Homily delivered by His Eminence Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales, Archbishop of Manila, during Mass to Welcome Relic of St. Therese at the Manila Cathedral
on March 8, 2008 at 11 a.m.

Bishop of the Diocese of Antipolo, Bishop Francisco San Diego for the Diocese of Pasig, Bishop Francis De Leon of the Diocese of Antipolo, Bishop Bernard Cortez, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Manila, Monsignori, Reverend dear Brother Priests, Sisters, Brothers, Seminarians, and Devotees of St. Therese, all beloved in Christ,

Magandang tanghalii po sa inyong lahat. Here we are in a special Eucharist at noon time, to pray with Jesus and to beg of him in the presence of the mortal remains of St. Therese, her relics. People who are asking who, some, what, even about of Christ, where is he from? The identity of people is necessary for belief, it seems but more where is she from in daily commerce with people is not just where did they come from? It's more about the way the person has lived. This is more important than the address or ID. And we will use this as we made our reflection about Therese of the Child Jesus.

We come here several times with you, lay, and religious. We make this reflection for on Monday we will come here as priests, and again, link our priesthood to Therese of the Child Jesus. So, for this morning, for you, including also myself, the first part of the reflection is this: to live in the will of God. And second, how to live in that will of God?

Let's start the reflection, to live in the will of God. Sometimes, we feel that we know the will of God. Some people are so sure they cannot make a mistake, this is the will of God. May mga taong ganun: siguradong sigurado sila, ito ang kalooban ng Diyos.

Allow me to begin the story of Therese with two people, both looking for the will of God. There was a man by the name of Louis, isang binata. Thinking that he is called by the will of God to become a priest. And he entered the monastery to become a monk and later a priest. Parang itong si Luis ay pumasok sa seminaryo. May isa namang dalaga nakasigurado ding hinahanap siya ng Diyos. Also sure that God wants her to become a nun, and she entered. Hindi magkakilala itong dalawang ito. Si Louis at si Celie Martin. Hindi magkakilala. Basta sigurado silang, ito ang kalooban ng Diyos. Sigurado silang ito ang kagustuhan ng Diyos. Anong nangyari? Lumabas o pinalabas itong si Luis ng seminaryo. Ito namang si Celie tumagal ng ilang taon, lumabas din sa kumbento. Sa di sinasadyang pagkakataon, ex-seminarian, ex-candidate na mag madre nagkakilala. Tapos, nagkamahalan. Tapos nagkagustuhan. Tapos, alam na ninyo nagkasundo, magpapakasal. At bago sila dumulog sa simbahan, before they came in the church for the formal marriage, the two already had committed and consented to one another, they said "our first child will become priest." So, yun ang gusto ng dalawa. Kalooban ito ng Diyos, maniwala ka. Ito ang kalooban ng Diyos, sigurado na ito. Hindi ako naging pari at ikaw hindi naging madre. Gusto ng Diyos tayo'y magkaanak ng pari. Looking for the will of God, kinasal sila, after one year nagdalang tao si Celia. Sigurado magpapari ito. Noon naman wala pa yung solar, yung hindi pa alam kung ano ang magiging anak. Wala pang ultra sound. So, hindi pa alam. Tiyak na magiging pari ito pag labas. Isinilang, ano ang lumabas? Babae. Nag-anak ulit sila. Sigurado na ito. Nagdalang tao na naman si Celia, lumabas, babae na naman. Pangatlo, sa mga buhay, nagdalang tao na naman, babae na naman. Pang-apat, sigurado ito sa buhay, babae na naman. Last try, lumabas yung bunso, ay babae na naman. See, they are trying to impose the will of God. Yan ang hirap pag nananalangin. Kung minsan ang gusto natin ang ipatupad sa Diyos. Magpapari, mag-aasawa, hindi pala. Hindi pala yan ang gusto ng Diyos. That is not what God wants. He wants a saint. Hindi pala pari ang gusto pala ng Diyos ay isang santa.

St. Therese, you're here, your mortal remains are here. You're hearing your story, your family story. Alam nyo, hindi lang yun, yung apat na natitirang nabubuhay na babae na dalaga, pumasok pa. Si Pauline na siyang nag-alaga sa kanya, si Marie na siyang nagpatakbo ng bahay, siya at si Celine na siyang nag-alaga sa kanya papa. Lahat ito ay pumasok. Ang isa ay naging santa. Ito si St. Therese.

First part of our reflection, don't insist on your will as the will of God. Hindi komo maganda, kahit na maganda, kahit na banal ang inyong kalooban. Sino ba ang ayaw na magkaanak na pari? Sino ba ang ayaw maging mag-madre. But no matter how holy if this is not the will of God. God has a better, bigger mission for you. Dahil dito sa babaeng ito, naging bayani ng banal tuloy ang pangalang Theresa, Teresita. Yung mga pangalang Therese, Teresita, Terrylou, whatever. Tignan nyo, mga bata, hollywood na kasi pangalan ng mga bata ngayon. Yung pangalang Theresa, Therese, Teresita, Maria Therese ay halos lahat nag-uugat sa kabanalan ng taong ito. Oo nga at marami rin namang Teresa, nakakapagtaka naman sa pangalang Teresa ang daming banal. Therese of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, Blessed Theresa of Calcutta. But even those who are named after Therese, the Child Jesus, the Little Flower, all of us have that devotion to her. There is something in this woman that inspires us and assures us that in our simple life we are assured that God is there.

And so we go to the second part of the reflection. The first part is to live in the will of God. Don't insist on what you think is good. Kahit na banal na magkaanak ng pari, magkaanak ng madre, kapag ang sabi ng Diyos ang gusto ko ay magkaanak ka ng santo o santa, yan ang bokasyon mo. The will of God is there. To live in the will of God. Now, let's go to the second part of the reflection. How to live in the will of God?

It took Louis and Celie years to find out that the will of God for them is to nurture saints in their family. It took them years to realize that God wants them to nurture saints in their family. It took several times and several attempts to be convinced that this is the will of God for them as married couples. The exact opposite of their earlier dreams. Kasalungatan ng kanilang mga unang pangarap. Diyan nila pala makikita ang kalooban ng Diyos. Ito naman kay santa Teresita, ito at ipinakita naman sa atin kung sa kanyang magulang kasalungatan ang nakita na kalooban ng Diyos. If in the lives of Papa and Mama of Therese they found out that the will of God is exactly the opposite of what they initially wanted to do, brothers and sisters and devotees of Therese, when Therese link in the convent even as a little child she turned up the usual mind or understanding of holiness. In the convent, in the Church, in our daily Christian lives, binaligtad niyang lahat ito. Kung noong unang panahon ang debosyon sa kabanalan ay matatagal at mahahabang panalangin at kung anu anong mga sakripisyon at hindi ka magiging santo kung hindi malaking debosyon ang gagawin mo. Therese of the Child Jesus, she made the steps to dambuhalang holiness, she made the road to holiness in little steps. Sa kanya nagmula yung teologiya ng malilit. It is in her where the theology of the little and the small began. When the lives of the fathers of the Church and the early saints, you see great and grievous penitents, Therese re-spelled that understanding of holiness and lived and wrought in the sense taught that holiness could be achieved with little things. A little short prayer, a little notebook, a little offering, a little ejaculation, a little pain sustained. Ito ang turo ng santang ito. Madaling kausap ang Diyos sa buhay. Madaling kaibiganin ang Diyos sa buhay ng tao.Lamang, nananatili pa rin sa atin yung malaking tuksong ang kabanalan ay sa napakamalaking gawain. Tukso yan sapagkat kapag nagtagal ng ganyan hindi ka naghintay ng pagkakataong malinis at makagawa ka ng malaking paghahandog. Kapatid, hindi darating yan. She was teaching us this. If we wait and we wait and we wait and we wait for bigger things to do, heroic things to do, that chance may never come. And we're losing the little toy, the little ball, the little flower, little things that this little saint is telling us. Imagine all the waste, all the conflicts involving big things, only big people play the big game, only the big and rich people have the time and the opportunity to hit the headlines. The rest of us never, never and Therese is telling us in little things, don't be afraid she said, because if we are inspired by little things the Lord is not afraid and will not leave you in spite of great things and will not see it done or support you. Sinasabi nya yun pag binigyan ka ng Diyos ng inspirasyon na gawin itong maliit na bagay na ito, kapatid tandaan mo kasama mo ang Diyos hanggagn sa katapusan. Maliit na bagay. Ang Diyos ay hindi traydor. Hindi ka pagtataksilan ng Diyos.

Kaya itong hatid sa atin ng pagdalaw ng banal na santong ito si Therese, may pag asa tayo sa mga maliliit na bagay. Tandaan nyo ang maliit na gawain ay madaling isagawa. How? Kung ang kanyang mga magulang natuto pagkaraan ng ilang taon na ganito pala ang kalooban ng Diyos, sa kanya naman, ito ang paraan ng pamumuhay sa kalooban ng Diyos. Kapatid, maliit na anuman maipagpapatuloy. Walang pagtataksilan ang Diyos basta't siya ay binigyan ng inspiration to do the good things. She said "Dont be afraid, God who has just inspired you to do these things and later on leave you alone, No! He'll be there until the end.

And so as we welcome the mortal remains of this great saint, we declared as the saint of the millennium by Pope John Paul II during the millennium year. Let us welcome her again. I'm sure from heaven if she could, she looks down on us. Happy to be welcomed a second time in the Philippines. Her remains were here. Her relics were here during the Jubilee year. But this time let her look at us from where she is up above. Together we listen and took part in this perfection to allow us to continue with hope. With hope that the way to the Father's will are step done in little paces may that holiness be ours. And may that holiness allow us to share in little things what we heard, what we reflected on. Share with others that others and the lives of others too, may have the same richness and wealth that you have been exposed to is known. Welcome St. Therese and please pray for us. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.