Cycle C - Year II:

6 December 2015: Second Sunday of Advent
(Liturgical color: Violet)

Gospel: Read  Luke 3:1-6


Prepare the way of the Lord...

One of the beautiful and cherished traditions of Filipinos is coming home on Christmas for family reunion. In spite of the infamous incidents of "tanim-bala" in our airports, Filipinos are not to be cowed from coming home to be reunited with their loved ones during this joyous of seasons.

And so less than a month before Christmas, many of our overseas Filipinos must have arranged their homecoming by now, and their loved ones and families are preparing for their homecoming.

Preparing for the great event of Christmas is also the theme of this Sunday's liturgical readings. The forerunner of the Lord, John the Baptist, is introduced to us this second Sunday of Advent.

Who is John the Baptist and what is the significance of his message for our lives today?

John was a prophet, which means a spokesperson for God. He was called from an early age to devote himself to prayer and to the word of God. It is said that God taught him in the solitude of the desert and prepared him for ministry and for spiritual warfare. We can say that John bridged the Old and New Testaments. He is the last of the Old Testament's prophets who point the way to the Messiah. He is also the first of the New Testament's witnesses and martyrs.

It was throughout the whole region of Jordan that John performed his ministry, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He exhorts his hearers to prepare the roads of their hearts and their lives to receive the Messiah, the King of kings and Lord of lords. People came in large numbers to listen to him and to be bathed in the Jordan river.

What is the significance of John the Baptist's message for our lives today?

Well, we are reminded this Sunday that the time has begun to prepare for the coming of our Lord Jesus and his heavenly kingdom. We prepare ourselves by conversion -- turning heart and mind from sin and rebellion and submission to God's word and will for our lives.

In other words, we, too, are called to make straight the way of the Lord in our own day, in our moment in history, through repentance of our sins.

So let us pray for grace to listen to John's invitation and prepare the way of the Lord by acknowledging our sinfulness and pride that block the Lord's coming in our lives. For repentance of our sins is really coming home to God, especially this Christmas time.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.


Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle C - Year II:

29 November 2015: First Sunday of Advent
(Liturgical color: Violet)

Gospel: Read  Luke 21:25-28, 34-36


A new journey of faith...

In our Catholic faith, we can actually greet each other a "Happy New Year" this Sunday, November 29. Because we begin a new liturgical year in our journey of faith with the Advent season.

Advent is a period of preparation, extending 4 Sundays before Christmas. The word "advent" comes
from the Latin word "advenire". which means "to come"; and it refers to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Church wants us to meditate about Advent in three ways: first, and the most obvious, is the celebration of Christ's birth at Christmas; second, the coming of Christ in our lives through grace and the Sacrament of the Eucharist; and third, the return or second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ at the end of time.

At first impression, the Gospel passage for the First Sunday of Advent seems to be in contrast to the traditional understanding of Advent. Because Advent invites us to meditate upon the coming of the infant Jesus. And yet, the Gospel passage from St. Luke presents the triumphal return of our Lord Jesus in all His glory, power and might.

Well, there is really a common message. When we look beyond the actual events (that is, the first coming of Christ on Christmas day, and His second coming in the end) in either of these scenarios, the powerful and timely counsel being imparted to us is actually one and the same: "Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap." In other words, preparedness for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ should be our proper disposition, whether we meditate upon the event involving His birth on Christmas day, or consider the return of Christ at the end.

That is why at the conclusion of the Gospel reading, our Lord Jesus warns us, "Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent...."

In our practical life, often times we allowed ourselves to be focusing only on material preparation for Christmas, neglecting to prepare ourselves spiritually. While the material and spiritual preparations need not really be mutually exclusive, the spiritual preparation should always take precedence over the former, if we intend to use Advent well.

Here are some suggestions on how to prepare ourselves during this Advent season: first, undertaking voluntary penances for our failures and shortcomings, consonant with the purple liturgical color of Advent; second, dedicating a portion of what one might spend on gifts toward charitable causes as a way of mortifying the secular tendency to over indulge during Christmas season; finally, we should dedicate ourselves to more prayers during this time, for example, meditating upon the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, reading the Gospel  especially the infancy narratives on Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and praying together as a family around the Advent wreath in our homes. These are practical and all-time honored ways of preparing our hearts during the Advent Season to receive our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ on Christmas day.

For in reality, our whole lives should be an ongoing preparation to meet our Savior and the King of kings in our journey of faith, when He returns in glory.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.


Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year I

22 November 2015: Solemnity of Christ the King
(Liturgical color: White)

Gospel: Read John 18:33b-37


Jesus Christ, our Lord and King....

The Solemnity of Christ the King this Sunday concludes another liturgical season in our journey of

faith. On this day we hail Christ as Lord and King. And this is rightly so, because Jesus is the King of kings, Lord of lords, the Alpha and Omega (the beginning and the end) of all creation. At the end of our journey, we will encounter Him in person to render an account of our own life here on earth.

By what right, we may ask, does Jesus claim these kingly titles? Well, Jesus indeed was born of David's royal line. But as He tells Pontius Pilate, His kingdom is not of this world. Because He did not come as a political leader, ruling his subjects with force. Rather, He came as a Redeemer and Savior, seeking instead to rule his followers with truth and love.

As we reflect on the Gospel reading, it is somewhat ironic that even as we proclaim the glorious image of our heavenly King, the evangelist St. John presents to us the image of a suffering Christ, bloodied and beaten, crowned with thorns, and his hands tied like a criminal.

But that's the central point of the Gospel message for this Sunday. With all the power at His disposal, both in heaven and here on earth, our Christ the King, and Lord of lords, could have commanded the angels and all his followers here on earth to deliver Him from the cross. And yet He truly submits to the Father's will. Such is the humility of our King, who came to serve as the ransom for our souls, accepted death as the wages for our sins.

In rising again, He conquered sin and death, establishing His power and authority. He is hailed as Lord and King because all authority in heaven and earth is His and all things rightly belong to Him. Yet He chooses to lay claim to our obedience, our hearts and minds, with love rather than force.

May our celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King be an inspiration, a challenge, to those aspiring to be our leaders in the next year election. They should serve with humility, to lead through service.

So let us pray: Jesus Christ, our Lord and King, please hear your people. Amen.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.


Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year I:

15 November 2015: Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Liturgical color: Green)

Gospel: Please read Mark 13:24-32


The Lord shall return....

Life is a journey, and every journey must come to an end.  That sounds poetic but it is also a reality. For everything that we experience of our present world will end someday. But as to when, nobody knows. That is why the "unknown of the known" makes us tremble; but our faith assures us that the "known of the unknown" gives us hope.

As the Church's liturgical year draws to a close, the focus of the liturgy is on the end story of salvation.  The core message of this Sunday's Gospel is about interrelated events: the end of the world, the second coming of Christ, the gathering of the saved, and the condemnation of the damned.

The evangelist Mark makes use of apocalyptic language to describe these events, like "the sun will be

darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in heaven will be shaken." (Mk 13:24-25)

What is meant by "apocalyptic"? It is a special style of writing which precisely uses wild images and vivid symbols in order to convey realities beyond our present experience. The images described are not necessarily to be taken literally, but still they are relevant as they point to deeper truths.

Let us reflect on these truths that these images teach us.

Our first reflection is to know and believe that the world as we know and experience it will end someday. It will end because God has a bigger purpose for humanity; He has something much greater in His mind for us. So that the blessings of this world are only a prelude or foretaste of the blessings that the Father has planned for us in the life to come. And so also, our sufferings and trials we experience in this world are but temporary.

The second point in our reflection is the reality of the second coming of Jesus Christ. St. Mark says His second coming will be "with great power and glory". At that time there will be no question who is King of kings and Lord of lords. No one will ever wonder about our Lord's identity, for His kingdom will be brought to completion at His second coming.

The third point, peoples of every time and place will be gathered together for the final judgment. Our Lord Jesus will invite the redeemed to share in the very life that He shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit. It will be a great and glorious day for Jesus' faithful followers.

And finally, woe to those who chose until the very last moment of their earthly existence to refuse God's offer of mercy, love and new life; He will take action against evildoers as well.

Yet, our Lord warns that no one really knows the end of times, "neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father". So therefore, we should not be concerned with predicting, and fearing, the future as with living the Faith here and now. Because when we keep the Faith it strengthens us in hope, so that the Day of the Lord's return is actually a welcoming home, a great reunion with our Lord. For we believe that our Lord Jesus Christ shall return.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.


Ad Jesum per Mariam!