Fr. Nono Alfonso Facilitates CTK Easter Recollection
CTK had its annual Parish Easter Recollection last May 4, Saturday, from 10 am to 12 noon at the Divine Mercy Chapel, facilitated by Fr. Nono Alfonso SJ, the Executive Director of the Jesuit Communications Foundation. He was introduced by Formation Ministry head David Ong. With Easter as theme, Fr. Nono suggested that we ask God that we experience the Risen Jesus at work in our lives; that we find and recognize the Risen Christ in the midst of our day-to- day affairs.
Fr. Nono divided the recollection in three parts.
- Encounter
He noted that the liturgical readings during the Easter Season are all about the Lord’s appearance. After rising from the dead, he appears to his apostles and disciples, restoring their faith and hope, which reflect our own encounters with the Risen Lord in the here and now, in our own lives. When we look back on our lives, we realize that the Risen Christ has been very much a part of our lives, both in joys and triumphs as well as tragedies and misfortunes. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we recognize him in our past even as he journeys with us in the present and towards the future.
During the dozen times that Jesus appeared after having risen from the dead, Jesus always came as a stranger and in unexpected moments, even impossible circumstances. And each time, he restores hope, faith and love. It also turns out that Pope Francis’ favorite word is ‘encounter’, with Jesus coming to our lives and we are changed forever.
He asked the retreatants to reflect – Have you experienced the presence of Christ in your life this past year? Who were the persons in your life who made you feel His touch and love?
- Obstacles
Though Christ is always reaching out to us, we tend to erect barriers between him and us. Fr. Nono asked the attendees He asked the participants to reflect on the following questions: Is there a sense of death, a broken relationship, a dryness in faith, a dead-end in career that you need to lift to God so he can breath new life into them? Are grief, intense negative emotions, or old habits preventing you from fully experiencing the newness of the Risen Lord?
In Mt 28:1-7, the angel’s first words to the women were, ‘Do not be afraid.’ Are you afraid – afraid to love for fear of getting hurt, afraid to try for fear of failing, to commit because we might get lost? Fr. Nono reassured everyone that the Risen Christ heals our fears; after all, he conquered death.
- Easter people
As followers of the Risen Lord, we are all called to be Easter People. That is our mission. Fr. Nono asked everyone to reflect on four points:
a. Joy. There is joy and exhilara1on because the Lord has risen. He has conquered death so there is nothing to fear.
b. Love. Do you consider yourself a loving person? Does the love in your heart enable you to see Jesus in other people, in the events and circumstances of your life?
c. Mission. Despite their proven frail1es and weaknesses, Jesus commissions Peter and the other disciples; and they will soon be strengthened by the Holy Spirit in the performance of their mission. Do we ourselves live with a sense of mission?
d. Community. The mission apostles was to establish a community of believers, the Church. How are you contributing to building up your community and your church?
Fr. Nono Alfonso SJ is the executive director of Jesuit Communications, the media arm of the Society of Jesus in the Philippines. Aside from hosting radio shows in DZMM and Radio Veritas, he also produces TV shows, the most successful of which is Cardinal Tagle’s Sunday morning show, The Word Exposed. In 2016, Fr. Nono also produced the biopic of the founder of the Jesuits, Ignacio de Loyola, the first Filipino film to be screened at the Vatican. Fr. Nono also contributes commentaries to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
