3rd Day of Simbang Gabi

A saintly man was collecting funds for the orphans whose parents had died in a war. He walked into a restaurant, where three men were playing cards, and asked them for a contribution to his good work. One of them cursed him and spat in his face. The saintly man quietly took out his handkerchief, wiped the spit from his cheek, and said without the slightest sign of anger, “Now, that was for me, sir. How about something for the orphans?”

The abusive card player was so dumbfounded that he reached into his pocketbook and handed the man all the money he had with him.

My dear friends in Christ, this story reminds us that at times we put aside our own self agenda to give way to the welfare of others. We learn to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of others. Sometimes too we can be patient when people insult us ourselves, though we cannot allow them to insult our dear ones. We know that if we can do this (sacrifice) for others, we can do it also for God. Just like in our Gospel, Matthew 1: 18-25, Joseph had his own personal dream not only for himself but also for his future wife. But when he learned about the situation of Mary, his future wife, he was willing to give up his personal dream in order to give way to God’s plan for Mary. He was willing to let Mary go if such was the will of God. He was also willing to take Mary as his wife, even if he knew that the child in Mary’s womb was not his, if such was the will of God. Joseph was ready to accept all the insults people would throw against him for marrying Mary. Because of these, God gave him His divine assurance that Joseph was doing the right thing, to sacrifice himself for God.

Today, my dear friends in Christ, we are called to recall the moments when we offered ourselves as a sacrifice for others. Parents, have you sacrificed yourselves for the sake of your children? Spouses, have you sacrificed yourselves for each other? Children, have you sacrificed yourselves for the sake of your family? All of us, have we sacrificed ourselves to give way to God’s purpose for us? Upon recalling the said moments, how have we sacrificed ourselves? In what ways did we do it? In making sacrifices for God and for others, we need to be stronger because we might lose ourselves in the process. Just like what we are doing these days, we try to wake up early in the morning to attend the Simbang Gabi. We sacrifice our comfort and nice sleep to pray to God, thanking Him for the gift of His Son to us. In our parish too, we ask our people to donate something for the improvement of our church facilities. Yet we could hear some of them murmuring against what we are asking from them. Though we do a noble act, we need more strength to sustain what we are doing or else we cannot finish what we have started good. My dear friends, we need to have faith that we do all these things for the glory of God. It is only when we feel inside us that everything is in accordance to God’s will that our sacrifice has a meaning. Amen.