7th Day of Simbang Gabi 2011

December 22, 2011

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. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever." And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.

Today we have heard from our Gospel that Mary sang her Magnificat. Magnificat means to magnify, to make God bigger in one's life. One would realize how big God is only when he/she has recognized how God works in his/her life. No matter how difficult it is to understand how life has been, yet one could feel the invisible hands of God giving meaning into his/her life. This was the experience of Mary. She did not know why God chose her to be the mother of Jesus. She never even aspired that such privilege of motherhood be given to her. But this act of God made her happy and she glorified the Lord. 

My dear friends, sometimes we miss to understand how God works in our lives. We forget that God's ways are different from man's ways. We want things to go the way we plan them out and sometimes we become frustrated when our plan is not working. In times of distress, we question if God really cares about us. We think our frustration is bigger than God that we try to live on our own. Little do we know that if we only see the whole picture of our life, God is doing great things for us.

Let me end with a story.

A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For 
     many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's 
     showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told 
him that was all he wanted. 

     As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited 
     signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the 
morning  of his graduation his father called him into his private 
  study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine 
son, and  told him how much he loved him. He handed his son 
a beautiful   wrapped gift box. 

     Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man 
     opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible. Angrily, 
he raised his voice at his father and said, "With all your money you 
give  me  a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy 
book. 

     Many years passed and the young man was very successful in 
business. 
     He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his 
     father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He 
had   not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make 
     arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had 
     passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He 
needed   to come home immediately and take care things. 
When he arrived at  his father's house, sudden sadness and 
regret filled his heart. 

     He began to search his father's important papers and 
     saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With 
tears,  he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he 
read those   words, a car key dropped from an envelope 
taped behind the Bible. 
It  had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the 
sports  car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, 
     and the words...PAID IN FULL.