angel named Gabriel went to the virgin berry and announced
that she is going to conceive and give birth to the son of god we are all too familiar with the story but I would like to bring your attention to a very small detail in fact it is a very small act that we usually dismiss and usually ignore. Bakit? because this small act, this small detail can be found towards the end of the gospel reading. Kaya kapag tinanong ko kayo “sige ano yung last sentence ng ating binasang Ebanghelyo?” probably some only half a fourth would only be able to recall the last sentence of the gospel reading for tonight. it is the last sentence but it is no less significance because it is equally important to the gospel narrative of Annunciation.

Medyo iba lang yung binasang version pero mas matindi yung ibang versión dahil yung last sentence that closes the Gospel reading for tonight is that it says “then the angel left her.” Mas maganda yung salin sa Tagalog, kasi as ramdam natin hindi lang yung kahulugan but the gravity of the act of living can be felt more kapagka sinalin mo sa Tagalog. Yung sinabing then the angel left her, sa Tagalog na version ang sinasabi ay “at iniwan siya ng Anghel.”

Alam ninyo magandang pagnilayan yung salitang iniwan sa salitang Tagalog sapagkat iba’t-iba ang level ng kahalagahan at iba’t-iba rin yung level ng pakiramdam ng salitang iwan. Pero alam ko lahat tayo’y makakaintindi sapagkat lahat tayo ay nakakapagsalita ng Tagalog at lahat tayo ay nakadama ng pakiramdam kung papaanon iwanan.

you know the gospel reading is very precise in using the word iniwan “at iniwan siya ng Anghel” ang ibig sabihin si Maria ay tumanggap lamang ng pang-iiwan, she was a passive recipient of the act of living she was a passive recipient of the act of living she was left behind and the angel left and probably Mary was in a very difficult situation, why? Because here comes an angel appearing to her it’s not every day that you get to have an angel appear before you and I could just imagine the Blessed Virgin Mary at that day she was actually doing her day-to-day routine she was probably doing an errand for her family and here comes the angel Gabriel and she was probably surprised by this fact and she was just taking this all in when the angel suddenly announced to her that she is going to be pregnant albeit the fact that she is a virgin.

Isang anghel ang nagpakita’t magsasabing siya’y magbubuntis ngunit sa isang Anghel and probably she was needing time to reflect on this and then comes the third revelation for it’s not going to be an ordinary pregnancy because the child that she is going to carry and the child that she is going to give birth to is the son of god an angel appearing “ako ay mabubuntis, ako ay magluluwal ng Anak ng Diyos” it was too much for the blessed virgin Mary and she was probably needing more time to let these things all in to let this thing sink through her and then all of a sudden the angel left her. Probably, the blessed virgin mary was still meditating was still reflecting she had a lot of questions in her mind, maaring sumasabog yung kanyang dibdib and then all of a sudden, mawawala ang anghel, probably maiintindihan natin sa modern day lang, modern day parlans yung salitang pag-iiwan, yung parati nating sinasabing “parang iniwan sa ere” di ba yung mga kabataan , usually maririnig natin sa ganitong salita “ah, iniwan sa ere, binitiwan sa ere” lalong-lalo na kapagka mga kabataan nagsumpaan ng isang wagas, isang tunay at isang panghabambuhay na pagmamahalan then bigla lalayo, bigla maglalaho, bigla magbabago dahil may isang naglaro.

and what’s difficult more difficult is that sometimes yung ganitong arrangements walang proper closure, magpapaalam sa anong paraan text lang sasabihin “pasensya ka na palagay ko tayong dalawa pinagtagpo pero di tinadhana.” difficult painful and confusing just like the case of the Blessed Virgin Mary she was just a passive recipient of the act of living but probably it would have been more bearable must acceptable kung ang ginamit na salita ay ‚maiwan ‘or naiwan at si Maria ay naiwan ng Anghel, ibig sabihin there is a participation in the part of the Blessed Virgin Mary there was a deliberate act on the part of the virgin Mary to be left behind. Conscious si Maria na naiwan siya kapgka sabing “at si Maria ay naiwan ng Anghel” pero kung ito ang nagamit na salita, naiwan, hindi rin proper bakit? it seems as if there is none action on the part of the Blessed Virgin Mary there was negligence on her part na naging pabaya ang Mahal na Birheng Maria kaya’t siya ay naiwan ng Anghel. Kaya nga’t very precise, very accurate yung ginamit na salita, iniwan hindi naiwan.

Iba din kapagka ginamit yung salitang napagiwanan or mapagiwanan “at si Maria ay napagiwanan ng Anghel.” Alam niyo kapagka naririnig natin yung salitang napagiwanan, there is always a great presumption na matagal nagkakilala, matagal nagkasama but towards the end merong nauna at merong napagiwanan. Parang isang paligsahan or isang contest, sa una magkakasabay pero pagdating sa huli, meron nanananalo at naauuna at merong natatalo at napapagiwanan. but you know this is not the kind of living that the angel did to the Blessed Virgin Mary why because obviously this is just the first encounter of the angel Gabriel with the virgin Mary. Kaya nga’t malinaw yung ginamit na salita “iniwan” ‘at iniwan siya ng Anghel.’

Tatanungin niyo “Father, why do we spend so much time in understanding the word ‘iniwan’ hindi naiwan, maiwan or mapagiwanan” dahil dito tayo sa salitang iniwan huhugot ng takeaway, ang ating baon. Parati kong sinasabi kapagka nagtuturo ako sa mga estudyante ko kahit na kaninong tong na aking nakasalamuha, kahit anong lecture, webinar or every encounter I would always tell them “that you should always have a take away from every encounter because each encounter is a lesson, there is a lesson to be learned.” Kaya nga’t it’s very important for us to have a clear understanding doon sa “at iniwan siya ng Anghel.”

Dito, meron akong tatlong pabaon sa inyong lahat, tatlong takeawys; una, si Maria ay iniwan ngunit hindi siya nagpaiwan. you know it’s just part of human nature na kapagka tayo ay iniiwan ay nasasaktan, umiiyak, di makakain, di makatulog yung iba ayw pumasok sa school, sa work bakit? Kasi siya yung reminder nung naing-iwan sa akin and to a greater extent some people would even begin to question their faith “bakit hinayaan ng Diyos na iwan ako ng asawa ko? Nagdadasal naman ako, nagsisimba naman ako” but to some people would even begin to question God and his existence “mabait naman ako, nagbibigay sa simbahan, tumutulong sa kapwa pero bakit ako iniwan ng mga mahal ko sa buhay. Meron pa kayang Diyos? Meron bang Diyos?” but you know the Blessed Virgin Mary when the angel left her, she did not spend even a single second questioning why did the angel leave her in fact kapagka itituloy natin yung binasang Ebanghelyo, yung kasunod na kabanata nito, ang sinasabi sa next sentence is that Mary hastily quickly and immediately went to her cousin Elizabeth. there was no single second wasted questioning the will of God why did the angel has to leave her immediately there was action on the part of the Blessed Virgin Mary, di niya tinanong bakit kinakailangan akong iwan ng Anghel pero yung act of the angel leaving her drove Mary in order to do more to do the will of God and that is to go to her cousin because her cousin needs her help and probably this is the first lesson that the Blessed Virgin Mary is teaching us today na maaring meron pangiiwan na nagaganap sa buhay natin but we should use that as a motivation in order to move on to move ahead and to move forward and there is no use soughing with the idea that somebody or a person left us because just like the Blessed Virgin Mary the angel left her but instead it motivated her to do more to act and to fulfill her purpose. Si Maria, iniwan pero hindi nagpaiwan.

Pangalawang baon, pangalawang takeaway; alam niyo itong pangiiwan ng Anghel ay hindi paglisan ngunit itong pang-iiawan na ito ay isang pagtatagpo. Nang iwan ng anghel si Maria, ito ay hindi isang paglisan ngunit ito ay isang pagtatagpo sapagkat dito nagtagpo ang Diyos at ang tao sa sinapupunan ni Maria. could you just imagine if the angel did not leave her Mary would have been totally dependent on the angel Mary would have asked hundreds and thousands and millions of questions and the incarnation of Jesus would not have had happened right at that exact moment if Mary insisted that the angel would stay by her side but it was necessary for the angel to leave her it was the stain for the angel to leave her na para bang sinasabi sa atin na may pang-iiwan na nagaganap sa buhay natin dahil kailangan, dahil dapat na kung minsan tayo ay naiiwan upang tayo ay makahanap; makahanap ng bagong buhay, ng bagong halaga, ng bagong saya. yes, people, time, circumstances sometimes they need to leave us because there is a much greater story that need that needs to unfold and soon enough we’re going to learn that life is a constant living and of arriving that life is a constant living and arriving of losing and of finding and that one chapter needs to close in order for the next chapter to begin. the angel left Mary so that Mary could fulfill her specific task of becoming the mother of God.

Kaya nga kapag ganito kabuo yung tingin natin sa pang-iiwan ng Anghel kay Maria, in the end marerealise natin na itong pag-iiwan pala ng Anghel kay Maria ay isang hindi paglisan ngunit isang pagtatagpo, isang pagsisimula at isang pagbubukas. You know sa lahat-lahat ng pang-iiwan, itong pang-iiwan ng Anghel kay Maria, ito lamang ang punong-puno ng pag-asa, ng halaga at ng biyaya.

Pangatlong baon para sa ating lahat, si Maria ay iniwan ngunit si Maria ay hindi nagiwan; iniwan ngunit hindi nangiwan. do you know how it was easy for the blessed virgin mary to just suddenly leave right after the angel left her that probably she was just so confused added to the fact na nakakahiya “ako’y magbubuntis ng walang asawa.” It was very easy for her to escape, naiwan si Jose, naiwan ang kanyang pamilya, naiwan ang kanyang responsibilidad bilang pagiging isang Ina ng Diyos but but the blessed virgin mary did not do it in fact katulad ng sinabi ko, right after the angel left her mary went to her cousin Elizabeth at hindi niya iniwan ang kanyang pinsan na Elizabeth, hindi niya iniwan si jose, hindi niya iniwan ang kanyang pamilya and all the more hindi niya iniwan ang kanyang anak na ating Panginoon Hesukristo. Si Maria at her very young age is a mother she could just left jesus to the care of other people pero sinubaybayan ni Maria ang kanyang anak hanggang sa paglaki. and every step of the way every teaching ministry every healing ministry of the of our lord Jesus Christ the Blessed Virgin Mary was there at the background in fact at the foot of the cross the blessed virgin mary was there. Noong nakabayubay ang ating Panginoong Hesukristo sa Krus it was very convenient for the blessed virgin mary to just disappear and to leave her son but no she was there, dinadamayan ang kanyang anak despite the fact na nakaranas siya ng pang-iiwan, nandon siya right at the very last breath of our Lord Jesus Christ she was there hindi nang iwan na para bang sinasabi, tinuturo sa ating lahat na kung anuman ang ating pinagdadaanan sa buhay, na kung anuman ang pangiiwan na dinanas natin sa buhay, nariyan lamang si Maria parating nakahanda, parating nakaantabay, walang pagaatubili, walang iwanan.

You know sa panahon ng pandemya, alam ko ang marami sa atin hindi lang nawawalan ng trabaho pero nawalan din ng pag-asa. Alam ko marami ang hndi lang nawalan ng hanapbuhay ngunit nawalan din mismo ng buhay. At alam ko sa palagay ko, marami ang nawalan ng kalma, maraming nawalan ng kampante sa buhay, maraming kaguluhan sa buhay pero amidst all these things, isa lamang ang tinuturo sa atin ng ating Mahal na birheng Maria nasa lahat ng paglisan at lahat ng pagtatagapo at sa abwat pakwala at sa bawat pagkahanap, nariyan si Maria nagbibigay pag-asa, kagalingan at pagkakaisa.

Aba ginoong Maria, napupuno ka ng grasya.