What is easier? To pretend who we are not or to be who we truly are? With the culture that has develop in the recent years through the use social media, it has now become easier to pretend who we are not and to portray to others a self-filled with pretensions. An individual can just create multiple accounts on Facebook or Instagram and portray a different image of himself or herself. One can just display an image of himself or herself on social media sites different from what is really true.
Such attitude must have come from a deep longing to satisfy a person’s desire to be recognized, praised or accepted by others. The person’s environment such as the home, neighborhood or workplace must have been source of rejection and judgment. Because of this, the need to be accepted will persist and will lead a person to look for other ways where he or she will be recognized even in a superficial way.
Hence, the space provided by the social media would allow the person to be recognized and praised. Gaining likes, shares, comments and followers are ways of a person to be recognized. This could also lead others to portray happy occasions through their pictures and videos in order to hide a painful and traumatic background in their life. Others would show how affluent and comfortable they are in life to hide their insecurity due to poverty. However, such attitude can also become problematic. Portraying to others whom we are not, distances us from our true self. This also leads ultimately in our rejection of who we truly are before God.
In the First letter of St. John, it reminds us to remain in him. To remain in God is to be able to accept God in our life and become more confident in Him who is with us. To deny God removes us from His presence and thus will also lead us in denying who we truly are before Him. Only in remaining in God that we also inherit eternal life, which means, joy and a blessed life with God.
Such call also reflected in today’s Gospel, John the Baptist reminds us of the importance of recognizing our true self before God and before others. Priests and Levites asked John if he was the Messiah or Elijah or some great prophets from the Old Testament. John already gained popularity among the people. People sought for him and followed him. He gained influence and became an authority. John now could just easily pretend that he was someone else of great importance.
However, John was honest enough to admit that he is not God nor a great prophet. He was just a simple and humble friend of God, whose voice cries out in the dessert to bring people closer to God.
This is what God calls us today on this second day of the year, that we become more accepting of ourselves with all our weaknesses and problems as well as our strengths and potentials. Being honest with ourselves is also being honest with God and with others. To fully accept who we are also leads us to humbly acknowledge God in our life. To fully embrace ourselves makes us happier and joyful. In this way, we may become an authentic person who is not bothered of any pretension and insecurity but confident in God who loves us. Hinaut pa.
As we say our goodbye to 2020 and welcome a New Year of 2021, there is something I want you to do. I invite you to think, remember and recognize those many things that you have lost during this year of 2020 especially as Covid-19 Pandemic began to create chaos and significant changes into our lives. Those things that you have lost may include opportunities at school, at work or your business, relationships, family, or losing a loved one or anything that were significant to you.
I am giving you now 60 seconds to remember, recognize and count each of them. Are you ready? Timer starts now.
Losing something especially when that was significant or losing someone whom you love, creates deep pain in our heart. We become sad and even depressed. Others were even stunned and petrified when they realized that they have lost something special and important in their life.
I know several friends who until now are carrying that deep sorrow and grief over the loss of a loved one during this pandemic. It was too much to bear and the memory of it would always bring sadness.
Many medical front-liners also suffer emotional stress and physical fatigue in responding to the crisis. Many of them got infected and were deprived to be with their families.
Indeed, it is very important to recognize what we have lost. Many writers and social media influencers called us to always be positive and exercise “optimism” in midst of this depressive and life-altering challenges of the pandemic. Yet, optimism without a realistic recognition of what happened in our surrounding can be a blind spot. To be optimistic but denying the existence of our difficulties has no ground at all.
Our difficulties, our issues and problems both personal and of our community must always be considered in our search to go forward and to be hopeful. Thus, with this exercise to remember and recognize what we have lost brings us into the awareness of concrete and realistic situations that need mature and responsible response.
A responsible response may require to be reconciled with what happened, to ask forgiveness for our failures and sins and to let go of those that may burden us from going forward. All of these will only be possible when we recognize what we have lost as well as our failures.
From here, this calls us now to step forward. This is the invitation that I would like you now to dwell deeper – “the invitation to find great blessings in simple and small things.”
I would like to invite you again for another 60 seconds. This time, I would like you think and recognize those blessings that you have received this year especially as we are all going through this world wide crisis. Remember, blessings are not just limited with material things. They also include people or relationships, opportunities being offered in your work or business, or even events. So, begin now recognizing your blessings. And your 60 seconds starts now.
A mother shared to me how she found wonders in the middle of this difficult and depressive time of the pandemic. Because of the home quarantine, she found changes in the attitude of her children and even grandchildren and her husband. At the beginning, each one seemed to enjoy their gadgets. They were in one home but almost not talking to each other. Yet, when one family member got sick, and was suspected of Covid-19, everybody slowly changed their attitude. Her children, grandchildren and husband began to join her in her daily rosary. Slowly, each one would sit around the altar to pray. But more than this, the quality of the presence of each one, was being shared to all the members of the family.
What she found and became more grateful was the gift of presence of her family members. Each one also realized the importance of that gift and became more conscious of each one’s needs. This, certainly, is a great blessing. Easily taken for granted but when we become more conscious of it, presence becomes a powerful gift we can share to a loved one who is suffering and afraid.
As we are about to close this year and welcome the New Year, we are indeed invited to find great blessings in small and simple things in life. They may be small but they can be powerful and wonderful when we become conscious of them.
This is what we have heard in tonight’s readings. Our Scriptures proclaimed to us God’s blessings. And so, I would like to invite you again that we now turn our attention to what was proclaimed to us in the Sacred Scriptures.
The First reading from the Book of Numbers gives us the assurance of God’s blessing. God blesses and loves to bless us. Moses was told by the Lord to convey to Aaron and his sons that the Lord blesses and protects them. God’s blessing is to make God’s face shine upon the people God loves.
In the same way, our Psalm also proclaims this hope. It says, “May God have pity on us and bless us, may he let his face shine upon us.” Accordingly, St. Paul told us in his letter to the Galatians that, “when the fullness of time has come, God sent his soe, born of a woman.” This fullness is the fulfillment of God’s promise which we have been reflecting during the Season of Advent.
This fullness of time was also received by a woman who was full of grace. This is why we celebrate the first day of the year in honor of Mary, the Mother of God because through her fullness, Mary brought to us God’s greatest blessing. Mary reminds us on this first day of the year that no matter how difficult life is, no matter what kind of challenges we are facing right at this very moment, we are blessed.
May I ask you now, that you say it confidently to yourself, “I AM BLESSED.” Please repeat, “I AM BLESSED!” Yes, we are blessed because God has come to us and his name is Jesus, our God who saves us.
"I AM BLESSED"
This Gospel of Luke also described to us this wonder in finding great blessing in small and simple things. The shepherds who were considered at that time as stateless, nameless and insignificant people in their society must have been looking and searching for something that will affirm their worth. People who were abandoned and not recognized by the community carry a deep pain in their heart and deep longing to be understood and to be loved. These shepherds must have been looking for this, deep in their hearts.
God is not blind to this. God shows his mercy. God comes to bless us. Indeed, those deprived shepherds, as St. Luke told us, went in haste to Bethlehem in search of a child after an Angel told them of the great news. In their search, what they found was an infant lying in a manger with Mary and Joseph. Yes, they found this family and an infant in unadorned manger which was intended only for animals’ food.
Can we not see it? God’s greatest blessing to us rests in a poor, simple and unadorned manger. As God promised to let his face shine on us, God fulfills it in a simple and humble way. This is what Mary, the Mother of God reminds us today. Mary brought to us the Lord Jesus not in a majestic or spectacular or extravagant way where people will be crowding to see and be amazed of what happened. No! There was no big crowd. There were no dignitaries! There was no presence of important people in the society. Only the stateless, insignificant, nameless, and unimportant shepherds and perhaps some animals to see and behold the face of God.
Why is that? We can only wonder. Those important and big people could have been too busy and too occupied with their ego. When we turn like this, we will be more concerned in big and spectacular things for ourselves. We will be overwhelmed by our desire to have more for ourselves that our heart became indifferent to the simple invitation of God.
What does it tell us now? As this New Year of 2021 is about to unfold, never ever take for granted the small, the least, the simple and the ordinary in our life. History tells us that God comes and shines his face upon us through the simple and small things, through ordinary events, through our familiar friends, through the least of our brothers and sisters.
Look and find God and His great blessings in the small and the simple. Never forget that because like the shepherds, when we begin to recognize God and his blessings to us in the small and simple things, it will move us to joy and to gratitude. Look at what happened to the shepherds. When at last they have received God’s blessing brought by Mary, they began glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.
The shepherds became the first preachers of joy. Everyone they met on the road, they shared the joy that they have felt. That joy in them became more infectious that any disease or virus. With that blessing they received, they began to look at their life and look at the world at a very different perspective from before. They now look at life and the world through the lens of blessing because God is here with us.
Life becomes more wonderful despite its challenges. The world though it was night, but there was a glimmer of hope that the sun will surely shine. All these have become possible because like Mary and Joseph, the shepherds also received the carried the Lord in their hearts. Now, as we welcome 2021 in few more ours, let us also receive and always allow the Lord to be with us.
For us to remember God’s invitations tonight, let me remind you again of your “take aways.”
Recognize what you have lost as well as your failures. Be reconciled and let go.
Recognize your blessings even in the small and simple things in life. And be grateful.
Preach joy and live in joy.
Hinaut pa. Have a Merry Christmas and a Grace-filled New Year everyone.
We have reached the last day of the year of 2020. We have been through a lot this year. There are too many to mention them. Not just to few of us but to most of us living on this planet. 2020 has given us many blows of fear and anxiety. In addition, our personal struggles with our families, with our work, studies and other aspects of our life are also there. And perhaps, they are still with us until this last day of the year.
One can just imagine the overwhelming trials that brought life-changing moments into our life. Yet, despite all those things that bombarded us personally and as a community, there are still so much to be grateful for. This is very essential as we go forward today and welcome a new day that is about to unfold before us.
With all of these, it is just proper for us to allow everything to touch us. We can do this by giving a time of silence for us to listen and to feel. St. John’s Gospel tells us that before God spoke to create the world, there was only the silence of God. It was from that silence of God also, that God speaks. We are reminded that “in the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God.” And this Word became flesh who made his dwelling among us.
And so, for all that has been, I would like to invite you now that we observe a minute of silence and close our eyes to thank the Lord for his grace and favor upon us.
Please observe a minute of silence now.
There are also three invitations that I would like you to dwell on this last day of the year. These three invitations will hopefully help us to look ahead with hope, to be grateful at present and to be reconciled with our past.
The first is the invitation of letting go. There must have been painful, hurtful and traumatic events that happened this year. They could have created sad memories in us. We could have been filled guilt and shame, or with sorrow and grief, or with disappointment and hopelessness. However, when we do not learn to let them go then, we will only be unnecessarily dragging past burdens into our present life. We will only feel being burdened and tired in the next coming days. Then, we will surely lose the opportunities to enjoy the day and enjoy life in its fullness. Hence, this is a time of letting go. Let go what must be surrendered. It might not be easy. But for the sake of our sanity and the good of those people around you, let go. Nevertheless, be assured also that as we let go those that burdens us, the Gospel of John reminds us, “From his (Jesus) fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace.” We are graced and be confident in that.
The second is the invitation of letting God. Once we let go, we also let God to heal us, to renew us and to transform us. St. John tells us in his Gospel that God is a light that shines in our darkness. To let God shine in us means not allowing darkness to overcome us. We allow God to be our God and not our selfish desires and tendencies. Hence, this is a time of Letting God.
The third is the invitation of welcoming. Allowing God to be God opens opportunities for us to be surprised. The days ahead are not certain, yet, if we make our hearts filled with anxiety because of uncertainties, then we also lose the spirit of being childlike. To be childlike is a constant invitation of the Lord to us. To be welcoming is to develop an attitude joy and cheerfulness in us. This makes our day lighter despite the demands that we may have. St. John reminds us again in the Gospel, the true light (Jesus) enlightens everyone. Thus, let us never lose the chance to be enlightened by Jesus by being welcoming of the light. To be enlightened by the light of the Lord is to welcome others into our life and to welcome opportunities for growth without our biases and prejudices. This day, indeed, is a time of welcoming.
May this last day of the year bring us now new hope and a renewed spirit that does only look what is ahead but also rejoices what we have now. Hinaut pa.
During the Season of Advent, we have been invited to wait patiently and to long lovingly God’s coming. The season was to prepare our hearts and minds to consciously welcome the Lord and celebrate fully the day of his birth.
In today’s Gospel, we were told about Prophetess Anna who had been waiting and longing for the birth of the Messiah. This old and wise woman, Anna never waivered and never stopped waiting and longing for God’s coming. In those many years of waiting, she must have endured many boring, tiring and heartbreaking days of waiting. Yet, Anna persisted to be in the Temple day after day, to pray, to fast and to at last behold the face of God. Her patience and her persistence indeed bore fruit because God granted her longing.
Anna at last saw the face of God. She must have been filled with so much joy. When that day came, it was not difficult for her to recognize Jesus, because her heart always longed for him. Her instinct and her heart guided her towards God.
She reminds me of the presence our senior citizens who are mostly our regular church goers. They are mostly the first ones to arrive and those who sit near the altar. At the beginning of this lockdown due to Covid-19, Senior Citizens were strongly discouraged to come to Church. Others even imposed strict prohibition to them. Being a Parish Administrator in my previous assignment, I also imposed such measure in my parish as a response to the health protocols imposed by the City.
However, this has become a great longing in the hearts of many senior citizens whose only desire is to be in the Church and celebrate the Eucharist. This was something also that I did not understand at that time – of that longing to meet the Lord, to receive God, to embrace the Lord and to be embraced by Him in our sacraments.
Prophetess Anna reminds us to always long for God because this makes our day filled with hope and filled with joy. To long for God is characterized by our prayer which Anna also showed us by not leaving the Temple. Anna dedicated her life after being widowed in prayer and in fasting. This was her own way of serving God. This prayerful attitude of Anna made her to become a powerful witness of God’s action in the lives of many. By being conscious of God in her life, Anna also saw how Go worked in the lives of those people she encountered in the Temple
This was how Anna recognized the Lord. In her awareness of God’s presence in Jesus, Anna teaches us now of two important lessons from the Gospel.
First, to always long for God. Our longing for God, grants us discernment and wisdom. To discern is to be able to feel God’s presence, thus, guiding us to know God’s desire. Wisdom will allow us to recognize the Spirit of God hovering over us, leading us to where God wants us to be. By being able to know and feel the Spirit of God allows us to celebrate Christmas every day.
Second, pray for others and pray with others. This will help us become more aware of God’s wonderful actions in our life and in the lives of those who are around us. This awareness helps us to respond to God rather than to react. A response is a conscious action towards God and others characterized by our willingness and generosity. A reaction is rather an unconscious action that would come sometimes from our strong negative emotions. By making our generous response to God and to those who are in need, this allows us to encounter and meet the Lord.
May these invitations lead us to God and lead us to that awareness that God has come and visited us. Like Anna, let us also preach to others what we have seen and experienced in God. Hinaut pa.
God looking for a refuge? Can you imagine that? Yes. This happened. Joseph had to bring Mary and the baby Jesus out of danger and find refuge, to find a safe haven for them. The cruelty and the violence around threatened the life of the baby Jesus. Such violence came from those who were in power and those who were rich.
Herod was very threatened of the presence of the new-born King. He was in fact became very insecure that someone will take the throne, the power and his wealth from him. This revealed how King Herod was hungry for power that he became restless. Yet, this is not the first time Herod was like this. History tells us that Herod even murdered his own children so that no one will take what he enjoyed in his life. This insecurity in him had consumed him that he wanted to eliminate those whom he thought were threats to him.
Herod must have thought that he himself was a “god.” For this reason, he felt so entitled that he was most willing to murder innocent people to get what he wanted. In his desire to have power, he ordered the murder of innocent baby boys in his attempt to kill the Baby Jesus. Hundreds of children were murdered right in front of their mothers and fathers and their families. It was merciless. It was evil.
On this feast of the Holy Innocents, it reminds us that this kind of killings did not just stop there. This continued until today. Evil still persists until today. People were murdered in broad-daylight. Killed in front of people. Desecrated. This is evil. Evil persists when we allow it, when we allow our hearts to remain indifferent and violent.
image from thedailybeast.com
That is why, God has to find refuge. Yet, God runs towards us too, to find refuge in us. Egypt was a common place for Jewish refugees and people who seek safety. Egypt had become an important place in the life of Jesus as it had become a safe place for him. This tells us that even God became a refugee because of the people who rejected him.
Today, there are two invitation for us. First, let us be aware of our tendency to be violent, to be corrupt and to be insecure. Let not those darkness in us consume our hearts. They only bring us to death and misery. As the first Letter of John tells, let us come to the light. Let us come to God because he is our light and in him there is no darkness at all but peace and freedom. Thus, seek forgiveness and seek for reconciliation. This will allow us to live in freedom, to live in peace and to live in joy.
Second,Egypt was a safe haven for the Baby Jesus, for Joseph and Mary, allow ourselves to become the “Egypt for others.” Let our kindness and generosity, our gentleness and hospitality give comfort to those who are troubled today. Let people find care and attention, love and understanding in us, in our families and in our communities. Allow ourselves too, our families and communities to become a safe place for the weak and the vulnerable. Protect and nurture life. Defend life and stand against those who want to kill life. Though this will not be easy but demanding, make this as our expression of gratitude to the Lord who gave all to us.
In these ways, we may able to truly celebrate this Season of Christmas with joy and peace. Hinaut pa.
A DOSE OF GOD TODAY 