The True Origin and Meaning of Undas

The twin feasts of All Saints Day and All Souls Day are popularly known in the Tagalog regions as Undas. With constant mainstream media usage of the word, many people in other areas of the Philippines have come to adopt Undas to refer to these feasts as well.

But what does it mean? What is its origin? Somebody on social media came up with an acronym: “Unos Dias de las Almas y de los Santos”, and it even went viral. Unfortunately, it is a hoax. No such “forgotten Spanish acronym” exists on any literature from the Spanish period.

Just recently, Father Denis S. Surban – who taught us sacred music at Mater Salutis College Seminary in Daraga, Albay, and now does research on Philippine Church history, especially about his beloved Catanduanes – posted a series of comments on my Facebook post on the topic. His comments may have just solved the mystery of Undas, with evidence to prove it.

He found this interesting entry on Rosalio Serrano’s Diccionario de Términos Comunes Tagalo-Castellano, published in 1854: “Ondás. Honras. – Ipag-ondás mo ang iyong ama. Has honras por tu padre.”

So Undas comes from the Spanish verb honrar, which means to honor, as in to honor the dead. It is conjugated in the second person, present tense, as honras.

Then he found another entry, this time from the Diccionario Hispano-Tagalog by Pedro Serrano y Laktaw (Rosalio Serrano’s son), published in 1889: “HONRA… pl. Misang patay.”

The plural form of the noun Honra, which is Honras, specifically refers to the Mass for the Dead, which could mean either the Funeral Mass or the Mass celebrated on All Souls Day. In Spanish, funeral rites is translated as honras funebres, and funeral honors, honras funerales.

Does this mean that the mystery has been solved? If so, Undas originally refers to the Mass for the Dead on All Souls Day. Over time it has come to mean the feast of All Souls Day itself, and then later the twin feasts on November 1 (Dia de Todos los Santos) and 2 (Dia de los Muertos).

Maghimatè sa Tingog kan Marhay na Pastor

Giya sa Prayer-Meeting nin mga Saradit na Komunidad nin Pagtubod (SAKOP) para sa semana kan Mayo 8-14, 2022. Basahon an Evangelio gikan sa Juan 10,27-30 (Ikaapat na Domingo nin Pasko nin Pagkabuhay-Liwát - C).

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Sa evangelio nagpapamidbid si Jesu Cristo bilang satong Marhay na Pastor. Sa Jeremias 3,15, may panugà an Dios sa Saiyang banwaan: “Tatàwan ko kamo nin mga pastores susog sa Sakong puso, na papamayohan kamo na may kadunongan asin pakasabot.” Sa Juan 10,30, sinabi ni Jesus: “Ako asin an Ama sarò saná”. Siya an kapanoan kan profesía kan Marhay na Pastor, na matao nin buhay na daing kasagkoran sa mga naghihimatè sa Saiyang tingog.

Sa panahon nin eleksyon, ano an sinasabi sato kan tingog kan satong Marhay na Pastor?

Sa Juan 10,10, sinabi Niya: “An parahàbon minalaog, daing ibang tuyo kundi maghàbon, maggadán asin magraót. Ako napadigdi tanganing sinda mabuhay asin mapanô nin buhay.” Kaya maglikay sa mga boot mamayó sa banwaan na nagsasagin-sagin na marhay asin maboot pero karâtan palán an katuyohán. Maglikáy kita sa mga utikón asin parahàbon.

An marhay na pastor dinadara sa karahayan asin katanosan an banwaan. Siring Siya sa Kagurangnan sa Psalmo 23,2, na dinadara an karnero “sa mga berdeng sabsaban, sa mga tubig na malinaw”. An maraot na pastor dinadara sa karâtan asin kasâlan an banwaan. Ining mga nakaaging taon nahiling ta kun pàno an mismong mga pamayó kan satong nacion ginibong normal an kadustaan, an kaputikan, asin an panggagadan – asin kadakul an saindang napatubód na an salâ tamà, asin an tamà nagin salâ.

An marhay na pastor may pagmangno sa saiyang nasasakopan, lalo na sa mga nasa laylayan nin sociedad. May pigpapamatè man na pagmangno sa banwaan an mga maraot na pamayó – alagad an tabang na tinatao ninda sa saindang mga constituentes, tinapyasan na nin mas dakulà para sa saindang sadiri. Dangan pag-abot kan eleksyon, ginigibong pambakal nin boto. Asin an mga botanteng pinatood sa barakalan nin boto, hinahaboan na pati an mga kandidatong matanos asin may kakayahan, sa saláng paghonà na an pagmakulog sainda nasusukol sa kun siisay an pinakahalangkaw an pigtatao para iboto.

An marhay na pastor sinusurog an saiyang kawan na inaataman. Alagad an pastor na kwarta saná an habol, susog sa Juan 10,12, “minadulág kun nakakahilíng nin lobo, binabayaan an mga karnero”. An maraot na pastor kasabwat pa kan may mga maraot na plano – an mga nagraraot nin kapalibotan sa saindang pagpayaman, an mga mahàbas sa pondo kan gobyerno, asin an mga lulóng sa kapangyarihan.

Susog sa Talinhaga 29,2: “Kun an matanos iyo an nagkakapot kan kapangyarihan, nag-oogma an banwaan; alagad kun an maraot iyo an namamayo, nag-aagrangay an katawohan.”

Dai man ki perpektong kandidato alagad dakul man an mga matanos asin totoo. Pilion ta an mga pamayó na nagtutubod sa kapangyarihan nin pagkamoot, bako an pagkamoot sa kapangyarihan; an mga nagdudusay kan saindang sadiri, bako itong mga nagpapayaman sa sadiri. Sa panahon nin pirilian, maghimatè kita sa Marhay na Baretà kan satong Marhay na Pastor, bakò sa pekeng baretà (fake news) kan mga utikón na boot mamayó sato.

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GIYA SA PAGHIRAS SA SADIT NA KOMUNIDAD O FAMILIA • Magherás nin experiencia nin mga tentacion asin biyayà sa pagsunód niato sa tingog kan Marhay na Pastor sa panahon nin eleksyon.

PASUNOD-SUNOD KAN WEEKLY SAKOP/FAMILY PRAYER-MEETING • Kumustahan/Pamiridbidan • Disposition to Prayer / Silence • Gathering Song • Opening Prayer • Gospel Reading • Reflection • Sharing • Scripture Response • Closing Prayer (Spontaneous and Our Father) • Closing Song

The Advent of Our Rebirth as a Nation

Homily for the First Sunday of Advent (C) – 28 November 2021. Readings: Jer 33:14-16; Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14; 1 Thes 3:12-4:2; Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

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Advent Season this year comes at a time when the political season starts heating up. Amidst the politicking, the candidate substitution drama, and the switching of political allegiances, what should concern us Christians the most is the violence.

The first type of violence is the destruction of the truth. Someone said, “The first casualty of war is the truth”. Today we see truth-telling upended by manufactured narratives, government officials lying shamelessly to the public, and troll farms flooding the internet with disinformation, some of them operating as early as seven years ago. Worse, a recent study found out that 52% of young people could not distinguish real from fake news, and they comprise the bulk of our voting population. The number is even higher among older population.

The second type of violence is the wanton corruption perpetuated by those in power. The bottom pit of corruption recently unearthed were the anomalous deals and overpriced purchases in COVID-19 response, which benefitted government officials and their choice friends, and cause so much suffering to our people, especially the poor who are already affected by poor healthcare services and loss of income. In a homily in 2014, Pope Francis said, “The corruption of the powerful is paid for by the poor.”

The third type of violence are the killings and harassments perpetrated against critics and the so-called dregs of society. The culture of killing extends beyond body count to the breakdown of the social conscience. Thus, we see the scandal of Christians who go to Church on Sundays and post bible quotes on social media, but who are also the staunchest cheerleaders of the killings and enablers of murderers.

We enter into Advent in the context of this systemic violence. There is more to the theme of preparation in Advent than just anticipating the festivities of Christmas. It is a season of soul-searching and spiritual preparation in order to fully grasp the meaning of Christmas, thus, to fully celebrate it. Advent also reminds us to prepare for two other events: Christ's Second Coming, and our own mortality.

The Gospel passage this Sunday prophesies cosmic upheavals, a slew of natural disasters, and nations in tumult to precede the second coming of the Son of Man. It seems Scriptures, nature, and history all attest that for meaningful change to happen, some form of violence or crisis has to happen as well. The joy of Easter is preceded by crucifixion and death. The rejoicing at Christmas is accompanied by political oppression and the slaughter of innocents.

A soul’s journey of conversion from the old ways to new life is also fraught with inner violence as the old ways fight back and seek, time and again, to regain control. Read St. Augustine, St. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, even Mother Teresa, and you will know. Ask any recovering alcoholic or addict and they will tell you this to be true. Salvation, redemption, and human progress come with a heavy price.

So it seems to be true as well for our nation. How then do we turn this blood-soaked time of violence and corruption into our hour of glory? Luke 21,28 says; “But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” How do we stand erect, raise our heads and await our redemption?

First, we have to recognize that we are all involved. The powerful and corrupt political dynasties, and their sycophant enablers, may be mainly to blame. But we too played a part in it. Let us ask ourselves these questions: Have you posted on social media unverified contents that support your personal views? Have you ever thought dirty politics will never change, or accepted that corruption is here to stay? Have you ever participated, willingly or unwillingly, in a corrupt practice because it is a fact of life and you can’t do anything about it? Have you ever conceded that vote-buying and patronage will never be gone during elections? Have you given up on politics and politicians, and chose instead not to care?

If our answer is yes to any of these questions, then we are partly to blame as well. We have heard this line from Edmund Burke often enough: “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men (and women) to do nothing.” We are as much part of the problem as the solution.

Second, we have to work on the things we need to stop doing. We need to stop believing that politics will never change for the better. We need to stop affirming that corruption is a way of life. We need to stop conceding that power only belongs to a few. Even in our weakness, there is strength; in our poverty, resources within our reach; in humiliation, dignity; in naivety, wisdom. We need to put a stop to our apathy for a culture of apathy spawns a culture of impunity.

Third, we have to get involved. We have to start respecting ourselves and our vote. “Ang pera sa bulsa, ang boto sa balota” degrades our dignity us voters and undermines the electoral process itself. Our sense of sacrifice has to go beyond the confines of family and loved ones. We have to hold our public officials more accountable. More importantly, we have to hold ourselves more accountable, especially, those of us entrusted with responsibility or position of authority.

Ultimately, we are all accountable to God. When our hour of judgment comes, can we honestly say we have made God’s will the standard of our moral choices? More importantly, when people see what we do, do they recognize Christ in us? More than ever, we have to make our Christian faith relevant to our participation in public life.

In his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (205), Pope Francis echoed the words of Pope Pius XI in 1924, “Politics, though often denigrated, remains a lofty vocation and one of the highest forms of charity, inasmuch as it seeks the common good,” Then he prayed, “I beg the Lord to grant us more politicians who are genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of the poor! It is vital that government leaders and financial leaders take heed and broaden their horizons, working to ensure that all citizens have dignified work, education and healthcare. Why not turn to God and ask him to inspire their plans? I am firmly convinced that openness to the transcendent can bring about a new political and economic mindset which would help to break down the wall of separation between the economy and the common good of society.”

There is a way in which the martyrs and victims of killings, and those who perished from COVID-19, would not have died in vain; those vilified unjustly by fake news and those made more destitute from corruption would not have suffered in vain. That way is to learn from these tragedies and grow better as a people. Tragic as they may be, these types of systemic violence may just be the thing to rouse us from our "carousing and drunkenness, our petty anxieties", our mediocre citizenship, our inconsistent democracy – but only if we let the Spirit guide our passions toward truth-telling, justice-seeking and peace-making. When this happens, there will be genuine healing and rebuilding. It will be the advent of our rebirth as a nation.

...

Artwork: "Hope in the Ruins of Manila", Fernando Amorsolo, Oil on Canvas, 1945

When Heaven Wept

English Translation of the Homily at the Funeral Mass for Kian Lloyd De los Santos
By Most Rev Pablo Virgilio S. David, DD, Bishop of Caloocan
Santa Quiteria Parish Church
Diocese of Kalookan
Caloocan city

Dear brother priests in the Diocese of Caloocan, especially the parish priest of Santa Quiteria Parish, Fr. George Alfonso, MSC, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart here present today, the other guest priests, the De los Santos family, brothers and sisters in Christ, thank you for joining us in this Funeral Mass for the eternal repose of KIan Lloyd de los Santos.

Every human being has parents, even if some parents might choose not to acknowledge them. Jesus too was a human being; he too had parents. He acknowledged Mary and Joseph as his parents.

It is normal for a son or daughter to bury a dead parent. What we are doing today is not so normal; it is the parents who are burying their child. It's a reversal of roles. It is not right.

It is not easy to condole with parents who have lost a child. You cannot just say, "I know what you are going through," if you have never lost and buried a child who is at the prime of his youth and is just learning to weave his dreams. In such circumstances, it is better to keep quiet.

But there is one mother who can truly condole with Lorenza today--the Blessed Mother Mary. She has the right to say to Lorenza, "I know what you feel; I also lost my son. Like your son, he was also arrested, beaten up, and murdered, even though he was innocent."

For us Christians, Jesus is not just a human being. We profess faith in him as a Son of God. And so even God the Father in heaven has a right to say to Zaldy today: "I know what you feel; I also lost a son. I gave him up, for love of you." That is the reason why I chose the famous John 3:16 for our Gospel today. "For God so loved the world, He gave us His only Son so that all who believe might not perish but might have eternal life."

That must be also the reason why it's not just KIan's family that is weeping today. Heaven too is weeping. The weather is dark and gloomy. The rain poured down very early this morning. All the agony and sorrow of heaven pours down whenever God in heaven loses a single one of His children.

Lorenza and Zaldy, you are not alone. We have here with us today the other parents who have also lost a son or daughter to the cruel drug war. Your son Kian was actually not the first among the very young victims of the drug war. Just here in our vicinity in Caloocan, Malabon and Navotas, I can cite more than a dozen of them:

1) Nercy Galicio, 16 years old, from Bgy. Tumana, Navotas. He was shot in head on April19, 2017

2) Arjay Suldao, 16 years old, also from Navotas. He was abducted and murdered on March 20, 2017

3) Alvin Preda, 19 years old. He was murdered at Kapak Liit, in Caloocan on March 29, 2017

4) Allan Lastimado, 18. He was abducted by masked men at Market 3, shot along R10 in Navotas on May 3, 2017

5) Raymart Siapo, 19 years old. He was abducted by masked men and shot in Bangkulasi, Navotas on March 29, 2017

6) Irish Nhel Glorioso, 18 years old. He was also abducted by masked men on his way to market 3, shot along R10 Navotas on June 8, 2017

7) John dela Cruz, 16 years old. He was shot by masked men outside their home along R10 near bus terminal Navotas on january 26, 2017

8) Liezel Llimit, 16 years old. She was Shot and killed by unknown assailants near Pescadores, Malabon on June 20, 2017

9) Troy Villanueva, 17 years old from Libis Nadurata, Caloocan, abducted and killed. His body was found floating at creek on June 6, 2017

The most gruesome cases happened to the former neighbors of the De los Santos Family: the Santor Family, who moved to Bagong Silang after the slumdwellers' shanties in their area were demolished. Ten masked men were in search for an alleged drug suspect named Jay-R Santor. Perhaps incensed that his friends and family would not betray his whereabouts, they murdered all of them. Here's the additional list:

10) Jonel Segovia, 15-year-old friend of Jay-R Santor, from Bagong Silang Caloocan City

11) Angelito Soriano, 16years old, also a friend of Jay-R Santor, from Bagong Silang Caloocan City

12) Sonny Espinosa, 16 years old and also a friend of Jay-R Santor

13) Kenneth Lim, 20 years old, another friend of Jay-R Santor

All four of them were killed by masked men at 9pm of December 28, last year, 2016. They were not done yet. They also killed Jay-R's mother Cristina and brother Ednel, and his pregnant sister Analyn, including the unborn child in her womb. They killed eight people in a few minutes; they did not even succeed in abducting their target dug suspect, Jay-R Santor. They played hit and miss after a few days. They killed two other boys named Jay-Rs; they were the wrong Jay-Rs. Not Jay-R Santor.

I do not know if Mrs. Luzviminda Siapo is here. Her name symbolizes the Philippines: a contraction of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao LUZVIMINDA. She too lost her 19 year-old son. She learned about it only on Facebook, and had to beg her employer in Kuwait to be allowed to come home to bury her boy. Raymart was a handicapped boy; he was clubfooted. He had been accused of peddling marijuana. His name was submitted and included in the Barangay's drug watch list by a neighbor who had a quarrel with him over something that had nothing at all to do with drugs. Two days later, they were visited by fourteen hooded men. Not finding him at home, they picked up someone from the barangay, covered his face with a mask, and asked him to identify Raymart--who was on his way home. They abducted him, brought him to a dark place in Bangkulasi, told him to run. The poor boy apologized that he could not run because he was club-footed. So they beat him up, broke his tiny legs, and shot him in the head several times. (An eyewitness had seen the murder and narrated it to the mother later.)

I still recall that day when I said the funeral Mass for Luzviminda's son. She wailed inside the Church. Her tears flooded the glass window of her son's casket. She looked at my direction. I thought she was talking to me; I realized her gaze was fixed on the icon of the crucified Christ behind the altar and she cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

I also witnessed on TV the wailing of Lorenza as she was being interviewed by the media. She was asked if the belated accusation by the police was true, that Kian was an addict and a drug runner. She said, "How dare you say your accusations against my son after you have killed him! He was not even in the drug watch list and had never had a police record. Prove your charges! And let's suppose that my son is indeed an addict and a drug runner. Is that enough reason to kill him in cold blood?"

That is why there are many people here now who are condoling with you, Zaldy and Lorenza. They are here not because of politics. They are here to silently express their solidarity with you and the many others whose children have also died because they allegedly "fought back". Many of them have not bothered to file charges, for fear that another one of their children might also be abducted and killed. There are many witnesses who have not had the courage to testify in court, for fear of reprisal.

But thanks to the outpouring of solidarity, you found the courage to pursue legal means to obtain justice for your son. Even your neighbors found the courage to stand as witness, to testify to what they had seen and heard. I also salute the young lady Barangay Chair for having the courage to submit the CCTV footages. (The families of other victims had demanded such CCTV footages in other barangays and never got them. Most of them were told that the CCTV were not functioning. Almost always, they would be functioning again after a day.) Even the city mayor had the courage to demand an independent investigation--which I was invited to, when he held a meeting of the Peace and Order Council of Caloocan the day after Kian's murder.

You can't imagine how many people you have touched with your courage to make a stand. I pray that through your example, the many other relatives and friends of the so many other victims will also come out, so that the souls of their loved ones who have been killed, either in a police operation or by masked killers, will finally be laid to rest.

The murder of Kian Lloyd was just part of the so-called "One Time Big Time" Police operation that began last August 12. They killed 32 in Bulacan, 25 in Manila, and ten in Caloocan within two days. And we were all shocked when we heard these words on TV: "I hear that 32 had been killed in a police operation in Bulacan. That's good! If we can kill another 32 each day, perhaps we can lessen what ails this country."

In this Mass, we would like to cry out to the authorities in government: Enough with the killings! Stop the killings, for heaven's sake! Let us please sit down and discuss reasonably as citizens of one country. Let us help out in addressing this problem of illegal drugs properly, but not in a manner that has no respect for the law. Not in a manner that almost treats addicts and pushers as vermin, as non-humans. Addiction is a disease; let us please address it as a health issue!

I don't know if you know that Kian was murdered in the evening of the feast day of the patron saint of our Cathedral, San Roque. This saint lived in the medieval times when Europe was devastated by pestilences and plagues which they did not know yet how to deal with during those pre-scientific times. Perhaps because they were horrified about contamination, some kings and governors during those times, employed the ruthless solution of rounding up those who had been infected by the disease, not just to quarantine them but to literally exterminate them like chickens. It was during those times that San Roque our patron defied the kings and went for the path of mercy and compassion by daring instead to nurse the infected victims, not minding the risk on his own life. Therefore he contracted the disease himself. But God spared him of death. The healer was eventually healed.

Maybe God took Kian on the feast day of San Roque because he has a message for us all. So that we would wake up and realize that extermination is not the right solution to the modern pestilence of addiction to illegal drugs. The addicts and pushers are not the enemies but the victims. The cruel and simplistic solution of exterminating them will not rid our country of illegal drugs. Thousands of kilograms of shabu will continue to flood our country if there is no systematic effort to trace the source. We are here to plead with the government: Stop the Killings! Start the Healing! We can work together for the healing of addicts through community-based rehabilitation programs. But more importantly, let us heal the divisions, the conflicts, and the exchanges of cruel words. Let us rid ourselves of anything that diminishes our humanity.

Zaldy and Lorenza, we are one with you in your grief. Even heaven condoles with you. Rest assured that Kian's life has not been wasted, even if it was cut short by senseless violence and cruelty. It is not wasted because it has served as a thorn that has pricked the consciences of our people and has awakened them from moral slumber.

May God in His Mercy grant rest and peace to Kian and to the souls of all other victims of extrajudicial killings. May God keep them in his fatherly and motherly embrace for all eternity.

AMEN.

When the cure is worse than the disease

Extrajudicial killings in order to counter illegal drugs don't result to improved peace and order, they only escalate the violence.

When suspects' right to presumption of innocence until proven guilty is violated, justice isn't served and the rule of law is broken.

When trigger-happy law enforcers, murderous vigilante groups, and violent drug syndicates roam our streets, they aren't just killing each other, they also kill more innocents. Witnesses and advocates are eliminated, family members are used as leverage, war on drugs watch lists are exploited to settle non-drug related grudges, and deaths by mistaken identity or proximity to intended target abound.

And many who profess faith

And many who profess faith in God find it
Just to despise one evil and cheer another, so we
Pray for the time when the few who cry for life
Become many, and mass murders, a thing of the past.

This War on Drugs will Fail

This war on drugs will fail because it is founded on the wrong principles.

Human life is expendable.
Human rights are only for the law-abiding.
The ends justify the means.

Due process is a technicality that can be flouted.
Fear is a rightful tool for law enforcement.
Severity of punishment deters crime.
The rule of law is binding only when it serves prevailing doctrine.
Those who oppose the war are to be counted as enemies.
Ethics and faith are irrelevant to the issues at hand.
The death of innocents is acceptable collateral damage.