January
16,2026
7:50pm
CT
Come Oh
Holy Spirit, please fill the hearts of thy faithful, please enkindle in us the
fire of Your Divine Love. Please send us your Spirit Oh Lord, and it shall be
created, and You Oh Lord, shall renew the face of the earth.
** ***
I spent
a good portion of my nap time today listening and dozing off to The Shawn Ryan
podcast as he interviews Fr. Dan Reehil .
The
mentioned church abuse of children by priests attracted to young boys was quite
alarming but no longer shocking.
A lot of
people reject anything to do with faith and the church.
Organized
religion is more of a scandal than anything else.
Ruel and
I and the girls have been members of the evangelistic community of MFC or
Missionary Families of Christ since 2000.
The
elders were Supreme Court of the Philippines directed to desist from using the original
name last 2019.
So, what
was my experience being a Catholic and a member of this organization?
Let us
work back.
My dad
and mom were invited to become members during the early 1990’s.
A few
years before that, my maternal Aunt, informed my mom of some changes in a long time evangelistic
community that they were active in Manila. We were in the province thus,
were not part of it.
It was
Ligaya ng Panginoon. ( Translated as The Joy of the Lord.) Which also broke away from Lingkod ng Panginoon ( Service of the Lord.)
These
were the tidbits of info I gathered in the late 80’s while I was still in
college.
Then,
when, our family relocated to Metro Manila, they were invited in the
Mandaluyong City area.
I would
get to see the mimeographed papered newsletter called UGNAYAN regularly.
I loved
reading the penned words of the leader then, Frank Padilla.
When a
Single’s for Christ CLP or Christian Life Program invite was presented to my
older sister Jennie. I thought of inviting myself along.
The San
Roque church was almost filled to the brim. All pews seated.
It was once
a week talks for 16 weeks. It was on a Saturday evening.
I think
I completed most of them.
The
final graduation day was fun. We
prepared presentations complete with black light.
It was
held in the auditorium of The Mandaluyong
Mental Institution along Nueve de Pebrero.
I was super active from 1994-1997.
I would
catch glimpses of the leader , Francisco “ Frank” Padilla a handful of times.
I saw
him trekking with us in Batangas in the Taal ridge.
I saw
him in Bohol during a conference. The only one I attended. Thanks to my sister
Jennie sponsoring my trip.
By 2000 ,I
was ready to move on.
Ruel
joined the CLP for Singles for Christ as a pre requisite for our serious
relationship.
Then
when we got married, we joined the CLP for married couples in 2002.
We
belonged to 2 household group leaders.
Jojo and
Tricia Espiritu, who became godparents to our first born Marina.
Roger
and Lorna Melegrito were our 2nd
household leaders.
We trooped
to Baguio for a conference with Marina in tow with our 2nd group.
By 2007,
tectonic cracks sprung out.
The Gawad Kalinga project was a success in optics,
but, conflict of interest with major sponsors
came clashing, turning everything inside out.
I was
able to attend clarification meetings in Christ the King Church in Green meadows.
My
Single’s for Christ household head, Monette delos Reyes tagged me along.
Listening
to the talks, we preferred to do our own decision without coercion or force.
Ruel and
decided to go with the break-away group of
Frank Padilla.
But
since, Ruel was leaving for Qatar, we decided to take a leave from the
community.
We were
introduced to Marriage Encounter groups in the interim.
It was
only when we got to Qatar that the
Servant leader there, bro. Joseph and sis Liza Caccam, spotted us in the Holy
Rosary Church and invited us back.
It was
during this period I got to meet
Bro. Frank Padilla and wife Sis. Gerry up close after all the years.
He still
had the soft spoken personality that radiated a holiness that I saw before. The
light of Christ was evidently there.
One Single’s for Christ batchmate noted that I looked at the head of organization first. I was titular inclined he claims.
I was not
sure how to react when he said that.
But,
looking back and celebrating the life of
brother Frank Padilla, I daresay disagree, it was more of seeing CHRIST
in him more than anything else.
Reading
all the testimonies written about him, watching video eulogies by his family especially, during his passing last Christmas eve,
confirmed the decision we made in choosing the leader we wanted to follow.
One who
closely followed Christ teaching in a most radical way.
He chose
to remain quiet despite the attacks made to his name .
Quite a
feat to do!!!
So, if
there is only one quality to choose for in a leader, it is precisely that. Christ’s
meekness and humility shining through more than anything else.
In today’s First Reading, we read the account of Israel demanding that Samuel anoints a king for them. Samuel was grieved by their request, but God—who never forces His sovereignty on anyone—instructed Samuel to give in to it.
God respected Israel’s request, but not without a clear warning how earthly kings would abuse their power and ultimately the whole nation. Read verses 11-18 and you will see a long list of the abuses God prophesied that earthly kings would commit. But Israel was not deterred. The response of the people was arrogant as it was chilling: “No! But we are determined to have a king over us” (v. 19).
The rest of Israelite history validated God’s prophesy. Israel indeed suffered from the hands of corrupt and abusive kings. Even David, one of the few good kings of Israel and whom Scriptures described as “a man after God’s own heart,” would later be overcome by his own moral failings.
The Word of God affirms the legitimacy of earthly power and government.
But God is the source of all power and authority: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1).
Biblical and secular history has been a witness to this. When power is exercised for its own sake, detached from God who is the Source of all power and authority, it becomes a dictatorship. Such power corrupts the one who wields it. Such power enslaves those governed by it. But when power is rooted in God, it is an exercise of stewardship and true pastoral leadership. Such power sanctifies the one who wields it. Such power liberates those governed by it.
Fr. Joel O. Jason
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