Cycle C - Year I:  

6 January 2019: Solemnity of the Lord's Epiphany

(Liturgical Color: White)

Readings:

First Reading:        Isaiah 60:1-6

Second Reading:   Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6

Gospel:  Please Read  Matthew 2:1-12

Epiphany: Behold, the Lord, the Mighty One!

What is the most-liked gift you received last Christmas? Or did you receive any gift at all? Well, cheer up, hope is eternal.

Today is the Feast of the Lord's Epiphany, or more popularly known as the Feast of the Three Kings. And according to tradition, it is our last chance to receive Christmas gifts, in case we didn't receive any last Christmas. It is unlikely though, because Filipinos are known to be generous and lavish people, especially during the Christmas season.

But first, let us understand the significance of today's feast. The word "epiphany" means manifestation or appearance of God in person like us through the humanity of Jesus our Lord.  Thus, in the Lord's epiphany we see the plan of God to give His only Son as King and Savior, not just for the Jews who are God's chosen people in the Old Testament, but to all nations as well. Note that the three kings were foreigner and non-Jews. Thus, the implication of today's feast is that our Lord Jesus comes to both the Jews and the Gentiles (or non-Jews), including our present generation of believers in Christ, so that all may find true and lasting peace with God Almighty.

Now the bible account of the journey of the three kings (or Magi, or Wise Men) is one of the favorite stories in the Gospel, even in our youth, I remember. It is a story of the journey of life, of guidance on the way, of delight in finding faith and God. A bright star started the three kings on their journey and guided them to the end of their destination where they found the infant Jesus. So like our own faith, the star which we share at baptism is the promise of God to guide us through our journey in this life.

We hear from Matthew's narrative about the three kings looking for the infant Jesus in order to pay Him homage with their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The Western Church has assigned the three kings the names of Melchor (believed to be a Babylonian scholar), Caspar (a Persian scholar), and Balthazar (an Arab scholar). And because these three kings brought gifts to the baby Jesus, so today by tradition is also considered the last day of sharing Christmas gifts to our loved ones. 

Even the gifts of the three kings have symbolic significance to the divine identity and mission of Jesus. That is to say, gold has great value which symbolizes the kingship of Jesus. Frankincense is a perfume, and the symbol of the divinity of Jesus. And myrrh is a common anointing oil which symbolizes the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross that brought about salvation of the whole humanity. These gifts the three kings brought to the infant Jesus speak of their respect for His divine identity and the realism about His death at the hands of humankind.

Now, does the Feast of the Epiphany still have relevance in our lives today? Let us consider the following reflections.

Epiphany tells us that God became visible and audible for us in the person of Jesus, who is the human image of the invisible God. So that even to our generation we experience God living among us and within us in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

Epiphany makes known to us the way to the Father through Jesus Christ. He leads our path in our journey in this present life to our heavenly home. As Jesus Himself declares: "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me." (Jn 14:6)  

Epiphany reveals to us God's plan for all men and women to be saved from the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve, by believing that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Because God's kingdom is meant for all people of all generations.

In sum, as we conclude our celebration of the Christmas season we pray that the examples of the three kings be our guide in our own spiritual pilgrimage in the New Year 2019.  Like them, we too acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior and do Him homage. And may the Lord's revelation or epiphany shine on everyone so that the gift of salvation may be shared by all.

Happy Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord to everyone. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle C - Year I:  

01 January 2019: Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

(Liturgical Color: White)

Readings:

First Reading:        Numbers 6:22-27

Second Reading:   Galatians 4:4-7

Gospel:  Please Read  Luke 2:16-21 New Year

Entrusting our life to Mary, Mother of God!

It's the mother who first welcomes a child's first moments in our world. That is why the most passionate and enduring of all human relationships is that of mother and child!

The Catholic Church welcomes a new year 2019 by proclaiming Mary as the Mother of God. It was in June 431 that the Council of Ephesus affirmed that Mary can rightfully be called "Mother of God".

Let us try to understand this title of Mary in its proper context.

Since Mary is Jesus' mother, it must be concluded that she is also the Mother of God.  This fact can be affirmed by logical syllogism: "If Mary is the mother of Jesus, and if Jesus is God, then Mary is the Mother of God."

Nonetheless, it is important to clarify that "although Mary is the Mother of God, she is not his mother in the sense that she is older than God or the source of her Son's divinity, for she is neither. Rather, we say that she is the Mother of God in the sense that she carried in her womb a divine person -- Jesus Christ, God in the flesh -- and in the sense that she contributed the generic matter to the human form God took in Jesus Christ."  (Catholic Answers @ http://www.catholic.com)

So we honor Mary, Mother of God, for her courage, faith, devotion and humility. Like all other mothers, Mary must have felt afraid at certain moments in her maternal role, like when Jesus was lost and  found in the temple after three days, and also during the agony and death of the grown up Jesus, But Mary's complete trust in God made her accept the role of a mother to God the Son.

St. Luke's Gospel today tells us about the poor shepherds who were the first witnesses of the birth of the Messiah. They went in haste to Bethlehem after receiving the Good News from the angel. And there they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant Jesus lying in a manger, just as what the angel told them. And we read from the Gospel about Mary's humility and complete obedience to God's will: "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." (Lk 2:19)

Thus, in Mary we have a perfect model of being a Christian and disciple of Jesus. Mary was the joy-filled mother to the new born Jesus; she was the mother of sorrow cradling her lifeless Son in the "Pieta"; and she was the Queen-Mother standing at the right hand of the glorified Lord, which we proclaim in the Fifth Glorious Mystery of the Rosary.

And so, as we begin a new journey in the Year 2019, let us pray to Mary, Mother of God and our Mother too:

"O Blessed Virgin, pray to God for us always, that He may pardon and give us grace; pray to God for us always, that He may grant peace in this life; pray to God for us always, that He may reward us with Paradise at our death. Amen."

Finally, the Church also celebrates this Sunday the 52nd World Day of Prayer for Peace. Let us also pray that our Lord Jesus, the King of peace, bless our country and all humanity with the gift of His peace.

And so it is my greatest joy, to wish my readers A Happy and Prosperous New Year 2019. Thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle C - Year I:  

30 December 2018: Feast of the Holy Family

(Liturgical Color: White)

Readings:

First Reading:        Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14

Second Reading:   Colossians 3:12-17

Gospel:  Please Read  Luke 2:41-52

The joy of family......

 We come into this world through a family. Because family is where life begins and love never ends. Incidentally, the word FAMILY is an acronym for Father And Mother I Love You.

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. The Lord of lords and King of kings chooses to be born in a human family, with Mary as His mother and Joseph as protector. The reality of the Holy Family speaks loudly how God regards family life.

Does the Feast of the Holy Family  have any relevance to us today?

Now believe that family life is challenging and never easy. This was no different for Mary and Joseph who experienced difficulties too as a family. They had to work through, with a little divine intervention perhaps, the circumstances of Jesus' conception. And Mary had to give birth to Jesus away from home, in the town of Bethlehem in the most unlikely place in a manger where animals feed. And soon after the birth of Jesus the Holy Family had to flee to Egypt to avoid King Herod who wanted to kill the infant Jesus.  We can learn something from the examples of the Holy Family on their unwavering trust in God to face trials and difficulties.

For God loves the family. By the incarnation of the Son, God unites Himself with everyone through the family. Saint Mother Teresa wrote: "The family that prays together stays together, because such a family learns something about how God loves each one of us."

So, it is in His human family, fraught with trials and challenges of everyday living that Jesus grew in wisdom, age and grace as He prepared for His saving work. In much the same way God intends to prepare us for the many challenges in life in the environment of a family to make strong through the ups and downs of family through God's grace.

Thus, it is important for both parents to be close to God in fulfilling their role to care and sustain their respective families by being prayerful and with obedient spirit so that they can hear God speak and then follow His plan for the family entrusted to their care and guardianship.

Now the Gospel narrative from St. Luke is about the Fifth Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary, the finding of the child Jesus in the Temple.

The boy Jesus was separated from His parents as they went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. After three days they found Him in the Temple, conversing with the elders.

In His answer to Mary's anxious inquiry, Jesus took the name "father" from Joseph and addressed it to His Father in heaven: "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" Thus, even in His youth Jesus recognized that He has been given a call by His heavenly Father. And He shows His trusting faith and confident determination to pursue the will of His heavenly Father.

At the end of the Gospel narrative, Jesus went home with His parents to their home in Nazareth and became obedient to them. So while Jesus was fully aware of His real mission from the Father, He submitted Himself with love and obedience to Joseph and Mary and waited for His time when His call or mission would be fulfilled.

In reflection, we too are called by our heavenly Father to a unique task or mission in this life. Sometimes we may not discover or understand it fully, but if we trust in God and cooperate with Him, God will use us to His purpose and plan. Because we know and believe that with the call for mission God also gives grace-- grace to say "Yes" to God's will and grace to persevere through obstacles and trials in doing His will.

Do we recognize God's will in our life, and do we trust in His grace to do it?

Let us pray: Lord, in love you have called each one of us in the family to live for Your praise and glory. May we always find joy in Your presence and trust in Your grace and in Your wisdom and plan for our respective families. And may the Lord Jesus, Who has come to be part of the human family, bless and protect all our families from all dangers. Amen.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!