It's a paradox! But as Fr. Soc Mesiona shared during his homily this afternoon, it's the only way to go – to be truly great is to be humble.

Fr. Soc talked about a great challenge: to devote our lives to become like Mary. In her Magnificat, Mary proclaimed God's greatness but she did not see God's greatness using the world's standard but through the eyes of faith.

We see that:

- Whoever desires to become great must become the servant of the rest. According to Fr. Soc, “Servanthood [is] best expressed in Philippians: 'though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.'”

- Being humble is also being willing to embrace suffering and death.

Fr. Soc explained further, “Mary saw what God did to her as the beginning of His salvation of the world.” The disciples, on the other hand, did not understand this so well. Jesus had to give a short “workshop” when he brought them to Mt. Tabor.

In ending, Fr. Soc encouraged everyone to look to Mary, “We want to proclaim God's greatness. Get a clue from Mary.”

Admitting that he thought he would be celebrating Mass for only a hundred SFCs, Fr. Soc was happily surprised to see more than 6,000 delegates at the Carlos P. Garcia Cultural Center, Tagbiliran City, Bohol. [Nirva'ana Delacruz]

Photos are on SFC Global Facebook Page