The Eight of the Nine Days before Christmas (December 23)

Story:
There is a story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident. The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.
"Sensei," the boy finally said, "shouldn't I be learning more moves?"

"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training. Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals. This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.

"No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue."

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion. On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

"Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"

"You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."

Life is full of mysteries. Sometimes we ask ourselves why we are here on earth. What is our purpose? What is the meaning of our life? And in searching for an answer, we try to guess, and later we become confused. Life then remains a mystery for us. What we hardly understand, we can turn to God and ask Him what His purpose is for us.

Scripture:
And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him (Luke 1:57-66)


Study:
In our Gospel, people were asking about the fate of John the Baptist, saying, “What then will this child be?” In their question, there was an affirmation that they saw God working in the life of John: “For the hand of the Lord was with him.” This Gospel really reminds us that our life comes from God. But He does give us life to live on our own. Rather, our life shall always be in relation or in connection to Him. The meaning of our life does not depend on what we shall do with our life but what God wills us to do with our life.

Our life has a purpose. We have a mission to fulfill like John the Baptist. It is wrong to say, “I am unlucky or unfortunate” or in our popular term, “malas sa buhay.” God would neither give us life nor expect our life to be meaningful if He allows us to live our whole lives in misery. God is working with us since our birth. He gives us our talents, skills and abilities to discover our call, our purpose, our mission. Of course, there are difficulties in searching for our mission in life. But in the last analysis, everything that is happening around us happens because it is how God shapes our lives to find His will for us. Remember the words from Desiderata: “You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.” Our life has a purpose for God. Let us not waste it. Let God use it for His glory.

The Seventh of the Nine Days before Christmas (December 22)

Story:
Once upon a time there was a king who had everything the world had to offer – all that money could buy, plus absolute power over his people. But despite all the money and power and prestige he possessed, he had a major problem. He was not happy.

And so he summoned the wisest of wise men in all his kingdom and asked them to provide him with a solution to his problem. “I want to be happy,” he said. “I command you to tell me how to achieve happiness.”
After consulting with one another, the wisest of all the wise men in the kingdom came up with a solution to the king’s problem. “You must find a truly happy man in your kingdom, take his shirt from him and wear it yourself. Then, you too will be happy.”

So the king dispatched his elite horsemen to every corner of the kingdom in search of a truly happy man and, eventually, they found one.

The trouble was, he didn’t own a shirt!

Happiness is defined in various ways. In the song “Happiness” (by Leah Salonga), one beautiful definition of happiness therein is: “For happiness is anyone and anything at all that’s loved by you.” Dismissing this view however, a further reflection on the definition of happiness will lead us to the view that happiness is a gift of God.

Scripture:
And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden” (Luke 1:46-56).

Study:
In our Gospel, we hear Mary praising God as she expressed her happiness to be the mother of God’s only son as foretold by an angel. Her happiness lies in a selfless life lived in the trust of God. Her happiness never depends on money, business success, good health, friends, etc. but on God. Mary teaches us that happiness comes when you learn to believe that everything is a grace from God. Happiness is seeing God in every event of one’s life.

Most of us are unhappy because our life does not go the way we want it to be. We sometimes measure our happiness by looking at what our present life is and what we think our present life should be. Then we see a big gap in-between them. We believe we cannot be happy unless we can bridge the gap. But then again, bridging the gap itself seems difficult to undertake. So we begin complaining. We complain we do not have a new pair of shoes this Christmas, but we do not know what to feel for some people who have no feet. We complain when we wake up early in the morning to attend the Misa de Gallo, but we do not know what to feel for people in an ICU of a hospital who are unconscious. Yes! We do not stop complaining until we will be happy. But we do know, we cannot also be happy if we do not stop complaining.

If we only stop complaining first, and then look at the grace of God in our present situation, we can find better reasons to be happy. If we only stop thinking of what we want and begin to think what God wants for us, then we become happy. Instead of complaining for having a wife who serves you the same food for dinner every night, why not thank God for this because there are others who are hungry and they have nothing to eat. Instead of complaining for having a husband who goes early to bed, why not thank God because he is at home and not with some women at the bars. Instead of complaining for having some children who make noise in the house, why not thank God for this because there are others who have no families, no children to call their own.

Happiness is no other than being confident that God is at work with us in all events. We know He loves us and He will not allow anything evil to prosper against us. 1 Corinthians 2: 9 states: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and no human mind has conceived –the things God has prepared for those who love Him.” In every event, whether good or bad, God is preparing us for something great. So like Mary, let us live our lives in the trust of God and it is only then we can really be happy.

The Sixth of the Nine Days before Christmas (December 21)

Story:
One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" To which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake.
As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the king they sent him on his way.

As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right" he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this."

"No," his friend replied, "this is good!"

"What do you mean, 'this is good'! How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year."

"If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you."

Everything happens for a reason. No matter how many bad things happened in one’s life, there is always something good that can be taken from the situation. If one looks at his or her experience with the eyes of faith, one can always find lessons, opportunities and blessings even from confusing moments of one’s life. There is nothing which happens, good or bad, beyond the power of God.

Scripture:
And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord(Luke 1:39-45).

Study:
In our Gospel, Elizabeth was almost six months pregnant when Mary visited her. It would not be unusual that she could feel her child move in her womb. However, she believed the movement was a leap of joy in recognition of Mary's baby. Elizabeth was shown here to be very optimistic. Her positive outlook of life was rooted in her experience of God’s power. Elizabeth was barren and was already old (Luke 1: 7). It was difficult for her to get pregnant as her husband Zacharias was also already old. At that time, a barren woman was often believed to be cursed by God while a woman with children was blessed. In Psalm 127: 3 it says, “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.” However, the blessing of motherhood was announced by an angel to Zacharias when everything seemed to be impossible (Luke 1: 13). This event unfolds the truth that God really intervenes in the affairs of man in some mysterious ways. God has a plan for all of us which most of the times we cannot understand. God will be in control of everything. What we only need is to put our trust in Him and let Him be the source of our optimism in life. Even if someday we shall feel that the situation tears us apart, trust that God has a reason. Let us be reminded by what the Scripture says in Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

The Fifth of the Nine Days before Christmas (December 20)

Story:
There was a son who once told his story about his mother. He said:
“My mom only had one eye. I hated her... she was such an embarrassment. She cooked for students & teachers to support the family. There was this one day during elementary school where my mom came to say hello to me. I was so embarrassed. How could she do this to me? I ignored her, threw her a hateful look and ran out. The next day at school one of my classmates said, "EEEE, your mom only has one eye!" I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my mom to just disappear.

So I confronted her that day and said, " If you're only gonna make me a laughing stock, why don't you just die?!!!"

My mom did not respond... I didn't even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because I was full of anger. I was oblivious to her feelings. I wanted out of that house, and have nothing to do with her. So I studied real hard, got a chance to go to Manila to study. Then, I got married.
I bought a house of my own. I had kids of my own. I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts.

Then one day, my mother came to visit me. She hadn't seen me in years and she didn't even meet her grandchildren. When she stood by the door, my children laughed at her, and I yelled at her for coming over uninvited. I screamed at her, "How dare you come to my house and scare my children! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!" And to this, my mother quietly answered, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address," and she disappeared out of sight.

One day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house in Manila. So I lied to my wife that I was going on a business trip. After the reunion, I went to the old shack just out of curiosity. My neighbors said that she died. I did not shed a single tear. They handed me a letter that she had wanted me to have."

Then I read mom's letter:

My dearest son,

I think of you all the time. I'm sorry that I came to Manila and scared your children. I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I may not be able to even get out of bed to see you. I'm sorry that I was a constant embarrassment to you when you were growing up. You see........when you were very little, you got into an accident, and lost your eye. As a mother, I couldn't stand watching you having to grow up with one eye. So I gave you mine.
I was so proud of my son who was seeing a whole new world for me, in my place, with that eye.

With my love to you,
Mom


Mothers are loving persons by their nature. Their loving nature pushes them to take many risks for the sake of their children. Mothers will endure great sacrifices and dedication to see their children safe and secure. Mothers eventually play an important role for the success of a child.

Scripture:
And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:26-38)

Study:
My dear fellow believers, on this 5th day of Misa de Gallo, our Gospel speaks about Mary, the mother of Jesus. Though she was betrothed to Joseph, God has chosen her to be the mother of Jesus –the Christ. When Mary accepted the will of God for her, she took many risks. First, Mary knew that according to their law, if a man believed that his wife was not a virgin when he married her, he could have her judged by the elders of the city. If they found her guilty, she could be put to death (Deut. 2:13-21). Then she also knew that if a man thinks the woman to whom he is engaged is bearing someone else's child: both the woman and the man whose child it is get death by stoning (Deuteronomy 22:23-24). The Law of Moses also allowed a man to divorce his wife when she found "no favor in his eyes, because he has found some uncleanness in her" (Deut. 24:1). Indeed, Mary was even at risk of being abandoned by Joseph. Yet, she accepted the consequences of being the mother of Jesus. And Mary continued to put her life in the risk in the Nativity Scene, during their Flight to Egypt, during the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and when Jesus was lost though at the end he was found all because she is a mother. Mary experienced many pains and heartaches in her life and she surpassed them all. She was a survivor –though a silent one of many life’s battles.
Mothers are the greatest persons who show what love is. They are unmindful of their children’s status, position and social standing, and all they know their children always remain their babies. They are more willing to take risks for the sake of their children. They can take risks because they are full of love for their children. It is true, mothers know best.

The Fourth of the Nine Days before Christmas (December 19)

Story:
It was on the eve of December 24, a father decided to welcome the coming of Christmas with his family when friends came to invite him to drink outside. He promised his wife and son to be home soon. This was actually the last scene he could remember. He woke up the next day with a hangover. He did not remember how he got home. So he tried to figure out what happened on the night of December 24. He saw his son eating his breakfast and asked him, “Son, what happened last night?” “Well, you came home after 3 A.M., drunk and out of your mind. You fell over the coffee table and broke it.”

Confused, he asked his son again, “So, why I did not hear anything from your mom? Was she not mad at me?”

His son replied, “Well, when mom tried to put you to bed, you screamed, “Do not touch me, I have a family. Leave me alone, I have a wife and a kid.” That puts off mom’s anger!”

Fathers play an important role in their children’s lives. They (fathers) should remember that one day, their children will follow their example instead of their advice.

Scripture:
…take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:18-24)

Study:
My dear fellow believers, on this 4th day of Misa de Gallo, our Gospel speaks about Joseph, the human father of Jesus. Joseph is described as an upright man. Being upright, it means he was obedient to follow God’s commandments. Joseph knew the Law of Moses and one of which states if a man believed that his wife was not a virgin when he married her, he could have her judged by the elders of the city. If they found her guilty, she could be put to death (Deut. 2:13-21). As an upright person, he initially planned to divorce Mary. Yet at the same time he would like to make the divorce in secret because he loved Mary. In other words, Joseph was shown as a man who loves Mary (by planning to get a divorce in secret so that Mary would go unpunished) and loves God more (by showing obedience to God’s law). Because of his uprightness and obedience to God, he was chosen by God to become the foster father of Jesus. An angel in his dream revealed to him the will of God to take Mary as his wife; she will bear the son of God, and he shall call his name Jesus.

To go deeper in our reflection, we can find a kind of example Joseph would show as a father to Jesus. Joseph proved to be the worthy person to act as the human father of Jesus through his obedience to God. Jesus as we all know from the Bible is obedient to God, obedient even until His death. Jesus’ obedience may be a mystery for some faithful, but may we give credit to the role of Joseph as a father who set an example of obedience to Jesus in His younger years. I have mentioned this earlier, and I will mention this again as Joseph proved this through Jesus: every father should remember that one day, his children will follow his example instead of his advice.
I know we all have fathers. But I do not know how many of us have responsible fathers. If you want to check whether you are a responsible father or you have a responsible father, try to recall at least five good memories you have of your father when you were a child. Yes, we need fathers who are willing to commit themselves to father their children. Yes, the world needs responsible fathers like St. Joseph. We demand fathers to be responsible and take care of their family for better and for worse.

The Third of the Nine Days before Christmas (December 18)

Story:
When Socrates reached his 50s, he went into marriage and took a wife, Xanthippe. She was known to be very hot tempered and nag. He was no ideal husband. He would leave home every morning without fail and return home sometimes quite late. At the end of every month, there was not any pay check. He was busy discussing ideas and thoughts with his friends. One day, Xanthippe was so fed up and scolded Socrates and his friends. But he continued discussing with his friends until the middle of the night. Xanthippe finally could not take it. She took a pail of water and poured it unto them. Instead of being embarrassed in front of his friends, Socrates declared to them: “By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a great thinker (philosopher).”

Many people rush into marriage for many reasons. But when their marriage is on the rock, they also rush in deciding to get a bill of divorce or separation. They forget that marriage is a vocation.

Scripture:
An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife (Matthew 1:18-24)

Study:
My dear fellow believers, on this 3rd day of Simbang Gabi, it is a good day to talk about marriage. In the said Gospel, St. Joseph shows to us that one should not go into marriage unless he or she discerns pretty sure that it is his or her vocation. St. Joseph knew that Jesus was not his biological son. He knew since the beginning that the child Mary was carrying in her womb was the son of God. This is why he wanted to divorce Mary! He felt he was not worthy to be called the foster father of Jesus. But God’s decision was revealed by an angel in a dream saying –“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.” Thus, we may say marriages are made in heaven as implied in this experience of Joseph. So rising from his sleep, St. Joseph obeyed what the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took Mary as his wife. As St. Joseph embraced his vocation as a married man, he began to manifest his responsibility as the husband of Mary and the father of Jesus in the Nativity Scene, the Flight to Egypt, and the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple.
Nowadays, there are only few lovers who are responsible like St. Joseph and the Blessed Mary. There are many cases of annulment and divorce made by one spouse against the other. They accused their partners to be psychologically incapacitated, immature, etc. They never thought that their separation affect not only them but their children as well who just forced themselves to accept the decision of their parents. They never thought when they entered into marriage whether it is their vocation or not. They just thought that being in love is enough to establish a lasting marriage. Today we are all being reminded that aside from the couple’s love for each other, marriage is a grace from God. Entering into marriage is more than donating a spermatozoon or the meeting of tiny cells; it is a responsibility bestowed by God to love one another until death as husband and wife.

The Second of the Nine Days before Christmas (December 17)

Story:
There was a man in a faraway village named Victor whose father lived with him. His father was very weak. He could not even walk well. It was because Victor did not give his father enough food. He had given his father a small earthen plate. Even a small quantity of rice in the plate appeared to be much.

Victor had a son. His name is Jess. Jess was just ten years old. He was a very good boy. He loved his grandfather whose name is Fred. He had great respect for his grandfather. He did not like his father’s attitude and character, because his father was treating his grandfather cruelly.

One day the Fred was eating his food out of earthen plate that his son had given to him. The earthen plate fell down. The plate broke into pieces. The food also fell on the floor. Victor was working at the other end of the room. He saw the broken plate. He was very angry with his father and used very harsh words to abuse his father. The old man felt bad about what happened. He was sorry for his mistake.

Victor’s son, Jess, saw this. He did not like his father. His father was ill-treating his grandfather. He was afraid to speak against his father. He was sad about his grandfather. But he was not powerful to stand in support of his grandfather.

The next day Jess took some of his father’s tools and a piece of wood. He worked with the tools to make a wooden plate. His father saw him working. “What are you making, Jess?” he asked. “I am making a wooden plate!” replied Jess. “A wooden plate! What for?” asked his father. “I am making it for you, father. When you grow old, like my grandfather, you will need a plate for food. A plate made from earth mat break very easily. Then I may scold you severely. So, I want to give you a wooden plate. It may not break so easily.”

Our parents, grandparents and even great grandparents are important to understand our growth and development as a person. We somehow realize that our personality, attitude, lifestyle and mentality are not that far from our ascendants and descendants in a sense, our virtues and vices are related or similar with theirs.

Scripture:
…and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations (Matthew 1:1-17).

Study:
My dear fellow believers, on this 2nd day of Simbang Gabi, we may find our Gospel to be boring that is because we are simply reading the account of genealogy of Jesus Christ. Why is it important for us to know the grandparents of Jesus? Well, we can see that in the human family of Jesus, there is a mix of saints and sinners, obedient and disobedient, well-known and unknown. Yet what matters most in our Gospel is that Jesus who is the Messiah came after a generation of families, grew in the family system, shared family values and lived with His family. In short, Jesus who is the Son of God entered human history in the way all of us entered i.e., through our parents, through our parents’ parents or through our great grandparents.

Our existence through these lists of descendants and ascendants is not legendary rooted but historical, real and essential for us. We can somehow see ourselves as products of these different personalities as well as of various genes of personages. On one hand, we feel proud to discover that we belong to a clan with an impressive lineage. Here we come to know that we too have the capacity to do great things and to excel just like some of our ancestors. On the other hand, we are made to humble ourselves to accept that there are also in our clan some members who are not worthy of emulation. Again we come to know that we are also capable of doing the worst things if we allow ourselves. Moreover, we are reminded that we may not in one way or another like the characters we see from our parents, grandparents and great grandparents, but we have the choice to be the best of who we are. We can choose to make a difference like Jesus. We can be a better product in the history of our family.

The First of the Nine Days before Christmas (December 16)

Story:
There was once a man who didn't believe in God. One snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived. She asked him to come, but he refused. "That story is nonsense!" he said. "Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? So she and the children left, and he stayed home. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump. Something had hit the window.
In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and could not go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed. The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It is warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and did not seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them and they moved further away. "Why don't they follow me?!" he exclaimed. "Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?" He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human. "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out loud. Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. "Why would God want to be like us?
That's ridiculous!" Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way and save us.

Today is the first day of our Simbang Gabi (Night Worship) and we are here this early hour in the church to prepare spiritually for Christmas. We have come to know and to believe in the love of God has for us. We have come to express our faith that Jesus is the Son of God who became man. In expressing the truth of our faith in God today, we are also called to examine ourselves and renew ourselves before God by being baptized with the baptism of John i.e., the baptism of repentance so as to wash away our sins. Our repentance is our response to the love of God which He has bestowed on us.

Scripture:
When they heard this all the people and the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John; but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God themselves, not having been baptized (Luke 7: 24-30).

Study:
My dear fellow believers, on this first day of our Simbang Gabi, it is not important whether you can complete the novena masses that we have before Christmas, what matters is your disposition to offer yourself –your body and soul, as a gift for Jesus this Christmas. A person who does not repent and change his or her evil ways rejects the purpose of God for him or her.

3rd Sunday of Advent Year A

There was a girl whose father was working abroad. She knew her father loves her as he would always send her gifts whenever there were special occasions. During Christmas, her father would send her whatever toys, chocolates, etc. she requested from him. But one Christmas eve, her mother noticed that the girl was sad though she had many gifts from her father. So she asked the little girl why. The girl replied, “Mom, I don’t need those gifts which daddy bought me for Christmas. All I want now is that he goes home and be with us.”

Today is Gaudete Sunday and we are invited by the Church to rejoice! But what would be our reason to rejoice? For some kids, they rejoice when they receive toys and food. For some adults, they rejoice when they receive their Christmas bonus or they have enough money to buy something for Christmas. But what if there were neither toys nor food to receive this Christmas? What if there were neither Christmas bonuses nor money to buy something this Christmas? Could one still rejoice?

Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew 11: 2-11
Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

On this third Sunday of Advent, we are not only called to rejoice but also to identify the reason of our rejoicing. John the Baptist was in prison, yet his situation never made him feel bitter or desperate. He sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He is indeed the messiah. Jesus sent His response to John’s disciples by enumerating all the miracles He did. In so doing, Jesus gave John the reason to rejoice though he was stuck in prison. Likewise, Jesus is our reason to rejoice during this season. Although we may be facing some difficulties and problems right now, these would not hinder us to rejoice because we believe that Jesus is with us. Jesus makes us see that amidst the shadow of our problems, we can still see His light. We can feel His presence and experience His miracles. He gives us then the reason to rejoice. My dear friends, let us find our consolation with Jesus, the God who is always with us.

2nd Sunday of Advent Year A

There were two monks clearing the weeds out of a field. One monk was going at it non stop, he did not take a break, he just kept going and going. There were times when he felt weary, but he just kept at it. The other monk stopped every hour for fifteen minutes. At the end of the day, the monk who did not take a break, was so tired and weak. He could not believe his eyes, when he saw how much the other monk accomplished. He was very upset, so he asked the monk. "I have been going at it all day, I did not take a break, I'm exhausted. You took a fifteen minute break every hour, and you got more accomplished, and you are not as tired, how could that be?" The monk replied, "Every time you saw me take a break, I stopped to sharpen my blade."

This is what the Gospel reminds us today; to sharpen our blade so as to clear the weeds of sin out of our heart. In so doing, we need to stop for a moment from all our worldly activities especially during this season of advent and prepare ourselves, our soul for the Lord.

Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew 3:1-12“A voice of one crying out in the desert prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”

On this second Sunday of Advent, we are called to “prepare for the Lord.” In some sense it means, we prepare ourselves for Christmas. Some prepare gifts for their kids, others prepare food. Still others prepare themselves for the Christmas party, for Christmas sale, for Christmas bonus and all others about Christmas. These are worthy of our preparations yet these are just external preparations. Hopefully we do not miss the interior preparation which is more important than the external i.e., to prepare ourselves for the Lord. Just like what John the Baptist desired for the people according to our Gospel: we have to repent, we have to renew our baptismal promises and confess our sins. We have to produce good fruits as evidence of our preparation for the Lord this Christmas. These are the ways we prepare the way for the Lord so that on Christmas day, our clean heart, our clean soul is our gift for Jesus.

1st Sunday of Advent Year A

I remember the poem NO TIME. It says:
I knelt to pray but not for long
I had too much to do
I had to hurry and get to work
For bills would soon be due.
So I knelt and said a hurried prayer
And jumped up off my knees.
My Christian duty was now done
My soul could rest at ease.
All day long I had no time
To spread a word of cheer
No time to speak of Christ to friends,
They'd laugh at me I'd fear.
No time, no time, too much to do,
That was my constant cry.
No time to give to souls in need,
But at last.....the time to die.

I went before the Lord,
I came, I stood with downcast eyes,
For in His hands God held a book,
It was the book of life.

God looked into his book and said,
"Your name I cannot find,
I once was going to write it down...
But never found the time."
This is what the Gospel reminds us today; to give time for God. In the days of Noah, people did not give time to God. They missed the message God relayed to Noah regarding the flood.
Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew 24:37-44.
For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In (those) days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be (also) at the coming of the Son of Man… Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
On this first Sunday of Advent, we are called to “stay awake.” In other words, “Do not sleep!” We have to give time for God. We have to spend times for prayers. Praying means staying awake. On one hand, it means we have to give God our time until we meet Him face to face. On the other hand, we have to give time for God in remembering and reliving the Lord’s First Coming –which we call Christmas day. We have to be conscious and aware of renewing our warm welcome to Jesus once again. We prepare our Christmas decorations, our Christmas gifts, our Christmas carols, etc. While doing this, we shall rejoice. However, our rejoicing is different from such rejoicing of the people during the days of Noah. They rejoiced too much that they forgot about God. They never gave time for God. But for us, we shall rejoice because we remember everything about God who sent His only Son, Jesus Christ. We rejoice because we have time to show to God we celebrate this season not for any other reason but for Jesus.

Feast of Christ the King (November 21, 2010)

A story:
Thomas More was a brilliant lawyer and diplomat in 16th century England. His patriotism and loyalty to the throne attracted the attention of King Henry VIII who made him Lord Chancellor of England. When Henry VIII decided to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon, marry Anne Boleyn, and make himself head of the Church of England, More thought this was not right. Rather than approve what he believed to be against the divine will, he resigned from his prestigious and wealthy position as Lord Chancellor. Because he would not give his support to the king, More was arrested, convicted of treason, imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1534 and beheaded in July of the following year. On his way to public execution, More encouraged the people to remain steadfast in the faith. His last recorded words were: "I die the king's good servant, but God's first." Henry VIII then later did know was that loyal as More was to him, his first loyalty was to Christ, the king of kings.
A Gospel:
Luke 23:35-43 –Jesus was crucified and above Him there was an inscription: “This is the King of the Jews”. The inscription was placed to add insult to an injury. It was not meant to express faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, or the King of kings.
A Reflection:
Today, we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. Just like St. Thomas More, we believe that Jesus is indeed our King. But going back to the Gospel, what sort of a king do we find in Jesus? He was a helpless King! The soldiers jeered at Him calling out, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” He was not a celebrated kind of a king. His crown was thorn; not a golden crown. He was naked; no royal robe. He was forced to drink some vinegar; not a fine wine for a king. How come we call Him a King then?
Jesus is a King but not the way we usually describe a king is. We have to give up our preconceived ideas of a king so as to understand why Jesus is the King.
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here" (John 18:36). It is Jesus Himself who claimed He is a King. Jesus who can neither deceive nor be deceived declared it. Being a King, He ruled with humility and refused to wear the golden crown, a symbol of pride and power. Being a King, He sacrificed Himself for His people and refused to wear a royal robe, a symbol of comfort. Being a King, He denied Himself of worldly pleasure as He did not drink wine of self-indulgence. Being a King, He opened His arms on the cross to welcome His people and did not sit down on a throne to scare His people. Being a King, His kingdom is not of this world, but in the hearts of men who believe in Him. Being our King, He commands us to love one another, to take up our cross and follow Him. If we choose Him as our King, then we should not entertain other kings. Viva! Cristo Rey!

“Survival of the fittest” –we heard this phrase in the classroom, in the government office and all other places. This phrase is most often connected to Charles Darwin though it was one of sociology’s pioneers, Herbert Spencer who coined these words. Herbert Spencer was fascinated by the work of the natural scientist, Charles Darwin whose theory of biological evolution held that a species changes physically over many generations as it adapts to the natural environment. Thus leveling sociology as “Science of Society”, Herbert Spencer used to describe society as an “organism”, with an idea of “social evolution”. Society is a jungle with the “fittest people rising to wealth and the deficient gradually sinking into miserable poverty”. Spencer as we can see distorted Charles’ theory by applying it to the operation of society as well as using it in the same situation with natural science. It seemed that it justified the plight of the poor that they deserve it because they are unfit. Their poverty shows that they do not measure up in the social evolution –in competition like other unfit organisms. With this, it is easy to conclude that people get more or less what they deserve in life.
In our current social reality, we heard many rich people make discriminatory remarks to poor people. They have this prejudice that the poor becomes poor and poorer because they have many children. They say they deserve their situation because they never join in the struggle created by social evolution –the fight for survival. In order for poor people to survive, they should stop growing in numbers. They should limit giving birth and resort to contraceptives. On one hand, wealth serves to be the basis of being fit in the society, the people’s way to survive. On the other hand, poverty is a sign of weakness; poor people cannot control themselves in having many children and such “out of control birth-giving” is a withdrawal to take the course of being fit. If this is the case, and if this idea will continue to widespread, then it takes out sympathy from the people’s vocabulary. There will be no more generosity, no gift-giving or “bayanihan” because the poor people do not deserve recognition in the society as there is no place for the unfit. This too emphasizes the wide gap of inequality between the rich and the poor, and may lead to hostile actions between the classes later. Some rich people would convince poor people to believe that the latter should resolve in using contraceptives if they want to have a better life. But in actual circumstance, how many rich people do help the poor and treat their helpers, drivers, errand boys fairly? The problem of poverty exists because there are people who are greedy. In their greediness, they think they are the only ones who should survive. It is better to reflect then that social status and social standing or being poor is not simply a matter of personal merit. There is a need to consider the circumstances and the structures that made the person difficult for him to reach at least a better standard of living. Moreover, it is not the case that generating more money necessarily makes people better or fit for society. Human as we are, though we are rich or poor, have the right to live and the right to preserve life in the best way we can. The survival of the fittest has a sense of truth but it does not have the general truth. The poor people even how poor they are, still we can see the mystery of their survival. In their struggle to survive then, we may say they are not yet out of the game –the game of the survival of the fittest.

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time C August 1, 2010

Today we celebrate the solemn feast of God, the Father of all mankind. We are indeed blessed here in our parish that this is the only parish in Aklan which celebrates the said feast with the holy octave of consecration to God our Father. Thanks to the initiative of Ma’am Inday Luces and our Parish Liturgical Team.
Why is it significant for us to celebrate this event? What is the relevance of celebrating this solemn feast of God the Father of all mankind to our church? At the very heart of this question lies the quest of understanding our relationship with God.
In the Old Testament, God is revealed as the Creator and all others are His creatures. With this kind of understanding, we establish a relationship with God as that of a Creator and creature. As a Creator, God seems to be far distant from man. He is up there in heaven and we are here below on earth. In order to meet Him, one needs to go where God is. He needs to go up to the mountain. God is on high separated from man so that the mountain is a good image of a meeting place. This is what the word El Shaddai means –the God of the mountain. It is the name, by which God was known to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 6:3,). In Exodus 3: 1-3, Moses too met God on a mountain –Mount Horeb. At that instance, Moses was trying to get “closer” to see God, but God told him “Come no nearer!” In this case, God was near yet so far.
In the New Testament, Jesus revealed to us who God is by calling Him “Father”. In truth, God is the Father of Jesus by nature. And then Jesus taught His disciples to call God their Father. In calling God as a Father, His disciples became children of God, not by nature but by baptism and grace through Christ Jesus.
The Fatherhood of God is not only for the early disciples of Jesus. It is for all those who are baptized. We too become children of God and He is our father by baptism through Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26-27). And every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father, we acknowledge what kind of Father God is.
As a Father, God who is in heaven is CLOSE TO US, who wills to establish a familiar relationship with us His children as His Kingdom comes and His will is done on earth as in heaven. As a Father, God is a Provider as He gives us our daily bread. As a Father, God is Merciful as He forgives us our sins. As a Father, God is a Protector as He delivers us not into the test. Of course, God is even beyond our human description but using the language of faith, He is the best Father.
Going back to my question stated earlier “why it is significant for us to celebrate this event”, well this is the time for us to reflect IF WE HAVE BEEN A CHILD OF GOD as Jesus revealed to us that God is OUR FATHER. How far we have become children of God then?
Some of us if not all have the difficulty in addressing God as a Father. Sometimes it is difficult to approach God and conduct ourselves as His children. Just like the rich man in the parable of Jesus (Lk. 12:13-21), we think and act in a way we ignore God as a Father. Just like the rich man, we never thought of God who provides us a great harvest. Just like the rich man, we never thought of God who protects us from any harm or fortuitous event. Just like the rich man, we never thought of getting closer to God as we declare to ourselves, “Take ease, eat, drink and be merry.” Just like the rich man, we are overwhelmed by our childish ways that we often forget to turn to God for mercy.
My dear friends, sometimes this difficulty of calling God “Father” is rooted in our experience of our human father. Our human father is imperfect. And when all we see from him is imperfections –drinking, womanizing, gambling, irresponsible parenting, etc., we get a distorted image of a father. We become unaware that we carry such distorted image we have of a father and unconsciously project it to God our Father: If our father is strict, so God is to us. If our father does not listen, so God is to us. If we find it difficult to embrace our human father, so we too feel before God.
But God is not like our human father. If our father could hurt us, God would not do it to us. If our father could reject us, God would not do it to us. God as a Father is the best Father we have. And on this solemn feast, we are called to consecrate ourselves with a childlike attitude to Him. This is the moment we renew our familial bond before God our Father no matter what is our experience with our human father. This is the day to claim our birthright and declare –I am a child of God.
This is the time we can sing to Him:
I KNOW AND I BELIEVE
MY FATHER LOVES ME
HE NEVER LEAVES ME
I ALWAYS WANT TO BE
LIKE MY FATHER
HE’S EVERYTHING TO ME I AM MY FATHER’S CHILD