Talk

 BRO. AUDEE VILLARAZA:

TODAY’S big message is that we are all equally loved.

I know that this message might raise a few eyebrows in this place because the truth is that many of us will all agree to this point: that sometimes equality doesn’t always feel equal.

Look around, especially in a country where the gap between the rich and the poor is so wide. As Filipinos, we sometimes look at this in a light-hearted way.

Let me give you some examples. When you have money and a skin rash, you call that an allergy. But when you don’t have money and you’ve a skin rash, you call that galis, right? When you have money and you don’t have furniture in the house, that’s called minimalism. But when you don’t have money and you have no furniture, that’s called maxing out your credit card. When you have money and you go to therapy, that’s called self-care.

But when you don’t have money and you go to therapy, that’s called may topak ka.

Equality doesn’t always seem equal. But the good news is that in his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul is saying that this was not God’s design. God’s design is that all of us were created to be equal in receiving God’s love.

It’s a little funny that this is coming from Paul because before he became a disciple of Christ, he was not really a preacher. He was a persecutor. His personal mission was to hunt down every person who followed Jesus. To him, they were an abomination. He hated everybody until he encountered Jesus in spirit.

There may be somebody here who may have that same story. Your life was a mess, and you never really followed God– until you met Him in the flesh and you met Him in Spirit, and now your life has changed.

God’s Mysterious Plan

Paul is writing to the people of Ephesus, and he says this:

Why was this plan mysterious? Because up until this time, through centuries, people always believed that Israel was God’s chosen nation. Some people who called themselves Gentiles were non-believers. But God was going to reveal a mysterious plan through Paul.

God did not reveal it to previous generations. But by His Spirit, He revealed it to His holy apostles and prophets.

God planned that both Gentiles and Jews share equally– whether one is a believer or not, whether one is circumcised or uncircumcised.

They share equally in the riches inherited in Christ Jesus:

What kind of riches are we talking about? When it comes to God’s riches, these are things that money cannot buy. Paul says that God is rich in kindness and grace. He says that God purchased our freedom with the Blood of His Son, and forgave our sins. To this day, He has showered His kindness on us along with all wisdom and understanding.

A Message for You and Me

Paul says that God is also rich in mercy. He loves us so much that even though you and I were dead through our transgressions and sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead.

Then, Paul says that God is also rich and He gives you strength because He says He prays that from His glorious unlimited resources, He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.

So, there are three riches that God can give you: a mercy that can forgive you, a grace that can save you, and a power that can strengthen you.

But I have to tell you: Sometimes, I really do struggle in seeing myself coequal with other people…

Way back when I was starting my spiritual journey, I entered a spiritual retreat.

It wasn’t in the Light of Jesus nor The Feast. It was a retreat that I just found online. When I stepped in, I saw people worshipping God, praising Him.

The first thing that they did was a Bible Quiz for all the participants.

The questions were simple. They would name a passage in the Bible, like John 3:16. The first person to raise their hand and recite John 3:16 would get a point. John 3:16 is “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son so that we can have everlasting life.”

There was only one person in the room who could not answer a single question. It was me. At some point, I felt bad. I knew that I was a baby Christian, but at that moment, I realized that I still needed to grow in my faith– and I felt bad.

All throughout the retreat, I was feeling like a loser until I spoke to one of the group facilitators– who led me into prayer. I told him how I felt. But he said something that I will never forget.

He said, “It’s not really about what you know in the Bible and what you memorized in Scripture. The most important is the Cross.”

I asked, “Why the Cross?”

He said, “When we all face the Cross, each one of us is on the same level.

We’re on the same ground.”

I was like, “Oh, my goodness, you’re right. I cannot boast of my strength and my wisdom simply because I know that the same Cross that saved me is the same Cross that saved you, too.”

We are all equals when it comes to God’s love.

Our Mission

Did you know that we have a Feast in Congress? We’re up to our third session in Congress.

One time, I was serving there with Bro. Alvin Barcelona and Bro. Tony Valenzuela when a friend commented on our evangelization effort:

“Bro, good luck. What do you even hope to accomplish in Congress? We all know that most of them are corrupt. Most of them are all guilty of corruption. What hope do you have?”

I thought about that for many hours.

I perceived this was God telling me: When it comes to God’s love, I’m just a messenger. I’m not the message. I’m here to preach to people who want to hear the message. I am neither judge nor jury. If God placed the message in my heart, I’m going to tell people about it.

And I’m telling you now: God loves you. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done.

I want you to know that God truly loves you.

Paul’s personal mission before he became a disciple of Jesus was to hunt people and to persecute the followers of Jesus– until Jesus Himself changed Paul.

Later on, Paul’s mission was no longer to hunt people to persecute them. His mission was to hunt people so that he could preach to them about the love of Jesus.

That’s our mission. Our mission is to tell people that there is a God who loves us, who heals us, and who forgives us.

We are all equal when it comes to God’s love. Let’s pray:

God, Thank You so much for your Word. We pray that this would jump off the page and touch our hearts so that we can be changed forever.

Be with us, walk with us, embrace us. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet And a Light unto my path.

Two Miracles

 BRO. TONY VALENZUELA:

Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians some 2,000 years ago.

But we believe that he’s still speaking to us today. He prays for two miracles for us.

First Miracle: We Become New Temples

Paul is praying that we become the temples of God’s Holy Spirit. Paul prays that we become a holy place where people experience His love. When people see us, they see God. When people hear us, they hear God. When people visit us at The Feast or in our homes, they visit God.

Yes, that may sound impossible– but that’s why it’s called a miracle. Paul prays for this miracle because we’re all broken people, one way or another. We need humility to accept that we’re broken.

God is a God of the impossible. Even when we’re broken, He can make His love known through us. But talking about holiness, we attend The Feast so that the more we receive God, the holier we become. Don’t be afraid of that.

I love today’s Gospel about the Pharisee and the tax collector.

In the Old Testament, being holy means being set apart for God.

When you put up your tithes or raise your Love

Offering envelopes, you’re setting aside a specific amount for God, and that’s what makes it holy.

When you come to The Feast, when you attend Mass on Sunday, or even on a regular day, you put that time aside for God.

You make that moment holy when you spend that time to reflect, to meditate, and say: “Lord, I will decide to keep my mind, my heart quiet.”

Even when it’s difficult, you’re setting that moment– even if it’s only for five or 30 seconds– for holiness.

Choosing holiness is a choice.

Tax Collector… Or Pharisee?

For many of us, it’s difficult to be holy. Choosing holiness seems like we’re losing something, correct?

Yes, we are losing something. We’re losing our old ways. We’re losing our old life, our own preferences. We’re losing what we want for ourselves. Why? Because you’re gaining more of God, who is everything.

In the Gospel today, we heard of the tax collector. Many of us relate to the tax collector more. Correct?

I used to be a seminarian. Don’t ask me why I left the seminary.

It’s a long story. But while I was in the seminary, I had that “good boy” image.

My parents were Overseas Filipino Workers in the Middle East. I was mestizo. I studied well. Every day, I would pray for almost an hour in a chapel. When my classmates wanted to translate Tagalog into English, they would come to me Whenever I would go into the classroom, they would call me a “Walking Blessed Sacrament.”

So, I would feed on that pride. I was not the tax collector. I was the Pharisee.

I was like, “Oh, you guys, you don’t know how to speak English. You’re from the province.”

I would not tell them that directly, but that’s what’s on my mind. So, I would separate myself as someone holy.

But God had other plans– because He knew that spiritual pride was eating up my heart and my spirit. God wanted to humble me. He wanted me to become like everyone, equal in receiving his love.

Second Miracle: We Understand God’s Love

In a way, I think I saw God’s plan on why I left the seminary — so that I would get out of my head and get into God’s heart. So that I would get out of spiritual pride and get into what God’s mission is for me…

I did not pursue the priesthood because I knew that if I became one, I would be a spiritually proud priest. I would be higher and holier than thou.

But here at The Feast– which I so much love– here in our Community, we embrace outsiders. Dare I say, we embrace our enemies because we need to bring out that tangible experience of what God’s love is like. Maybe God’s love for us is like an idea, a thought, a feel-good experience.

But this is what The Feast is for: the unchurched. All of us had been unchurched at one time in our life.

That’s why we shouldn’t be surprised if one day, one Sunday, one of our corrupt politicians is sitting right there. If there’s a corrupt contractor sitting right there, it’s because that is what The Feast is for. It’s for the unchurched.

That’s why it’s so good that The Feast can go out and we can spread God’s Word. We must surround ourselves with others who are unlike us, who don’t think religiously, who don’t have spiritual knowledge, or who are not theologically educated. We need to surround people like them with our circle of influence because that’s how God’s love will simply be known. It’s not enough that we just feel good about God’s love, or that it’s a nice thing to hear.

We need to make God’s love known.

Ritual Suitability

Just to bring us to context, what we do here at The Feast was just what they’d been doing in the early churches.

For example, in the time of Paul, the Jews would gather at homes and dine together. If our Muslim brothers have Halal (food that conforms to Islamic dietary laws), the faithful and religious Jews have Kosher meal.

(The Hebrews follow the laws of Kashrut, meaning ritual suitability, which refers to the Jewish dietary laws, defining the foods that are fit for consumption for a Jew.)

Foods permitted to eat under Kashrut are kosher.

In Hebrew, the word kosher literally means fit or proper.  https://www.medicalnewstoday.com › articles › what-is)

The foundation of the Kashrut dietary law comes from the Law of Moses. There are certain foods that Jews can eat and cannot eat. For example, they can eat animals with ruminants — animals with four-

chambered stomachs that eat grass. Examples are cattle, sheep, and deer. Jews are prohibited from eating pork and shellfish, but they may eat chicken and fish.

Imagine in the early churches when the Jews and the Gentiles would meet.

It’s like the church and the unchurched meeting.

Imagine: You happen to be a regular Jew; you’re having a kosher meal together with fellow Jews. Then, someone comes and brings a lechon or roasted pig.

As a Jew, you have to forget your own preferences for the sake of being together as a church family. I’m not saying give yourself totally to the practices of others, but they have to do what’s recommended to be one family.

Imagine again: You’re a faithful Jew who follows the highest of the sexual moral codes. You respect marriage. You have no tattoos. You’re clean-looking.

You’re always covering yourself with all these cloaks. Then, as you meet with fellow churchgoers, fellow Christians, prostitutes in a pagan temple, what if one of those corrupt politicians is sitting right there?

Will you be able to focus on the session, or will you be judgmental already?

I believe that the early Christians were like Filipinos. They are like halo-halo– a mixture of sago, nata de coco, and milk.

Us vs. Them

According to Paul, dividing people due to personal preferences and cultural backgrounds has been the tactic of the Devil.

Not only in the churches– but here in our country alone, especially during elections. You might be a UniTeam, but your seatmate is a Kakampink. But you both worship the Lord at The Feast.

That’s the beauty of the Church. That’s the beauty of God’s love. Despite our preferences, we’re equal in our dignity and equal in our love of God. That kind of love is what we need in the world today.

That’s why it’s so good that we get to spread God’s love through The Feast.

I want to give an example of how the Devil divides to create not only hatred but violence. In 1994, there was a Rwandan Genocide in Africa.

A small country called Rwanda, in the center of Africa, had two types of Rwans: the Hutus and the Tutsi. They both have the same ancestors, same language, same culture, and same practices. The difference between the Hutus and Tutsi was that the Hutus were farmers while the Tutsi were herders.

In 1916, Belgians came and colonized Rwanda.

The Belgians created a mandatory identification between Hutus and Tutsi. The Belgians preferred the Tutsi, making them an elite, superior race, stirring up resentment among the Hutus.

Rwanda gained independence in the 1960s.

Even so, the animosity that was created by the Belgians became even worse. The Tutsi looked at themselves as elite. The Hutus now hated the Tutsi. The Hutus created a negative propaganda even in the media. They said the graves of the Tutsi are only half full…so, they said that the Tutsi had to be killed. A battle between the Hutus and Tutsi ensued. In 100 days, one million ethnic Tutsi and moderate Hutus were decimated—7% of the entire population of Rwanda.

Even if we’re one people, even if we’re one church, the Devil’s most dangerous tactic is Us vs. Them. In World War II, the Germans, who regarded themselves as a superior race, killed six million Jews. During elections, we get divided because of our political opinions.

Don’t let that happen to your group.

From Pain to Purpose

BRO. ALVIN BARCELONA:

What divides us? What unites us? Before we answer these two questions, let me give you a detailed story about the Hutus and Tutsi.

Incredible story of two people: Stephen (left), a Tutsi pastor, and Matias (right), a Hutus farmer.

They were neighbors in a small village. They were friends.

One day, Pastor Stephen even gave Matias a cow as a gift. That cow provided milk for his family, manure for crops, and also gave him extra income.

But one day in April of 1994, Pastor Stephen heard that there were massive killings, so he and his family decided to flee.

But it was too late. They were already surrounded by enemies. Among them, Stephen saw Matias– holding a machete.

To Stephen’s surprise, Matias started killing his family– his wife, his children, his aunt, his parents, his sisters.

Later, Pastor Stephen went back to the village and saw that Matias was arrested and was imprisoned. Stephen was filled with hatred and wanted revenge but in one of his meditations, he saw Jesus on the Cross, and he heard the Lord saying: “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.”

Thus, Stephen started his small steps of forgiveness, and he began preaching again.

One day, he preached to an overcrowded prison. Matias was there. Seeing Pastor Stephen, Matias got worried, thinking Stephen would get back at him.

Pastor Stephen learned that Matias said that he killed Stephen’s family because he heard the Devil twisting his mind. Matias was so angry because certain government officials ordered his group to start killing people, killing the enemies. Because of that, Pastor Stephen forgave Matias.

Pastor Stephen said, “Jesus told me to forgive you. As hard as it is to do, I forgive you.”

After 10 years, Matias was released from prison.

Today, these two men preach together. They preach about forgiveness throughout Rwanda. Pastor Stephen would say that after the genocide, he had many enemies. But when Jesus told him to forgive, now, has no more enemies. Actually, he has a very good and close friend in Matias.

Walls of Hostility

Nowadays, we are divided more than ever. When I was young, fraternities were in. Not all were barbaric but the fact that you’re not from the same group is enough reason to get into a fight.

In our hearts, who do we consider as others or outsiders? Here are the three walls of hostility happening right now: political divide, economic divide, and religious divide.

I won’t mince words. Each time news comes out from the corruption

hearings, each of us has an opinion– from the point of view of a DDS, Pinklawan, and BBM.

Because of social media, we curse each other. We label people. We respect each other’s differences and principles, but for heaven’s sake, let’s not dehumanize.

We can discuss objectively.

For example, the economic divide issue. The poor are blamed for voting for certain politicians. But have we taken time to think or to talk to them about why they did?

For years, I’ve been giving talks for the government and to the government.

I find myself talking from Tuguegarao to Sulu to Tawi-Tawi. I’ve spoken with farmers, fishermen, Christians, Muslims, and tricycle drivers.

At times, I interact with congressmen, senators, and the affluent.

My principle is always to listen before I judge. We often label the poor as stupid.

They are easily swayed by vote-buying. If they received a measly P500 from a candidate, they would easily vote for him or her. Did we even stop and think about why they continue to vote for those politicians? Did we find time to listen and to feel, or to be in their shoes?

At the same time, the rich are not spared from bad judgment. If we see someone rich, we label them as thieves. We are often asked why we still preach in Congress. That alone is judging that all people in Congress are sinners.

How about us? Aren’t we flawed, too?

Jesus preached not only to the good ones.

All the more, He preached to sinners since they needed more of Him.

Even in Community, there’s a division.

Sometimes, we hear some say, “We attend the English session.”

It’s as if that if you speak English, you are first class, but if you speak Tagalog, you are second class.

Of course, we need to speak in English because we have an international audience. But let’s not look down on those who are more comfortable with Tagalog, especially since we are in our own country. If you go to France, even if you speak English, they will reply to you in French.

Even in pronunciation, we are divided. Of course, it’s just right to speak properly. I’m a teacher. But we tend to look down on those who can’t pronounce words properly.

Another hurtful truth is that religion divides us when it should be uniting us.

We’re cursing and killing each other– in the name of God? We’re repeating the system that Jesus was trying to dismantle.

We hear some say, “You’ll never be saved because you’re not one of us!” I still get that.

Why are we so quick to put divisions in our minds, even invoking God’s name? Hey, we welcome everyone but if there’s something that I’m so proud and happy about The Feast, it’s this: Before you believe and behave, you already belong.

We do not have a screening committee. We welcome sinners.

If we’ll welcome only the holy ones, then no one would be here now– not even a preacher. If you want to go deeper at The Feast, you’re welcome. If you want to attend, you’re still welcome. If you already belong to a different community, you’re still welcome. Even if you are not a Catholic, though this is a Catholic prayer group, you are welcome. Welcome to The Feast! Where you are loved no matter who you are.

From Borders to Bridges

It’s very important to identify who you consider as others so you can convert them into an insider. What identity card do you carry in your subconscious?

Bro. Tony said earlier that the Hutus and the Tutsi were given IDs. Until now, we have an unconscious ID. Do our unconscious IDs serve as walls or bridges?

Division lies in small things.

St. Augustine said: “In non-essentials, diversity. In essentials, unity. In all things, charity and love. Real unity is not cheap. It requires sacrifice, dying to oneself. It requires becoming vulnerable.

Jesus died while we were still enemies, while we were sinners. He died for the poor and the rich, the weak and the strong.

Now it’s possible because hey, if you really want to be called Christian, here is the ultimate standard: “You love people who are difficult to love.”

If you will love only those who love you, those who are lovable, you don’t need to be a Christian. The mark of a true Christian is loving those even difficult to love. You will love even your enemies. Why? God has such a big home that it can accommodate all of us. God has a big family, and everyone is invited to join this family.

Let me pray with you and pray for you, Brothers and Sisters, as we praise and thank the Lord for His unconditional, immeasurable, unfathomable love for all of us:

By His grace, may we love as Jesus did. May we treat everyone as our brothers and sisters while holding on to our faith and our principles. May we be granted the grace to understand and accept others, though different from us. May we start in our own homes, in our workplaces, in our communities and in society, in social media, in our country, and in the world. We look up to Jesus, who died and lived again for everyone. We surrender to our God who is Lord of all, who is King of all, and who offers His love to everyone. This we pray. This we proclaim in the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.

This story was first published in the Feast Family Online News Magazine
Published by THE FEAST (November 02, 2025)