Fr. Mhar Balili's Homily At Dr. Jose "Sir Dodong" Gullas' Funeral Mass

"We mourn Sir Dodong's passing because we have shared in the bounty of his humanity. We likewise rejoice at his death because he did not die without meaning, he also loved fully."

(Fr. Mhar Balili's homily during the funeral mass of Dr. Jose "Sir Dodong" Gullas at the Archbishop Teofilo Camomot Shrine on March 3, 2021)

Your Excellency, Most Rev. Midyphil Billones,

Your Excellency, Most Rev. Emilio Bataclan,

Rev. Monsignori, my brother priests,

Mother Loulle Buscato, DST,

To the members of the bereaved family of Sir Dodong Gullas,

Mam Nena,

Joselito, Jiji, Joie Marie, Johnvic and Jo Anne Marie,

Madam Gliceria Gullas Lucero, Mayor Eduardo Gullas,

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today March 3 is a very special day for all of us as we celebrate the 107th birthday of the Servant of God Archbishop Teofilo Camomot. Today could have been more special because we plan to consecrate this very beautiful chapel at 4:30 this afternoon. We purposely choose this date because Sir Dodong was not able to attend the blessing of this chapel last March 3, 2020 because he was rushed to the hospital. We could have thought that today would be very timely. In fact, the liturgy for consecration has been prepared.

However, things are beyond our control. Death is something that does not come specified, much less scheduled.

My dear brothers and sisters, Sir Dodong Gullas needs no eulogy and no long homily because his life which began February 1, 1934 is enough eulogy. And his death on February 25, 2021 should be homily enough, for indeed, both in life and in death, he was the Lord's.

When a man of vision dies, the light in our eyes dims a little, not only because of the tears we shed, but also because our horizon is made less expansive, our aspirations less ambitious. Sir Dodong's visionary spirit will surely be missed by many.

Visionaries, however, will not leave their descendants blind and groping in the dark. Sir Dodong has left us a blueprint to follow, not so much in terms of a detailed plan for the future, but a set of ideals to set our eyes looking forward. His legacy will not be the structures he built but the values he lived. In this sense, he has not only left us a legacy, he has left us a mission.

I am sure Sir Dodong has led a long and happy life. At the age of 87, the Lord called him back to Himself. His life is one that we can truly call "blessed", for he lived a long and fruitful life; he saw his children grow up and his grandchildren build their own families; he died with his loving wife, Mam Nena and took his last breath after he received the last sacrament. What more could a man ask from God? At age 87, when you have seen your dreams come true and your children build their own dreams, and above all having this funeral mass, our last farewell celebrated in this beautiful chapel built by him and his wife, even death comes as a gift!

Death is always a sad affair. It can never be anything but sad. Yet, there are times when death comes as a fitting end to a well-spent life. And while we bid a fond farewell to one who has been a part of our lives, we cannot help but give thanks to God for the gift of life, as well, we thank for the gift of death.

In this funeral mass therefore, we come not so much to grieve as to give thanks being the mass as eucharistein - to give thanks. We gather not so much to weep as to honor the memory of a beloved. For it is precisely in this definitive moment, when a man enters into eternity, that his life becomes for us a testament and a gift.

First, his life is a testament of how God loves him and how Sir Dodong loves God in return. It is a testament because it stands for all of us complete and definitive. There are no more uncertainties in a life given definitive closure by death. Death is the period that marks the end of a novel. In death, nothing more is said, nothing more can be added. One's life becomes, as it were, a work that has a beginning and an end. There can be no more sequels. And because one's life story has been written from end to finish, it becomes open to interpretations. We can open its pages and begin to understand the lines that once were crooked, but now appears as the inexorable trajectory of destiny.

There are people who say that death renders life meaningless. If all our efforts would one day end up in death, what utter drudgery life can be? Yet, for someone who has lived up to 87, death is a closure, death is meaningful. For in this world we live in, something is meaningful only when it has an end.

Second, his life is a gift because without him, many of you would not be here. A gift because his love brought forth a family who now has blossomed into many more families. A gift because his friendship has been many of us, enriching and fulfilling.

Death has a way of allowing us to view the person from a distance, giving us a chance to remember his life and deeds, according to us a higher appreciation for what he stood for when he was still with us. If there is one thing that Sir Dodong will be most remembered, it is his generosity to his family, to the many student-scholars, to the JRG Visayas Chorale, and most especially to the local church of Cebu. His wife Mam Nena can attest to that. The many priest and men and women religious would be forever grateful.

Sharing is distinctly human because it is only the human being is capable of giving in the truest sense of the word. Animals do not give; they only gather for themselves and for their young. Our humanity lies in our capacity to give up what is precious to us for the sake of someone who is in need. The only dignified way to live is to give.

For a person as simple and as generous as Sir Dodong, the will to give will never end. And when the time of giving is set a limit by his mortal body, what is there to do but give the ultimate gift? For a generous person, life is one continuous act of giving, an act which is not limited by death but it is given a new dimension by it, for when a generous person dies, he gives up his earthly life as his ultimate gift to God! His death is painful by any human standard, but in the eyes of faith, it was a true offering of self to God. By giving himself to all he served, he showed to them that death, is an act offering, the final and supreme sacrifice anyone can give to the Lord.

And so it is with death. The only dignified way to die, the only way to die is to give up one's life for one's friend, for then it is no longer dying but loving.

My dear brothers and sisters, the consecration of this chapel today is cancelled after the announcement of the death of Sir Dodong. However, this funeral mass in this chapel is never a coincidence being celebrated on the very day of the birthday of Archbishop Teofilo Camomot! Sir Dodong would always have wanted to witness this very day. And indeed we have this funeral mass! And Sir Dodong is laid in the coffin wearing the Barong Tagalog he personally ordered for this momentous day. The pants was supposedly worn last March 3, 2020 chapel blessing. It's his dream come true!

Sir Dodong, you are more fortunate than us. I am sure you are very happy. Why? You are now with Archbishop Teofilo Camomot, whom you are very fond of!

My dear brothers and sisters, we mourn our brother's passing because we have shared in the bounty of his humanity. We likewise rejoice at his death because he did not only die without meaning, he also loved fully. After all, Sir Dodong lives a life as a testament and a gift.

Today is a day of grieving, yes, but also a day of offering and thanksgiving; a day of mourning, but a day of gratitude!

Sir Dodong, farewell and rest in peace a faithful servant of God. Amen.

Archbishop Teofilo Camomot: Gifted to Give

"Teofilo, before he is the lover of God, is first beloved of God. The moment he discovered this gift that God is in our heart, it was natural that he eventually had to be the conduit. Today's gospel "Gifted to Give" is a beautiful summary of his very life and mission."

𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐄𝐗𝐓 of Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Midyphil “Dodong” Billones' homily during the holy mass in commemoration of the 107th birthday of the late Archbishop Teofilo Camomot, delivered 3 March 2021 at the Santa Teresa de Avila Chapel, Valladolid, Carcar City.

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Sa atong hinigugma nga mga pari, headed by Msgr. Jojo and Msgr. Ruben, especially the kinsfolk of our beloved Archbishop Lolong, our beloved sisters, devotees, representatives of our benefactors especially the Gullas family, mga hinigugmang igsuon kay Kristo, maayong buntag kaninyong tanan.

There are two important days in the life of man: the day that he is born, and second, the day that he finds out ‘why’. This quotation from Mark Twain, although attributed to many other writers, is very enigmatic and powerful. Because gi-highlight niya ang duha ka punto sa atong kinabuhi nga labing importante. Naay duha nga labing importante nga adlaw: katong adlawa nga kita gipanganak ug katong adlawa nga masabtan nato kung ngano man nga gianak kita – the why. Pwede nato kining matawag ang una – biological birth ug ang ikaduha, mao ang existential birth. Of course, ang biological birth labing importante, not only for our record-keeping purposes. Importante gyud nga mahibaw-an sa tanan nga ikaw tinuod nga tawo, dili alien, kung ma-trace ang adlaw kanus-a ka gipanganak. And most often, kana gibutang nato in all our legal documents, wherever we go, ang date of birth - the moment that you begin to emerge as a new life form, God’s masterpiece on this earth.

Kitang tanan malipayon nga nagatigom sa kaadlawan sa atoang pinalangga nga Archbishop Lolong. He was born on this day. Ingon nila, when a baby laughs, angels cheer in heaven! Dako ang kalipay sa langit ug sa yuta sa usa ka tawo nga gipanganak. Ika-107th birthday niya karon. Kitang tanan nga [magtutuo] nga sugboanon, we Cebuano believers, mapinasalamaton sa Mahal nga Dios, sa atoang Servant of God – and he is part of our living tradition as the local church of Cebu.

Pero kauban niining sentiment sa gratitude for his day of birth, importante pod nga atong madiskubre ang iyahang second most important day, meaning ang iyahang existential birth – the WHY of his life. Honestly speaking, as I study and pray over his life, it is difficult to pinpoint a particular date for him discovering the why of his life. I believe, however, it is a growing, converging realization. But in my humble opinion, the moment that this was focalized, was his ordination to the priesthood. For a priest who gives his total yes, it is only because of a deep awareness that I am deeply loved even despite my sinfulness. [Usbon] nako, ang usa ka pari nga nag-OO sa Mahal nga Dios sa ordinasyon, to give everything, and every part of his life for God can only come from a heart convinced that I am deeply loved even though I don’t deserve it. The mission naturally flows from here. I’m sure atong mga igsuong mga pari would understand this in a very powerful way.

Teofilo – before he is the lover of God, which iyang ngalan mao kana ang meaning, is first beloved of God. The moment he discovered this gift that God is in our heart, it was natural that he eventually had to be the conduit, ang dalan, sa paghigugma sa Mahal nga Dios. In his shepherding in Cebu, Jaro, Cagayan de Oro and back to Cebu, his passion is to give away this love in whatever way he can. Feeling ko kining tema nga Gifted to Give is a beautiful summary of his very life and mission. Mao kini iyang existential birth and purpose. Wala pa man kini mabuhat kini nga tema, karon pa lang. Pero sa mga linggwahe sa mga millennials, swak na swak ang Gifted to Give - if you want to look for a phrase to summarize the life and mission of Archbishop Camomot.

Mga hinigugma, ang Ginoo anaa sa imohang kasingkasing. God is in your heart. Daw ka obvious man kini. But sa tinuod, this most simple declaration hides the most powerful truth: that the God we seek is actually closer than we can ever imagine. Naay tendency to look for God in the external. There is this story that a mystic and God had a conversation: the mystic complained that God is so hard to find: he said, others go to the desert to seek you, others to the temples, to the top of the mountains and churches, others to pilgrimage sites but they cannot find God’s care. Others in the theological schools and others in emotional retreats. And yet they acquire knowledge of the love but fail to encounter that love. “How frustrating this is O Lord!” Mao kana ang complain o reklamo sa mystic kang Lord sa iyang prayer conversation. Ang tubag sa mahal nga Dios, “My child, don’t look too far away. Be still, bow you head, and close your eyes: then you will truly see, I have been always inside your heart.”

Mao kini, if you ask me, the amazing realization that God is in my heart, nga gitudlo kanato nga part sa legacy teaching ni Archbishop Camomot - nga kanindot nga atong i-reappreciate, because he is teaching the most obvious, but often hidden truth. I believe that this conviction revolutionized the life of Teofilo the lover of God, when he found God inside his heart. When his biological birth converged with existential birth, it resulted in a heart consumed on fire with zeal, ‘zelus zelatus sum’. Finding God loving him, his whole nature, existence became driven by this purpose – to spread this love that he has found inside his heart. It naturally evolved into giving. Gitawag kini sa scriptures, self-donation.

Usahay, we only remember the word ‘donation’ as something nga gihatag nato nga hinabang. But actually, ang iyang root word sa latin ‘donum’ means ‘gift’. And if you use the verb ‘donare’, it becomes ‘the act of giving’. Ang spirituality of self-donation, mao kini ang Ebanghelyo karong adlawa. Ang atong Ginoo, He came to this earth para ihatag Iyang kinabuhi para sa atoang kaluwasan. The movement of God, he was educating his apostles, would be ‘Do not cling to position. Do not cling to power. Do not cling to prestige. Rather, let go. Give your all. You have been gifted by love. Now, donate yourself as a gift of love to others’.

Mga hinigugma, mao kini ang self-donating movement, a movement that flowed from the heart of Christ. And this was continued by our beloved Archbishop Camomot. This self-donating love made it natural for him that even when he pawns his own ring, even ginatonto na siya sa uban pero mutabang man sad gihapon, even when travelling fourth class kay para may matabang siya sa uban, si Archbishop Lolong gives and gives and gives.

This is self-donating rhythm. Tanan kita, pari man, layko, o religious, we are now exhorted to continue this rhythm. Gifted to give, self-donating rhythm is the long, life story of Archbishop Camomot. Kaanindot nga sa atoang pagsaulog o pag-celebrate sa atong 500 Year of Christianity nga ang tema Gifted to Give, naa gayod beautiful nga synchronicity sa meaning ug dynamic movement of self-donation.

The gift [Archbishop Camomot] received, he knew is best reciprocated by giving it to others. When you think of him, you would immediately think of self-donating love. Born as the lover of God, he lived his life leading others to experience the love of God. And as we are convinced that we are gifted in love, then we are also urged to give this away to others.

Di ba kung ma-fall in love mo, you become generous. Maskin mahurot na imo allowance, ihatag mo sa imong hinigugma. Sa mga parents nga naa dinhi, you would work and sacrifice very hard for your family. Mao man kini ang self-donating love nga ginaawhag sa atoa sa atong pinalangga nga Archbishop Lolong.

So today, we celebrate his birthday. Pero hinaot unta dili lang iyahang biological birth, let us also pay attention to his existential birth, or spiritual birth if you would like to call it – the WHY of his life that is gifted to give. For us all who are devoted to him, mga hinigugma, even those joining us via live streaming, may we also become modern day Teofilo and Teofila – lovers of God. Like him, may we find meaning in entering the self-donating rhythm, that started from Christ. Like him, may we find a purpose-driven life when we learn to acknowledge our giftedness and our decision to gift if away to others especially who need it. When we do this, we celebrate not only the biological birth but also the existential birth of Archbishop Lolong.

So help us God.

Awit ni Dodong: Performed by JRG Visayas Chorale

"Awit ni Dodong," a song based on the book, "To Never Forget," by Dr. Jose "Sir Dodong" Gullas, was performed during his funeral mass at the Archbishop Teofilo Camomot Shrine in Valladolid, Carcar City, Cebu on March 3, 2021.

Lyrics: Awit ni Dodong i tuguting akong buntugon ang kabangis sa panahon bisan kalimot motabon ikaw kanunayng handumon ii buhi ang imong saluma ug dila ug kinaiya bantayog sa akong gugma hinaot wa mag-inusara chorus laoming ikaw akong tipigan sa kinauyokan ni’ning dughan matag pitik ikaw pasidunggan halaran sa tanang kadaogan iii hagawhaw ning kasingkasing molambo ug manalingsing molipang binhing giluyong sa mga bangaw motupong coda ikaw ang pako sa mga damgo nipakayab sa bug-os pagtuo [Composer: Maestro Emilio "Mil" Villareal]