23/08/2026
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐: ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
The third novena Mass in preparation for the Feast of St. Augustine offered the Colegio San Agustin community a quiet space to pause and reflect on the kind of love that shapes our faith and our relationships. As the celebration unfolded, the community was invited to look beyond the tradition of the novena and into the deeper meaning of being called to love Godโnot only through prayer, but through the way we treat, understand, and care for the people around us.
In the homily of Rev. Fr. Rommel G. Bongcac, OSAc he reflected on the readings from ๐๐ณ๐๐ค๐ข๐๐ฅ 37:1โ14 ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฐ 22:34โ40, beginning with a reminder of who God is: the Trinitarian GodโGod the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, who came to redeem humanity from sin; who gives life, strengthens us, and continues to guide us in our journey of faith. Through the Trinity, we are reminded that Godโs love is not distant or passive. It is a love that creates, saves, and continually gives new life.
This message of new life becomes especially meaningful when reflected through the life of St. Augustine, whose journey was anything but perfect. Fr. Rommel recalled how Augustineโs life once seemed far from the path toward sainthood. He was drawn to worldly thingsโto fame, money, pleasure, and the desires that caused him to focus on himself. Yet through Godโs grace and the persistent prayers of his mother, St. Monica, what once seemed impossible became possible.
Augustineโs story reminds us of something we sometimes forget: we are not perfect. We all have flaws, and we all make mistakes. None of us can place ourselves above another person because we are all still works in progress. The life of St. Augustine shows that our past does not have to determine who we eventually become when we allow God to transform our hearts.
After his conversion, Augustine offered his life to God and to the Church. The things that once occupied his heart were slowly replaced by something greaterโa love centered on God and poured out toward others. His transformation reminds us that conversion is not simply about changing what we believe, but allowing God to change the way we live, love, and see the people around us.
This led Fr. Rommel to the heart of the Gospel: to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Yet rather than leaving the commandment as something abstract, he challenged the community with a question that feels deeply personal: โW๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ? ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐บ?โ
It is a simple question, but not always an easy one to answer. Our hearts can become attached to so many thingsโachievements, recognition, money, friendships, expectations, and the things that make us feel successful or accepted. Sometimes, without realizing it, we begin searching for happiness everywhere except in God. Fr. Rommel reminded the faithful that God remains the true source of happiness and that when we lose our way, we are called to return to Him and make Him our priority.
He also encouraged the community to examine where our minds are shaped and influenced. The people we surround ourselves with, our families, friends, environments, and experiences all have a role in shaping who we become. This invites us to ask ourselves honestly: ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ? ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ด ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ช๐ฎ?
Our faith, after all, is not meant to be lived alone. Fr. Rommel emphasized that we cannot truly love God without learning to love the people around us. Our neighbors become a bridge through which we express our love for God. The people we encounter every dayโour parents, siblings, friends, classmates, teachers, and even those with whom we experience conflictโcan become opportunities to practice patience, forgiveness, kindness, and compassion.
This becomes especially meaningful within the family. We are not meant to survive life alone. We need one another. Within a family, love is learned through ordinary momentsโthrough patience, understanding, sacrifice, forgiveness, and choosing to remain present for one another. Fr. Rommel therefore challenged the faithful to ask, โ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐บ?โ ๐๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ด, ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ?
Because love is not always easy. Division and conflict are part of life. People misunderstand one another, relationships become strained, and there are moments when anger feels easier than forgiveness. Yet the Christian calling is not to remain trapped in anger and division. We are called to remove anger and put love above it.
Before we can truly become instruments of Godโs love, however, we must also allow God to purify our own hearts. A heart filled with anger, resentment, or bitterness can struggle to recognize the love that is already present around it. We must allow God to heal and transform what is within us so that we can love others more genuinely.
Perhaps this is where the readings and the life of St. Augustine meet most beautifully. In Ezekiel, God brings life to what appears dry and lifeless. In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of a love that gives life to our relationship with God and with others. And in Augustineโs life, we see a man whose heart was transformed when he finally allowed Godโs grace to lead him somewhere new. His story tells us that transformation is possible, even when change seems impossible.
As the Colegio San Agustin community continues its novena journey, the celebration becomes more than a preparation for the feast of its patron saint. It becomes an opportunity to ask ourselves what kind of people we are becoming. Where is our heart now? What shapes our mind? Who are we becoming because of the people around us? And are we helping the people around us come closer to God?
Fr. Rommel reminded the community to reflect on the purpose of our existence. We are not simply here to achieve, to be recognized, or to find happiness for ourselves. We are here to loveโto love God, to love ourselves rightly, and to love the people entrusted to our lives. Love is not merely something we feel; it is something we choose and something we allow to shape the way we treat others.
Like St. Augustine, we may have moments when we feel lost. We may carry imperfections, make mistakes, or find ourselves prioritizing things that do not truly matter. But his life reminds us that being lost does not mean being beyond Godโs reach. God continues to call us back, patiently inviting us to begin again.
Just as the Holy Spirit breathes life into what seems lifeless, God can breathe new life into the parts of us that have grown tired, distant, or hardened. We only need to be willing to open our hearts to Him and allow Him to transform us.
As the community moves closer to the Feast of St. Augustine, may this novena remind us that holiness does not begin with being perfect. It begins with being willingโwilling to change, willing to forgive, willing to love, and willing to let God transform our hearts. May we become instruments of that love in our families, friendships, communities, and in every ordinary encounter placed before us.
Above all, may we remember the central message of the Gospel and of Fr. Rommelโs reflection: โ๐๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ง๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐.โ For in learning to love the people around us, we learn to recognize Godโs presence among us. And in placing God at the center of our hearts, we learn to love others not only when it is easy, but especially when it is difficult.
๐ซ๐๐๐พ ๐๐ ๐๐๐บ๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐พ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐โ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฝ, ๐๐ ๐๐๐พ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐พ๐, ๐บ๐๐ฝ ๐๐ ๐๐๐พ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐พ ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐พ ๐๐พ๐๐พ ๐ผ๐๐พ๐บ๐๐พ๐ฝ.
โ: Myles Daosin
๐ผ: Myles Daosin
