THOMASIANS should let love overcome the temptations of self-righteousness and pride during their Holy Week reflections, a Dominican priest said during the University-wide Lenten recollection Mass on April 11 at the Santísimo Rosario Parish Church.
Reflecting on the famous Filipino saying “kapag binato ka ng bato, batuhin mo ng tinapay,” Fr. Jayson Gonzales O.P. of the Priory of St. Thomas Aquinas said this is still a “temptation to lose sight of the way of God.”
“God’s way is love. That’s why we are reminded by our patron saint Thomas Aquinas that to love is to will the good of the other. So, love should not hurt others,” Gonzales said in his homily.
“We condemn the sin but we do not condemn the sinner. Love can see through. Our ability to love is unlimited,” he added.
He also warned against the danger of having hearts full of pride such as when the Pharisees wanted to stone Jesus.
“If our hearts are full of ourselves, there will no longer be space for God,” he said. “They wanted to stone Jesus because they were proud.”
To overcome this, Gonzales likened love to hot coffee and coined the acronym “KAPE” or “Kausapin ang Panginoon Everyday.”
“Walang matigas na tinapay sa mainit na kape. Ang kapeng ito ang pagmamahal natin, because it is the nature of love to melt things; it can even melt the temptation of self-righteousness and being proud,” he said.
A recollection talk, silent reflection, and Way of the Cross were held before the Mass.
This year’s Institutional Lenten Recollection theme was “Pilgrims of Hope: Journeying with Christ in His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.”
