Easter Sunday

Salubong

Luke 11, 27 - 28

Happy Easter!

We have just witnessed the encounter between the Risen Lord and the dolorous Virgin Mary, and how her sorrow turned to joy when her black veil was unmasked by an angel.

Fr. Rafael dela Cruz, SDB presented a beautiful thesis regarding the theology of the Salubong, capitalizing on what he term as "theo-dula" or the theological drama depicting man's reality and God's salvific action.

Fr. dela Cruz said that Salubong is a mimesis of life itself, a mirror of our lives yearning for salvation.  Such is the situation of our Lady of Sorrows.  We fully know that she would not stay sorrowful, and neither should we.  We fully know that our sorrow shall turn into joy.  And that joy can only be supplied by Jesus alone.

Second, salvation is precisely what it is: fullness of communion of life.  In Tagalog, it is called "kaginhawaan", where in the Acts of the Apostles, people are not found wanting.

And third, Christ offers us the way to salvation through his passion, death, and resurrection.  It is because of these encounters between Jesus and the disciples, the faith is passed on, this time, to our own experiences.  How true are the accounted of the apostles, "We have been witnesses to all these, and Jesus sends us to proclaim to all people that God has given Jesus the authority to judge the living and the dead through the forgiveness of their sins.

Let us heed the words of the gospel, "Blessed are those who listen to God's words and keep it" by proclaiming also to others the Good News that we continue to witness in Jesus.