May 28, 2026

Feast of Jesus Christ Eternal Priest

FOR:    MBG ARCHDIOCESAN/DIOCESAN/PRELATURE/APOSTOLIC VICARIATE/MOP COUNCILS
            MBG PARISHES IN DIOCESES NOT YET CONSTITUTED AS A COUNCIL
            MBG SPECIAL UNITS

REF:     THE EUCHARIST IN OUR MBG LIVES

My Beloved Mother Butlers,

The Peace of Christ!

Last week was a disturbing time for me… so many concerns to attend to… missing my husband so much… it was three months and a week since he died.  Before the end of the week, in one of my chat groups, a regular text-friend of mine posted: “Tugunin mo ang tawag ni Hesus.  Meron siyang mahalagang mensahe sa’yo.  Relax and be still. Go visit Jesus in the Adoration Chapel.”  I did.  I just sat there in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.  Didn’t say anything because Jesus knows what’s in my heart, in my mind.  I just sat there… to relax and be still.  Then I headed off to the afternoon Mass.

There, listening to the Word of God… Jesus saying good-bye to his disciples, foreseeing his sufferings and crucifixion, praying to the Father to protect and keep those HE had given him as one so that the world and the evil one may not overcome them.  Suddenly, I felt a tightening in my heart.  Why was I so worried about the many concerns that burdened me?  Why was losing my husband centered on grief instead of hope that he is with Jesus?  Why was I being so self-centered?

At the Consecration, when I saw the Body of Christ, the chalice with the Blood of Christ being lifted up, I saw Jesus in my mind.  Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane… his apostles couldn’t even watch and pray with him, they slept while he was left alone agonizing… seeing his coming passion and death, and sweating blood at the terror of it.  And he went through all this… arrested, falsely accused, crowned with thorns, spat at, stripped of his garments and his dignity, nailed to the cross, hanging for 3 hours before finally dying.  Yes, all this to save me while I am still a sinner.  To save us all while we are still all sinners, unworthy of such unconditional immeasurable love. On my knees I adored and thanked him, whispering: My Lord and my God… I love you.  Come, hurry… please come into your temple in my heart.

I thought of the Mother Butler, each of us, all of us whom Jesus has called and chosen.  He wanted the Mother Butlers to be his own.  

• His own servants, like him… placed by his Father in the Church beside him to serve without counting the cost, to serve despite trials even humiliations, and still find joy in serving.
• His own handmaids of the Eucharist… like him, blessed broken and shared… the Mother Butlers serving him on the altars but also seeking and finding him in the peripheries, in sinners, in those held in contempt by society: the poor, the little ones, the forgotten, the weak, the hopeless, even those in our own group whom we might dislike… and sharing with them our time, talent and treasure, especially our time.
• His own housekeepers … housekeepers of the Lord consumed with love for his house that is our parish church; with love for his house in our neighbors’ hearts, treating them with compassion and respecting their God-given dignity regardless if they are rich or poor, bright or unlettered, loveable or despicable, friend or foe… remembering always Jesus suffered and died to save us even when we were worthless sinners;  with love for his house in our hearts with purity and faithfulness, with humility, love and joy, remembering always his image and likeness are there in our deepest core that we must let shine for others to see, hear, and touch him through us.

Pag inisip ninyo, naku talagang ang hirap maging Mother Butler.  Pagod ka na nga.  Madalas pa ang tingin at trato sa’yo atsay.  Wala ka namang sahod, madalas wala man lamang pasasalamat.  Ngunit gunitain natin si Hesus.  Noong siya’y dinakip at nilitis, lahat ng kanyang mga alagad iniwan siya, isa nga tinatuwang kilala siya, at ang pinakamasakit isa trinaydor siya sa halagang 30 pirasong pilak. Ang nang si Christo huhusgahan na, ang sigaw ng madla: “Ipako siya sa krus… Ipako siya sa krus?”  Marami doon sa madla, mga pinagaling niya sa sakit, mga pinalayas ang demonyo na nakapasok sa kanila, mga pinakain at pinatawad niya.  Hihigit pa ba tayo sa ating Panginoon?   

On June 4 is the feast of Corpus Christi… the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.  The Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist we serve and prepare for.  The Body and Blood of Christ during the Eucharist that we hold and have and keep in our hearts. How blessed we are, Mother Butlers whom he wants always to keep as his own handmaids of the Eucharist. Go often to Jesus, to receive him in the Eucharist.  Then from the Eucharist, be Jesus to others – blessed, broken, and shared.

Today is the Feast of Jesus the High Priest. Let us pray for our priests and bishops. That they may love being alter Christus… in the person of Christ teaching as Christ taught, serving as Christ served, loving as Christ loved, and living as Christ lived.  And for us Mother Butlers, let us remember that Jesus the High Priest prays in us, with us, for us… and at the end times, Jesus the High Priest will come again to judge us.  How can we be afraid when Jesus who will judge us is Jesus our Savior who suffered and died to save us. But Jesus also said that we must believe and keep faith in him, so that he and his Father will live in us. So that we may be forgiven and saved.

My cherished Mother Butlers… serve Jesus in the Eucharist… adore Jesus in the Eucharist… love Jesus in the Eucharist.  Bring him into your life. Then as often as you can, relax and rest in Jesus and hear him say to you again and again: You are my Mother Butler, I called and chose you to be my own… forever. 

Sincerely,

Amb. HENRIETTA T. DE VILLA

National President

                        To know Jesus and make him known.  To love Jesus and make him loved.