Last June 25, 2025, Archbishop Jose Palma ordained 14 young men to the order of the presbyterate. These newly ordained are celebrating their thanksgiving masses, on different dates, in their parishes of origin.
Thanksgiving masses are always big occasions in towns, attended by the officers of the local government units. This goes to show that in a deeply religious culture such as ours, the faithful, give utmost accolade to one of their own who finished seminary formation. They do not give the same accolades to newly minted doctors or lawyers.
So far, I have attended two thanksgiving masses. I will write my own reflections here. I will start by discussing the notion of miracles. At the end, I will connect the dots.
A strict construal of a miracle understands it as God’s suspension of the laws of nature. There are also some problems with this strict sense.
First, it presupposes that we really know all the laws of nature. Is it not possible that what we deem to be suspension of the laws of nature, (say, the cure of stage 4 cancer) may come simply from our inability to understand everything about nature? For this reason, it is much more accurate to state, “Based on the currently available medical knowledge, such cure has no explanation.” Secondly, the study of science presupposes the regularity of nature, like two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen producing water and not vodka. Indeed, the regularity of the order of nature, according to Saint Thomas Aquinas, indicates the existence of God. The patron saint of philosophers writes, “An orderedness of an action to an end is observed in all bodies, even when they lack awareness. For their behavior hardly ever varies, even when they lack awareness…” To illustrate, how is it that even though they are without reason, coconut and guava trees will bear coconuts and guavas respectively, and they are not known to produce fruits interchangeably?
Furthermore, defining a miracle in the strict sense may fall flat when, what was deemed a miracle in the past may find a scientific explanation centuries later. For instance, what if those seen to be possessed by demons in the past were actually cases of epileptic convulsions?
Thus, when one talks about the miracles of Jesus, I prefer this definition, “an unusual event that is perceivable by any fair-minded observer and which finds no reasonable explanation in human abilities and thus we can attribute it to an act of God.”
Let us take the case of the multiplication of five loaves and two fish to feed 5,000 men. Some preachers say that the story does not involve anything supernatural, but that Jesus inspired the crowd to share whatever they brought and to feed those who did not bring provisions. I say that these preachers are vainly trying to sound contemporary. But actually, such interpretation can be traced back to Herman Reimarus, an 18th century philosopher! I do not agree. What I can say is that the evangelist intended to narrate an event which for them had no human explanation. But how it actually happened is already in the realm of the unknowable.
But here’s the rub: Even if I do not agree with such interpretation, I also believe that if it was a story of inspiring people to share, it can even be a more meaningful miracle! Beyond magic, there is this understanding that we can be inspired by the Spirit to go against our human tendencies to be selfish and become more oriented towards other people, especially those in need.
It is now time to connect the dots: The Archdiocese of Cebu is praying for the beatification and eventually for the canonization of the saintly Archbishop Teofilo Camomot. In the words of one of his biographers, “…he lived a life of radical simplicity and evangelical detachment… he avoided anything that smacks of worldliness. His ministry was a radical testament to a priest’s indifference to material goods entrusted to him.”
But if we are waiting for miracles that would lead to his beatification, are we limited to miracles that “suspend the laws of nature” like a dead man rising back to life? Can we be the walking miracles when we become more honest and transparent with our finances and be indifferent to material goods? It is the height of irony if we promote the cause of his beatification and be oblivious of the difference between his lifestyle and our own.
I am not sure if such miracles would make the Vatican include him in the roster of saints. But such conversion would surely gain a smile from Archbishop Lolong in heaven.