The Gospel last Sunday told us about the people admiring the temple, how magnificent it looked, adorned with costly stones and votive offerings. But Jesus abruptly shattered the moment by saying, “All that you see here, the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”
What a sobering, even eye-opening, statement. It is as if Jesus is telling us: Do not cling to what glitters, for what is earthly will crumble. The things that impress the world—power, wealth, prestige—will one day vanish. Only what is built on faith, love, and truth will endure.
The people of Jesus’ time placed their pride in the temple, the grand symbol of God’s presence. Yet Jesus reminds them, and us, that God’s Kingdom is not found in impressive structures of stone, but in the hearts of those who live His word. God’s Kingdom is a kingdom that cannot be destroyed.
Earthquakes, wars, famines, and persecutions, these are frightening signs, but Jesus tells us they are not the end. They are reminders that no earthly power, no human achievement, has permanence. The only thing that lasts is God’s love, and the soul that clings to Him.
This truth speaks deeply to us today, especially to us Filipinos. We have just witnessed the devastating effects of the recent typhoon: floods swallowing homes, livelihoods washed away, families left in despair. Everywhere we look, stones have literally fallen, bridges collapsed, sea walls destroyed, and roads eroded. And while natural calamities are inevitable in our island nation, we cannot ignore a painful reality: much of the destruction is not only caused by nature, but by man.
For years we have seen the abuse of our environment, mountains stripped bare, rivers choked with waste, forests sacrificed for profit. When nature strikes back, the poor suffer first and the most.
And then there is another wound that hurts even deeper: corruption. Many of the flood control projects that should have protected our people crumbled because they were built with substandard materials, rushed construction, or poorly supervised work. Behind those broken dikes and collapsed seawalls are not just engineering failures, they are moral failures. While some pocket public funds, the poor pay with their lives, their homes, their future. In moments like this, Jesus’ words ring louder than ever: “Do not be terrified.” Not because the suffering is small, but because God is greater.
Last Sunday we also celebrated the World Day of the Poor, instituted by Pope Francis to awaken in us a deeper sense of compassion and solidarity. The poor are not merely recipients of our generosity, they are living signs of God’s Kingdom, witnesses to a faith that remains resilient even when everything else collapses.
Look at our poor kababayan after the typhoon. Many of them lost everything, house, crops, fishing boats, clothing, even basic necessities. Yet we see them lining up patiently for relief goods, helping one another clear debris, sharing whatever little they have left. No bitterness. No hatred. Only perseverance. Their quiet endurance mirrors the perseverance Jesus spoke of in the Gospel. They teach us what true wealth is: Not money, but hope. Not property, but trust. Not power, but faith.
Jesus does not promise an easy road. He tells us plainly that there will be hardships, betrayals, and trials. But He also assures us that God’s protection is not the removal of suffering—but His presence in the midst of it. He may not stop the storm, but He will never abandon us to it. The same hands that hold the universe are the hands that lift us when everything else falls.
To persevere means keeping the heart anchored in love even when life hurts. It means continuing to serve even when unrecognized, continuing to believe even when the world grows dark. It means standing with the poor, defending the oppressed, and trusting that God’s justice will rise, even when human justice fails. Jesus calls us to invest not in walls but in relationships; not in gold but in goodness; not in empires but in empathy.
Each act of kindness, each meal shared, each injustice confronted, these are the bricks of the eternal Kingdom that cannot be destroyed. If we build what will last by living in love, then even when “no stone is left upon another,” our faith remains firm, and the Kingdom of God continues to rise within and among us.
As we honor the World Day of the Poor, may we not only give from our surplus but also share from our hearts. May we see beyond the beauty of temples and cathedrals, to the living temple of Christ present in the poor, the suffering, and the forgotten.
The Kingdom of God is not measured by the strength of our infrastructures, but by the strength of our compassion. When love reigns, especially love for the least, then even in the ruins, God’s Kingdom stands firm.
“By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” And by your love for the poor, you will help build a Kingdom that never ends.