Kevin Muico

ONE DOWN. TWO TO GO. I HOPE.

Many sleepless nights,
waking up in the small hours of the morning,
often from nightmares of missing the deadline,
various opened books throughout the house,
drowning in word-vomit,
plagued by formatting issues,
and grammatical errors that never seemed to end.

But now, I finally hit that submit button! I haven't the faintest idea if this paper will even be accepted, let alone get a good grade, but we celebrate dubs whenever we can!

One Master’s thesis – DONE!

WHAT DID JESUS DO ON HOLY SATURDAY (Lessons from an ancient homily)

The Lord's descent to hell are not just words we utter every Sunday. It is part of the creed — a core belief. It is a fulfillment of God's promise to our forebears.

Hence, Jesus' first order of business was to proclaim the good news of salvation and extend the invitation to those who had longed for him ages ago. This is what the Apostle meant when he said, "Death has lost its sting"(1 Cor 15:55). Death no longer has a claim on God's people, including those who had been claimed before the Incarnation.

Love was not shackled by death. Love has overcome.

A meal brought us death; a meal will bring us life.

This is what is being offered tonight.

This is what is being offered at every celebration of the Eucharist — the bread of life, Jesus.

GIFT

Today, I celebrate the gift that is my wife, !

She is kind, constantly sees the good in people, generous beyond measure, loving, and won't suffer fools (myself included)!

I thank the Lord for the gift that is Tisa. Who makes my life beautiful and always keeps me grounded and also on my toes!

I love you ! I pray for more blessings upon you (and also lots of travel ahead)!

FINALLY ON SUBSTACK

After many drafts, I’ve finally gathered enough courage to post on Substack! I’ve long known that a late‑afternoon coffee guarantees a very late night. It turns out last night’s sleeplessness was providential, because I actually managed to write enough without dumping every tangent that crosses my mind into a single post.

My first post holds a special place in my heart because it’s all about my latest obsession — pizza! What does pizza have to do with today’s Gospel? You’ll have to read it to find out… and maybe subscribe to my newest venture on Substack while you’re at it!

HABEMUS PAPAM

The 267th Bishop of Rome, successor of Saint Peter, and Vicar of Christ on Earth - Pope Leo XIV!

“God loves us, all of us, evil will not prevail. We are all in the hands of God. Without fear, united, hand in hand with God and among ourselves, we will go forward. We are disciples of Christ, Christ goes before us, and the world needs His light. Humanity needs Him like a bridge to reach God and His love.” - Pope Leo XIV

ON THE CONCLAVE

Now is a time of prayer, not for politicking or idle speculation.

Saint Peter, pray for us.
Saint Linus, pray for us.
Saint Cletus, pray for us.
Saint Clement, pray for us.
Saint Sixtus, pray for us.
Saint Cornelius, pray for us.

--

These saints, found in the Roman Canon, are the first six popes of the Church. The Bishop of Rome's importance is etched at the heart of the Church's Eucharistic prayer. God, as evidenced by salvation history, has always used flawed men and women to advance his kingdom. Our faith did not spontaneously pop up out of nowhere; it was faithfully handed down to us through his apostles. We trace our faith handed on faithfully by Jesus through the apostles, with the Pope being the chief of them. We pray for the Pope because, through him and the other bishops, we can trace our Catholic faith all the way back to the apostles, and more importantly, to Christ.

ON WORK

“Work is more than a way of making a living: it is a vocation, a participation in God’s creative activity."

St. Joseph the Worker, pray for us.

JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU

One of the hardest prayers to pray is one of putting our full trust in God. When things go awry, our tendency is to take control of many things as much as we can. Trying to have some semblance of being on top of things.

The reality is, we do not have control of everything. We do not know what the future holds. We do not know if we might have an accident on our way home. We do not know if we are going to lose our jobs. We have no say in the market conditions. Only God knows what he is doing.

How beautiful, then, is this Sunday's celebration of God's Divine Mercy! In Jesus, we can and should place our full trust. His love for us is on full display on the cross. Death, he conquers out of love for us.

Jesus, I trust in You.

THE EASTER OCTAVE

Did you know that we celebrate these next few days as if it's still Easter Sunday? That's how seriously the Church takes its feast days - especially the great solemnity and season of Easter!

You know how seriously the Church takes feasting when one of the options for today's entrance antiphons goes hard with the feast imagery: "The Lord has led you into a land flowing with milk and honey, that the law of the Lord may always be on your lips, alleluia."

Note that the specific imagery is taken from Mosaic prophecy (cf. Ex 3:8), "a land flowing with milk and honey." Not just any land, but one that flows with both milk and honey. Honey is not something meant to be offered as a sacrifice to the Lord (cf. Lev 2:11); it is meant to be partaken and enjoyed. Milk in biblical imagery is also pregnant with deep meaning, one that projects prosperity. Thus, the Church wants us to enjoy this feast/solemnity out of God's abundant generosity.

So, what are you waiting for? Eat that cake! The Lord is truly risen after all!

PS. This post was meant to go out yesterday for Easter Monday. But given the news of the Pope's passing, I thought it best to postpone it. Though our hearts are filled with sadness, it is also, at the same time, filled with great hope, for the pontiff is now with the One whom he has given his whole life to.

Eternal rest, grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.

POPE FRANCIS ON MISSION

Allow me to share an excerpt from Dilexit Nos, which, in my opinion, was Pope Francis' best work. This was his encyclical on the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ released October of 2024.

"In your own way, you too must be a missionary, like the apostles and the first disciples of Jesus, who went forth to proclaim the love of God, to tell others that Christ is alive and worth knowing. Saint Therese experienced this as an essential part of her oblation to merciful Love: “I wanted to give my Beloved to drink and I felt myself consumed with a thirst for souls”. That is your mission as well. Each of us must carry it out in his or her own way; you will come to see how you can be a missionary. Jesus deserves no less. If you accept the challenge, he will enlighten you, accompany you and strengthen you, and you will have an enriching experience that will bring you much happiness. It is not important whether you see immediate results; leave that to the Lord who works in the secret of our hearts. Keep experiencing the joy born of our efforts to share the love of Christ with others."

Eternal rest, grant unto your servant, Francis, O Lord. Let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.

Ever wondered what Jesus did during Holy Saturday?

I've always wondered this as a kid, but it wasn't until well into adulthood that I came across this ancient homily. What I read made concrete connections between the truths of the faith, and it blew my mind. I re-discovered the theological truth behind words I used to haphazardly utter during the creed.

The Lord's descent to hell is not just words we utter as pillar of faith, it is a fulfilment of God's promise to our forebears. Jesus' first order of business was to proclaim the good news of salvation and extend the invitation to those who have longed for him ages ago. This is what Paul meant when he said "Death has lost its sting," death no longer has a claim to God's people.

Love will not be shackled by death. Love has overcome.

This is the reason why I constantly look forward to this day's Office of Readings, which, IMHO is hands down one of the best homilies ever given. Remember this homily once you renew your baptismal promises at tonight's Easter Vigil.

Our God is a promise keeper and today's festivities are a testament to that.

“Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”