Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: AUTHORS

  • From Our Family Broken Stories, God Brings Life

    From Our Family Broken Stories, God Brings Life

    December 17, 2025 – Second Day of Misa de Aguinaldo

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121725.cfm)

    Today, very early this morning, we come again to the altar carrying our lives, our tired bodies, and our stories. We come as families. We come as sons and daughters. We come as people shaped by where we came from. And that is why the readings today speak deeply to our hearts. They speak about family, about history, and about how God works quietly but faithfully within our human family stories.

    When I was still a college seminarian, I remember one evening seeing my late father seated quietly at a table. He was carefully writing names in a record book. The names were unfamiliar to me. At first, I honestly thought it was a list of “utang” to be collected. So I asked Papa what was it about. My father smiled and told me he was tracing our family tree. He was writing down the names of our relatives, our great-grandparents, as far back as he could remember. He wanted to keep a record of our family history.

    Since our family is originally from Cebu, and I also studied there, my father would often tell me, “When you are there, visit this family, visit that family.” But to be honest, I was not excited about doing that. I was quite indifferent. I did not see the importance of reconnecting with relatives. But to my father, knowing our past mattered. He would tell me funny stories about our family, but also painful ones. Stories of shame, of mistakes and broken relationships. For him, our family history was not something to hide. It was something to remember.

    That simple experience helps us understand today’s readings. On this Second Day of Misa de Aguinaldo, we are invited to reflect on the gift of our family and the healing of our family history.

    Each of us is a product of a long and complex family story. Yet, we are not chained or doomed by the past. But we are shaped by it. Our families carry stories of joy and sorrow, success and failure, faithfulness and sin. Our family history is part of who we are. It forms our identity. That is why it is important to be in touch with it, not to glorify it, but to see how God has been present in our family stories.

    And so, let us discover the invitations of the Lord through our readings today.

    The first reading from the Book of Genesis shows Jacob calling his sons and blessing them. Among them was Judah. And Judah was not the most perfect son. Yet, from him kings would come from like King David. And from that same line would come Jesus. This blessing already points us to God’s plan unfolding through a human family.

    When we look closely, the family of Jacob was also far from perfect. And the Gospel today does not hide that. Matthew presents the genealogy of Jesus, a long list of names, a family tree filled with broken people and sinful stories. There was Judah, who sold his brother Joseph. There was David, who committed grave sins of adultery with Batsheba and the murder of her husband. There was Rahab, a prostitute. There were kings who practiced idolatry. King Ahaz and his grandson, King Manasseh burned their sons as sacrifices to the pagan gods. Indeed, this is not a clean or ideal family history. Yet, God did not abandon them.

    Matthew carefully lists forty-two generations, arranged in three sets of fourteen. In Jewish tradition, seven is the number of completeness. Fourteen is double seven. And repeating it three times is Matthew’s way of saying this that God is at work, perfectly and faithfully, even in imperfect human history. God writes straight even on crooked lines.

    The genealogy of Jesus is God’s message to us. God chose to enter human history not through a perfect family, but through a wounded one. Jesus was born into a family with a complicated past. This tells us something very important. God does not wait for us to become perfect before He comes to us. He enters our mess. He walks with us through our sins and failures. God indeed embraces our humanity fully.

    This is good news for us. Because when we look at our own families, many of us carry wounds while others have deeper and more painful wounds in the family. For certain, some carry trauma from violence or abuse. Some families are divided because of inheritance and money left by their parents. Some are struggling every day because of poverty. Others carry shame, guilt, or deep resentment passed on from one generation to another. And these are real, yet, God also sees them.

    Today, God invites us not to deny these realities, but to bring them to Him. Just as God worked patiently through the broken history of Joseph’s family where Jesus was born, God continues to work in our families today. He brings healing where there is pain. God brings reconciliation where there is division. And God brings hope where there is shame and discouragement.

    As Christmas draws near, God invites us to allow Him to be present again in our family stories. Not only in the happy moments, but especially in the wounded ones that we have. When we allow God to enter there, healing also begins. Slowly, quietly, but truly.

    As we continue this Misa de Aguinaldo, let us carry our families in our prayers. Let us trust that God has not abandoned our story. Now, I leave you two simple invitations as your takeaways.

    First, take time to pray for your family history. Name before God, the good and the painful, and ask for healing.

    Second, choose one simple act of reconciliation in your family. This can be through a message, a visit or to start a conversation that heals. Let God begin something new in your families.

    May this Misa de Gallo lead us to a Christmas filled not only with lights and songs, but with healed hearts and grateful families. Ok lang? Sana All.

  • Called to Shine: Young Hearts Bearing God’s Light Today

    Called to Shine: Young Hearts Bearing God’s Light Today

    December 16, 2025 – First Day of Misa Aguinaldo

    National Youth Day | Isaiah 56:1–3, 6–8 | John 5:33–36

    Maayong Good Morning! As we begin this first day of Misa Aguinaldo, the Church also celebrates National Youth Day. What a beautiful grace to begin our nine-day journey to Christmas by celebrating the hearts, dreams, and even wounds, and hopes of our young people.

    Today, we focus on one truth that even in the darkness of our times, God calls the young to shine.

    To help us enter this sacred story, we first welcome a young sharer. Her story becomes our doorway into the Word of God on this First Day of the Misa Aguinaldo. Her voice represents for us this morning the many Filipino youth who are also questioning, struggling, hoping, searching for love, and searching for God.

    And so, as a community celebrating the gift of the young to the Church, let us welcome Miss Allysa Joie Ambos.

    (Guide Questions for the Youth Sharer)

    1. As a young Catholic today, what is the biggest struggle or challenge that makes it hard for you to feel close to God? (This brings out real battles like pressures, family issues, identity, faith crisis, loneliness.)
    2. Despite these struggles, when and how have you experienced God reaching out, guiding, or comforting you?
    3. As you look forward, how do you hope to shine God’s light in your family, school, friendships, or Catholic Community despite being young and imperfect? (Invites hope, mission, and  desire to grow as a young disciple.)

    Faith Sharing of Allysa

    I grew up having few friends to spend time and play with. And this has made me feel insecure. As a child, I often wondered what was wrong with me. I felt alone and detached from people. I became guarded and judgmental. There was even a point when I accused God to be the cause of what I thought were my misfortunes in life.

    I never really liked socializing just to fit in. However, I exactly did so with the intention of being seen and accepted. I hated being ignored so much, that I was desperate to do the things that are against my will. But even when I had a lot of friends, I felt uneasy, sensing that something was amiss.

    You see, I had a very poor understanding of who God is. I’m not sure when I had recognized it. My thirst to knowing Him came from a need, a calling, a search that I thought unrealistically must be satisfied, followed and found.

    At first, I relied upon books to know Him. Later on, I switched to fishing affirmations and chasing people. Up to this point, I’m still confused.

    In the loudness and overpopulation of our modern world, I realized He is actually nowhere to be found.

    To know someone, you must be able to converse and soak in their presence. But God’s language is the hardest to learn. You have to really listen, because He speaks in silence.

    I nearly thought this treatment implies His lack of love and care. I’d often ask when praying, “Why do you hide yourself from me?” I figured I was unworthy and that if even God doesn’t love me, who will?

    It took me a couple of years to realize and admit that it was me who was in hiding. I was too focused on myself that I failed to consider what others might feel because of my dismissive words and behavior. I subjected myself to the wrong kind of introspection and censure, overemphasizing on my faults and lapses. I was worried I couldn’t keep up with the fast paced world. I felt helpless and anxious as I thought how uncertain I am of Him and even of myself. I was scared and terrified.

    But God has always been there. Whenever I secretly starve myself as punishment for my unpreparedness or poor performance at school, my family would always remind me to take care of myself. My mom and sister Janna personally cooks me delicious meals that’s hard to resist. Whenever I’m dejected and in isolation, my Kuya AJ knocks on my door, offering his weird humor and comforting presence. He is the reason why I joined CSO. Although I had the intention of avoiding house chores then, God has indeed, a way of transforming our hearts.

    Sojourning with my family and peers in CSO has taught me invaluable lessons. They taught me that faith does not mean we know all the answers; that in spite of the uncertainty, we still dare and have the courage to let our questions be asked, unafraid, to be convinced of the reliability of God. And that the service we offer in helping each other to believe may be the best and authentic service we can render.

    After listening from a young person speak, we cannot also ignore that our youth today are carrying heavy and often silent burdens. Recent youth studies in the Philippines reveal that…

    1 in 5 Filipino youth aged 15-24 wrestles with depressive symptoms, anxiety, or emotional distress.And most consider ending their lives by suicide.[1]

    Many also face family instability—broken families, long-distance parenting, financial strain, or domestic conflict.[2]

    With 8 hours and 52 minutes online per day,[3] youth battle comparison, insecurity, identity confusion, cyberbullying, and disinformation.

    Many struggle with self-worth, nomophobia[4] or smartphone addiction, pornography, or the pressure to appear “okay” even when they are breaking and hurting inside.

    A significant number feel far from the Church, saying faith seems distant from real-life problems. Yet, “Filipino youth are more and more looking for authentic expressions of faith that they would not necessarily find in conventional practices or conventional piety.[5]”

    And so countless youth worry about their future, education, safety, jobs, and mental well-being.

    These ate realities that can create darkness. Sometimes quiet and sometimes overwhelming where many young hearts would whisper, “Lord, am I enough?” “Do I still belong?” “Is there a place for me?”

    Now, allow me to bring you into our readings today and let us also realize how God invites us.

    Isaiah speaks to a wounded community who have just returned from exile but broken, unsure, and feeling unworthy. Some believed they didn’t belong in God’s house because of their status or imperfections.

    But God proclaims in the Book of Prophet Isaiah something radical and touching. God says, “My house shall be a house of prayer for all peoples.” Yes, for all peoples not just the perfect, not just the strong, and not just the holy.

    This is God’s message to the Filipino youth and to everyone. You belong. You are welcome. You are seen. Yes, your struggles do not disqualify you. Your wounds do not push you away. And your doubts and questions do not make you unworthy.

    Isaiah’s prophecy tells us now that belonging comes before perfection. God gathers first then God heals us. This speaks powerfully to a generation longing for acceptance, for identity, for a safe place to return to, and for a home to be embraced.

    Moreover, in the Gospel, Jesus describes John the Baptist as a “burning and shining lamp.” John is not the Light but he reflects the Light he receives. Jesus affirms that God’s work in the world is shown through our real action of healing, loving, welcoming, lifting people up.

    This is the invitation for every Filipino youth now that you do not need to be perfect first to shine. Just receive God’s light and share it. Our young generation longs for authenticity. You are indeed, searching for faith that heals, not just teaches; a Church that listens, not just speaks; and a community that embraces, not just corrects.

    John the Baptist shows that shining for God is not about age, power, educational attainment or status. Bringing light is about courage, our honesty and humility, and our heart willing to love and be loved.

    Our readings today, Allysa Joie’s faith story, and the realities of our time converge into one powerful truth that God certainly, calls young people to shine not later, but now.

    And your context is there in  our families struggling with tension, in schools full of pressure, in online spaces filled with noise and disinformation, and in a society hungry for justice. These are the spaces that the youth can be God’s light.

    Remember that your compassion, your creativity, your voice for peace, your desire for truth, all these can illuminate the darkness around you. You are not the Church of tomorrow. You are the Church of today. This is what Pope Francis had told us, and now Pope Leo reminded us. God calls you now to witness, to serve, to love, to hope, and to shine.

    With all of these, I leave you now two takeaways.

    First, grow in God’s Light. You may choose one small spiritual commitment this Misa Aguinaldo. This can be a short daily prayer, or reducing online noise, in forgiving someone, or helping at home. Remember, small lights change dark rooms.

    Second, share God’s Light. You may do one act of kindness or honesty each day. You can encourage a friend, listen without judgment, stop online negativity, or say a sincere “thank you.” Be a lamp so that others can follow.

    Indeed,may this first dawn of Misa Aguinaldo awaken our young people and inspire every generation present this morning. Embrace this now that – You belong. You are loved. And You are light. Hinaut pa.

    [1] https://www.uppi.upd.edu.ph/news/2022/pinoy-youth-in-worse-mental-health-shape-today

    [2] Donna B. Dioquino, UNRAVELING LIVES: THE FAR-REACHING CONSEQUENCES OF BROKEN FAMILIES, https://eprajournals.com/pdf/fm/jpanel/upload/2024/December/202412-01-019460

    [3] https://www.meltwater.com/en/blog/social-media-statistics-philippines

    [4] Nomophobia is the fear of having no smartphone or losing it.  See https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291120300243

    [5] From Jayeel Cornelio, see https://preda.org/young-filipinos-keep-the-faith-but-shun-conventional-piety/

  • Rejoice, God is near and working even in our waiting    

    Rejoice, God is near and working even in our waiting    

    December 14, 2025 – Gaudete Sunday

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121425.cfm)

    We, Filipinos, know what it means to wait. We wait in long lines for government services. We wait for traffic to move. We wait for our salary and benefits to come in. We wait for relief goods after a disaster. We wait for healing when sickness enters our home. We wait for loved ones who work abroad, praying that they come home safe.

    Even in our personal lives, we also wait for many things. We wait for our parcel to arrive. We wait for our relationships to be repaired. We wait for our friend to speak to us again. We wait for our anger to cool down, for peace to return to our hearts. We wait for our debts to be paid. We wait for our dreams to come true. We wait to be loved, accepted, and embraced again.

    However, we also realize that some people wait longer than others. And the longer we wait, the more discouraged we become. And so we lose patience. We lose peace, become anxious, irritated, tired. Some even begin to stop moving forward, to stop dreaming, to stop hoping because it has been already exhausting to wait.

    These are our very real experiences. Many are exhausted emotionally. Some feel lifeless, controlled by bitterness or guilt within the heart. Others feel stuck, as if nothing will ever change.

    This is why today’s readings are so beautiful because God speaks directly to people who are tired and exhausted of waiting.

    The prophet Isaiah, in the first reading, spoke to a people who had suffered for decades. The Israelites were exiled to Babylon. It was about 1,700 miles away. They were forced to walk for months in misery. They believed it was because of their failures and the failures of their leaders and forefathers.

    They waited for God to rescue them. But years have passed and nothing changed. They felt abandoned and miserable. Yet, deep within the heart, there was that voice of hope that continued to pray, “Lord, come and save us!”  This is what our Psalm proclaims today.

    Indeed, many of us could have felt that way too. And so Isaiah stood  up and proclaimed with a loud voice, “Be strong, fear not! Your God will come and save you!”

    And then Isaiah painted images of hope, “the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, the lame leaping, deserts blooming, sorrow and mourning fleeing away.” These images are God’s promise of healing, reconciliation, restoration, and freedom. This is why Gaudete Sunday is all about JOY because God has not forgotten His people. In fact, this is symbolized by the third candle in pink which reminds us to rejoice!

    St. James, in the second reading, taught us something important, “Be patient.” He used an image we understand well referring to the life of a farmer. A farmer cannot harvest tomorrow what he planted today because everything takes a process.

    And certainly, healing is a process. Forgiveness is also a process. Reconciliation is also a process. And so growth takes time. Healthy relationships take patience.

    James taught us now to trust God’s process and to trust God’s grace working slowly but surely in our lives. Powerfully, James also added, “Do not complain about one another.” Why? Because complaining, bitterness, and negativity in the heart blind us. They make us forget that God is actually moving and working.

    Moreover, John the Baptist in the Gospel was also tired and discouraged. John was already in prison this time. John was surely suffering. And he asked Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come? Or should we look for another?”

    This is the cry of hope from a man who is barely holding on, at the brink of giving up. Have you also ever prayed like this? “Lord, are You really there? Are You really coming to help me?”

    Jesus replied in the most tender and powerful way; “Go and tell John what you see: the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, lepers are healed, the poor receive good news.” In other words, Jesus was saying: “John, do not lose hope. I am already working. Salvation is already happening.”

    We realize now that Gaudete Sunday is not a denial of suffering. It is not pretending that everything is fine. Gaudete Sunday is courage. It is choosing to rejoice even when life is difficult not because our problems are solved, but because God is already here, moving quietly, faithfully, and lovingly.

    Realize this too because there is an even greater truth that Jesus becomes present today when we become more like Him. Meaning, when we choose to heal instead of hurt, when we choose to reconcile instead to remain angry, when we choose honesty over corruption, when we help the poor and encourage the discouraged, then we become signs of the Messiah in our communities. We become Christmas for others. And that is a real reason to rejoice.

    I leave you now three concrete invitations as your takeaways on this Gaudete Sunday.

    First, encourage one person who is tired of waiting. Send a message or make a short visit and remind the person, “God has not forgotten you.”

    Second, do one small act of healing. Forgive someone, greet someone you avoid, or pray intentionally for someone you struggle with.

     Third, spend 5 minutes in silence and say: “Lord, You are near. Teach me to trust Your timing.” Let this prayer soften your heart and make room for joy.

    And so, rejoice, not because life is perfect, but because God is near. God is faithful and God is already at work in our waiting. Hinaut pa.

  • Joyful WITNESS

    Joyful WITNESS

    December 14, 2025 – Gaudete Sunday

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121425.cfm)

    After Eucharist, a man once approached me and asked for an advice. He said, “Father, my daughter is engaged to her boyfriend. But seemingly the guy’s family does not approve of their relationship because they have learned that I am now unemployed. They thought that I am lazy and irresponsible parent to my daughter. You see, Father, I am a retired seaman. I subsist now from the pension and time-deposit I’ve earned. I just wish to spend the rest of my life with my family after long years of absence from them. I really love my daughter and only wish for her happiness. Father, is it a sin to be unemployed, and enjoy my own family? What shall I do, then?”

    Like that man and John’s disciples in the gospel today, sometimes we become restless with life in anticipation for the Lord’s reign that we ask the practical question: “I believe that the Lord will come again, but what must I do, then?” Yes, we do believe that God so loves us that He gave his only begotten Son for our salvation. He has been good to us and continually showers us His love and blessings. But as faith necessitates actions, “what is the right thing to do then? What then does God require and demand of us?”

    If we reflect deeper on our readings today, we see that like any parents, God desires nothing much from us but our happiness. He simply wished us JOY in our relationship with Him. As what Jesus said to restless disciples of John, “Go and report what you see and heard here.” Meaning, Jesus wants us to see for ourselves and enjoy the great things happening and what God is doing us here and now.

    As God shares to us His life and salvation, He does not ask for our heroic acts or sacrifices but our whole being to enjoy, savor, and share his love and work with others. God does not demand of us so-called “holy” extra-works of doing physical penances, or attending or organizing bible studies, miracle crusades, or prayer meetings.

    But rather, He simply requires us to be as best Christian as we can be, that is, to love Him and our neighbor, follow His precepts, celebrate liturgies in worship, share responsibilities with our fellowmen, and make them feel and realize that we are God’s people. For God, then, what matters most are not our sacrifices but our obedience, not commandments but our faith – a loving & joyful relationship with Him, through Jesus Christ.

    Basically, God simply invites us not to be heroes, martyrs, or saints. But like John the Baptist, and the farmer who joyfully anticipates for the fruits, Jesus wants us to be His living and willing witnesses of the revelation and unfolding of God’s work of salvation. In other words, He simply wants us to joyfully witness God’s salvation here & now.

    For what is a witness? Like a best man in a wedding ceremony, a witness is someone, who first, let God’s work of salvation to happen before his very eyes, not controlling or programming, but simply experiencing the event. Second, a witness is someone who let the event disturb, influence, and affect His life, for God’s work is good news to those who recognize accepts & believes his experience. And a witness is someone who stand for, share & witness joyfully what he experiences and believes to others, for “Happy is the man who does not lose faith in me”.

    Through our faith-responses to God’s revelation and act of His love, by our encounter and acceptance of His son as Emmanuel “God-with-us” in our lives now, by being affected and changed by the person of Jesus, by sharing our faith to others, – in other words by being His living eye, ear & heart joyful witnesses of Christ, God’s blessings begin and continue to prosper within us today and forever.

    And so, in response to that man’s questions, I said to him, “it is never a sin to be unemployed. You are not only what you have or what you have done in life or what others say about you. But you are who you are before God now – His beloved child. Just Be the best and responsible father and husband you can be. Let God do the rest, and never to forget to enjoy the moment.”

    We began our advent journey with His challenge to: “Stay awake & Be prepared”. Then we are invited to “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand”. And today, the Lord calls to “Go & tell others what you hear & see”. And what are we to do then? Awareness, repentance & joyful witness.

    As we continue our advent journey in preparation for the birthday of our Lord in our lives nowadays, may we open our hearts, minds, body, soul, ears & eyes in joy to recognize & believe in Him always in our midst, & hope for another spirit & grace-filled year with Emmanuel, the God-with-us now & always. Amen.

  • Continuing to shine even in difficult times

    Continuing to shine even in difficult times

    December 12, 2025 – Feast of St. Lucy

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121325.cfm)

    During the strong typhoon Tino last November, a young man volunteered with a group to rescue trapped residents. His team was assigned to help a community buried by a landslide. It was raining, muddy, dark, and there was no certainty whether anyone was still alive.

    When they arrived, they found several children and parents still alive. They wept in gratitude and relief because in the middle of darkness, hope has shone when help came.

    This story reminds us that sometimes, a small action, a willing heart, and a readiness to help can, indeed, become light in someone’s life.

    In the first reading, we heard the powerful image of the Prophet Elijah. He was described like a blazing fire, standing firm against evil and guiding the people back to God. He became the light of his time. Not because he was strong on his own, but because God strengthened him and filled him with courage.

    In the Gospel, Jesus said that Elijah had already come, referring to John the Baptist, a man who brought light. Yet, John was not immediately recognized by the people. His mission was not easy, but John remained faithful to how God called him.

    These two figures in today’s readings, Elijah and John the Baptist, show us that the light of God is not always easy to see and recognize. Sometimes it exists inside our shy courage, our silence, our small and random acts of kindness, and our perseverance even when no one notices. Yet, that light remains and continues to shine for others.

    And now we look at the life of Saint Lucy, whose feast we celebrate today. Lucy was a young woman, yet strong and unwavering in her faith. She suffered greatly, faced threats and even gave up her life for the truth she believed in. Tradition says that even when her eyes were taken from her, Lucy’s spirit shone even brighter. In her martyrdom, she became a light in a time filled with fear and cruelty to the Christians.

    Saint Lucy’s life and example tells us today that the light that comes from God is surely cannot be extinguished. This light can dwell in our hearts, when we also allow God to enter and lead us.

    So in this Season of Advent, we ask ourselves, “Who is waiting for my light? Who needs my help, my forgiveness, my presence, or even my small acts of kindness?”

    We realize that this season is not only about putting up decorations or making celebrations. It is a time to rekindle the light of hope and faith within us so that others may also see.

    After looking at Elijah, John the Baptist, and Saint Lucy, may we also have the courage to say and to live that “even when it is difficult, I will continue to shine.”

    To help you live this out in daily life, here are two simple things to do:

    First, before you begin your day, give God two minutes of quiet prayer: “Lord, let Your light shine in me and through me.”

    Second, do one small act of kindness today that brings joy or help to someone. Just one, but it may become a light for their day. Hinaut pa.