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.
Few days before Christmas, I gave an Advent Recollection to a group of Church volunteers. At the beginning of the recollection, I asked them to describe their gratefulness as well as their feelings at that moment. A couple in their late fifties, were already in tears. At the end of the recollection one of my invitations is “to never forget to embrace their loved one and to spend quality time this Christmas.” The couple again were in tears.
After the recollection, they shared to me the reasons of those tears. They were in so much anxiety and worries because their son has been away from them. They found it difficult to communicate with him and to know his situation. They did not know where he was exactly at that moment. The mother couldn’t sleep well thinking of her son. The father was restless and helpless on how he could help and comfort his son. Both of them were in tears because they have missed so much their son.
To the disappointment of the couple as parents, their other children have shown less compassion and understanding to their sibling. The siblings considered the other one as a black sheep and rebellious. Yet, to them as parents, he is a son in need of so much understanding and love. They wanted to hug him tightly yet, they could not do it. They wanted to comfort him, yet, they could not because they cannot reach him. It was a great pain in the hearts of these parents who are longing of the presence of their son.
Conflict in the family such as this, is just one of the common problems that our families have to struggle and find way to be resolved. The hope for reconciliation is a longing that we pray for.
Moreover, there are also other issues and problems that millions of Filipino Families are facing today. It would be good also to recognize those issues and see how God is inviting us on this Feast of the Holy Family.
The recent SWS survey said that 48% or about 12 million Filipino families considered themselves poor. Out of this, 2 million families were “Newly Poor” while 1.3 million were “usually poor” and 8.6 million were “always poor.”[1]
In addition, the COVID-19 Pandemic restrictions also led to the closing of many non-essential businesses, which resulted to the loss of many jobs and means of livelihood. The SWS survey in October also revealed that the unemployment rate in the country is now at 8.7%, equivalent to around 3.8 million jobless Filipinos.[2]
The Philippine National Demographic and Health survey said that in 2017, one in four Filipino women aged 15-49 suffered domestic abuses, physically, emotionally and sexually. However, this rate has significantly increased since the lockdown imposed in March due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. There is an average of 8 cases of women being maltreated or raped reported from March to May 2020.[3] These are just the documented reports, how about those countless unreported cases? They suffer in silence.
These are concrete situations that many of our Filipino families are suffering. In the midst of these struggles, children are also the most vulnerable. Children suffer the most. Our own families might have also particular struggles and difficulties. Surely, these concerns are most of the time what consume us.
The Holy Family of Mary, Joseph and Jesus is not exempted of struggles and problems. Remember, the holy family had been a refugee. Joseph has to bring Mary and Jesus out of Israel and went to Egypt to seek for a safer environment for their baby.
There seemed to be a constant threat in the life of the young Jesus, yet, this did not discourage Joseph and Mary to abandon the child. Joseph particularly was always conscious of God’s presence. This was the reason also why Joseph would always receive instructions from God on what to do. The awareness of Joseph that God is with them made him more familiar with God’s voice deep within his heart.
In today’s Gospel, this awareness of God is being described to us in wonderful scenarios. First, Mary and Joseph, conscious of their family tradition as well of the identity of baby Jesus, went to Jerusalem and presented Jesus to the Lord God. This was an act of thanksgiving to the Almighty God for the gift of this child.
This is the first invitation for us today – to give thanks. Develop a grateful atmosphere in your family. Consciously say “thank you” to your spouse and children. Whenever your family gathers whether during a meal, a trip or in a celebration, give thanks to each other and to God, the source of all blessings.
Second, Simeon, a devout and righteous man had been waiting for the time to see and embrace the Son of God. And this was fulfilled. The long wait of Simeon was paid with peace and joy. He was able to hold tightly the child Jesus in his arms. That must be a great consolation to him. Having Jesus in his arms, Simeon saw the salvation and the light of God.
This is the second invitation for us – to embrace the Lord and embrace one another. Our family might be longing for peace, longing for comfort – take courage, the Lord is here as Simeon proclaimed. The Lord is waiting for us that we will embrace him. Peace and joy begin to unfold in our families when we also open our arms in reconciliation and in gentleness, to embrace each other. Let not the violence of our fist and anger in our heart destroy our families and children.
Third, Anna the prophetess, was also there to witness this great wonder of meeting the Lord. Anna immediately recognized that the child Jesus was the promised savior. Anna was so patient and prayerful. These attitudes in her made her to long more for God. This longing in her heart made her to be open and welcoming. With this, Anna’s heart found comfort and joy. All her troubles and pain had gone away.
This is the third invitation for us – to pray together as a family. Through our prayer, let usconsciously long for God and joyfully meet the Lord in our struggles and problems. To run away for our problems or to hide because of our fears is never the solution. There are those who find comfort in drinking and gambling and other vices to forget their problems yet, this kind of response only create more problems. Unfaithfulness, indifference and violence in the family will be nurtured by this kind of attitude. We are invited rather to confront our issues and allow the Lord to touch us through our prayers. Gather your family around your altar. Cultivate a family tradition that prays together. Let our families go the Church, and there in our Sacraments, allow also the Lord to be with you and to bless you.
With these invitations, we may hopefully ease the pain of loneliness, comfort the hearts of the troubled, heal the memories of those who are suffering and assure with our presence those who are confused and afraid. May our families then, be blessed by the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Hinaut pa.
It has always been a great honor and pleasure to be visited by someone special in our lives. Whenever special people pay us a visit in our home, we usually do our best to be a good worthy host to our guests. We normally welcome them into our house, offer them some refreshments, and spent quality time to listen and talk with them. We are not to leave them behind, on their own, while we do our usual affairs. We are to be and should be with our guests all throughout and until the visit. We must hear what our guest’s agenda and what they have to offer us, while we also have to share what we can offer and contribute, as well as share what we receive from our guests to others within our family & neighbors. Thus, being and becoming a Good Responsible Host to a special Guest.
Today we celebrate Christmas Day, the Birth of Jesus into our lives.
The entire Mystery of Incarnation – of God becoming Flesh is considered to be God’s visitation to his people. God, through His son Jesus, visited his people more than two thousand years ago. Through the birth of Jesus into our lives, God has paid us a visit. In Jesus, God has visited us. He became our Special Guest paying us a visit in life. And even after Jesus has returned to the Father, He still continuously “visits” His people now. Jesus “visits” His people through Us, Christians – who became God’s children who recognize, accept and welcome Jesus into our lives. God continues to visit our life and our world today through the ministers of the Church, through the Word of God being proclaimed, and through the sacraments especially the Eucharist that the Church celebrates. Jesus also makes His presence felt every time a community is gathered in His name. He also “visits” us through the ordinary events of our life.
Sad to say however, as the gospel would tell us, people in Jesus’ time who “did not know and accept Him” failed to recognize not only the time of God’s visitation but above all, to acknowledge God in Jesus. They missed the chance and the grace to be visited and blessed. They were very concerned about their own worldly hopes that their spiritual life was neglected. They interpreted the Bible in their own worldly sense instead of believing in the teachings of Jesus. Even today, there are still people who failed and is failing to acknowledge God’s visit to us through Jesus.
Even now in America today, there is a debate that they call “War on Christmas”. It is all about other people wanting to call and promote this season as “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas” because they basically want to take away Jesus Christ from this holiday. We may notice these through Slogans in the media and advertisements around these days. More being said and promoted about “Happy Holidays” than “Merry Christmas” because they want to get rid of the Jesus story in the celebration. Even in Japan now, there is a display window in a shopping mall that sells cloths on display with a design background of Santa Claus crucified on a cross hoping to attract Christian shoppers for the holiday season.
But what is Christmas without Jesus Christ? Is there a Christmas without Jesus? Well, this season can be a holiday without Christ, but will it still be Christmas? … Not at all. Christmas without Christ will be just like a meaningless party celebration without the celebrant and guests. A holiday celebration and party without any meaning, except just to party. Yet still, there are people who do not welcome Jesus and reject Him because they fail and are failing to recognize and accept in Him the God visiting his people. And worse, Jesus is considered just a decoration, an added background display to their lavish & selfish lifestyles for the holidays.
Like the Jews during Jesus’ times, many times we may also fail to recognize Him. We fail to welcome Him and let Him enter into our life today. With our worldly concerns and affairs, we may have left the Lord behind on His own, neglected, and abandoned. He could have something more and better to offer us now with His visits, but we rather do our own thing and don’t mind Him at all. Thus, we sometimes missed and may have missed & wasted a lot of blessings and graces which we could have received from God.
Remember then that above all, these days are all about Christmas than holidays.
As we celebrate Christmas season, may we put Jesus Christ first in our lives and concerns especially during these pandemic times, may we now be more conscious of His “visits” to us and being with us, and may we be a Good worthy Host to our Special Visitor by recognizing Him, welcoming Him and letting Him stay in our life to protect & intervene for us. Amen. A Merry Blessed Christmas to Us All.
On December 20, a policeman shot dead in broad-daylight a mother and her son. The mother was shot twice. The first was shot while she was embracing her to keep him from the policeman. The second was made when she already fell on the ground.
It was merciless. It was not just heartbreaking, but it was evil. The police officer without any emotion of fear and doubts, shot them dead in the presence of her daughter and of people.
This is an image of our world in darkness. Indeed, the world is not just darkened by the recent natural calamities, of typhoons and floods that affected millions of our brothers and sisters. The world is not just darkened by this long and tiring health and economic restrictions brought by our fear of covid-19 pandemic.
Our world and the hearts of others are also gloomed by anger, by hatred, by violence, by indifference, by evil. The world is also gloomed by the desire to have power, to gain control and manipulations, to be above others. the world is also gloomed by our dishonest and selfish leaders, by our unjust practices, by our hate speech, by our fanaticism, by our support of the corrupt, by our blind obedience of the violent.
Yet, this is the very world and the very hearts as well that God chose and continues to choose again to be born.
The world may be darkened by our tragic experiences this year and gloomed by our individual and collective sins; the world may be darkened by our painful and sorrowful experiences and gloomed by indifference and violence perpetrated by many of us, directly and indirectly, God still choose to bring the light, to give us the grace and to grant us his salvation.
Tonight, this is what God wants to remind us. In the first reading the prophet proclaims the coming of the light because those of walked in darkness will see a great light and those who dwelt in the land of gloom, a light will shine. Paul in his letter to Titus tells us, “God reveals his grace of salvation to all peoples.” God’s promise is fulfilled because God is granting us his salvation.
And in the prophecy of Isaiah, God will cast away the darkness and land of gloom. But what is this darkness and land of gloom?
It is our sin and guilt. It is our pain and sorrow. It is our difficult and overwhelming situation whatever they may be. Just look around. Darkness is around us. We may not be aware of it because we have become so used to it. However, God has come to us to bring light and salvation. Indeed, light is hope. It is God’s forgiveness. It is mercy. It is freedom. It is the fullness of life.
God, indeed, will destroy the yoke on our shoulders that burdened us. This is the yoke of slavery from sin and evil. God destroys them not by violence but through the gentleness of God’s own yoke of friendship, of companionship. Remember, Jesus has offered us to take his yoke.
God will also smash the rod of the taskmaster. This is the rod of our selfish desires. These shall be smashed by the Lord not through anger and hatred but through God’s gift of peace and mercy.
Isaiah tells us that a child is born to us, a son is given us. He is Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. The birth of this child tells us the situation of the world and of our hearts.
The child was born at midnight and it was dark. He was laid in a manger because there was NO ROOM in the inn. No one offered them a comfortable and respectable place where Mary could deliver her baby. Joseph could not even find a regular bed but found a manger. No one offered a place for the baby to rest.
And do we think that this was such a happy situation to witness? Do we not feel the indifference of the people around them? Do we not feel those cold hearts who did not care that a pregnant woman was about to deliver her first baby? Do we not feel these at all? Something must be wrong with us!
Those cold hearts and indifferent people who did not care at all, they remained in darkness and did not recognize that God was among them, that God was there. Their hearts must be so dark that even though it was God who has come near to them, yet, they could not offer him a room. This is an expression of the unwelcoming attitude of the darkness in us.
However, despite this rejection and indifference, God finds a way to let us know that He is with us. This light found its way in a “manger.” God was born and was laid in a manger – poor, humble and unadorned. Light, certainly, finds a way to illumine the world and our hearts. God, indeed, finds a way to give Himself to an unwelcoming world and unwelcoming heart.
And to whom did he proclaim his birth? TO THE SHEPHERDS! To the stateless, insignificant, nameless, unimportant, abandoned, unrecognized and poor shepherds of Bethlehem.
They were the first ones to receive the gift of light, the humble and the underprivileged. This is God’s statement that God is for the abandoned and for the forgotten, whose life have been darkened by those who were indifferent.
Though, Jesus was born about two thousand years ago, yet, he is reborn in us when we allow our dark guilt and sin to be accepted, confronted and forgiven; when we allow our painful and traumatic experiences become ways for us to discover hope and freedom; when we recognize that we need the Lord and his gift of salvation; when we stop being indifferent and begin to care and to show genuine concern; and when we are able to recognize that we are all brothers and sisters in need of love and mercy.
Christmas happens every day because God comes to visit us every day. Let his light dispel the darkness in us now. Let his peace dispel our fear now. Let his light cast away our selfishness and evil desires now. Let his peace cast away our anger and hatred now. Hinaut pa.
Homily by Fr. Mar Masangcay, CSsR (A Redemptorist Missionary based in South Korea)
I once received an inquiry about parish guidelines on child baptism. Particularly, they are asking for a so-called “Special” Baptism. Without a doubt the child must be very special to the family to request for a so-called “special” baptism. Only to found out later that what they really wanted is an exclusive and private celebration of the Sacrament of Child Baptism since the child is born out of wedlock.
I cannot help but question their motivation for a so-called special baptism. Is it because the child is very special to them despite the circumstances of its birth or is it because they are ashamed of themselves to admit the child as unwanted by the parents and/or the whole family themselves?
I think we need to clarify and direct some of these distorted and questionable but trending views about Baptism in the Church nowadays.
First, there is no such thing as special, exclusive, or private celebration of sacrament of child baptism. The regular and proper celebration of baptism is and should be in public parish church before the congregation of Catholic faithful of where the child will grow in faith, and become a member. Except for emergency baptism where the child is at the risk or danger of death, baptisms should be done in the church with other children to be baptized and before many baptized Catholic faithful, again where the child will grow in faith, and becomes a member parishioner. Church liturgies and sacraments are communal public church prayer-worship, and never should be an exclusive, private family, organization, or office party-program, event or entertainment. In other words, Baptism is the moment when we become members of our parish church as well as of the Universal Church.
Second, as the child as well as we were baptized, we become God’s children in Christ. In baptism, we are consecrated, identified, accepted, dignified and affirmed to be beloved Children of God, like Jesus. When he was baptized in the river Jordan by John the Baptist, Jesus needs to hear the words and confirmation from the Father, himself saying, “You are my beloved on whom my favor rests”. Such words emphasize his very spiritual identity before God and the vision of God’s kingdom. Here, he is reminded in a deep, deep way of who he is, of his very being before God and people – that among anything else, He is God’s beloved Son. This is the very affirmation and confirmation of his identity before God.
In the same way, when he carried out his mission and public ministry, Jesus wants us also to hear the same message from the Father that “You are my Beloved on whom my favor rests”. Jesus wants us to be aware and hear of the very reality that before God, it is not only Jesus but we, you and I who believe in Jesus are also essentially God’s beloved sons and daughters.
In God’s heart and eyes, we are His beloved children. And by virtue of our baptism, we are consecrated to be God’s children. We are His beloved, not because we did anything, not because we proved ourselves or not because of what we did and have achieved in life. God still and always loves us whatever we do or whatever happens in our life, whether born out of wedlock, adopted, unwanted, or raised by irresponsible parents.
And in our baptism or in the day of our baptism, we first hear God’s words saying to all of us throughout our lives: You are loved, you are beloved. He even love us more, whenever we also proclaim in our life to Him and all that, “Yes, Lord, I love you, too”, and love Him and others in return. Baptism is the moment that we become Beloved Children of God.
And baptism is all about our taking responsibility for God in our lives now. Same way as God commits Himself to us by loving us, in response to God, we commit ourselves to Him in loving God. In other words, same way as Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan marks the beginning of his Mission, our Baptism is the beginning of our Mission in life for God’s sake, since we are His masterpiece for the world.
Being baptized Christian then, means that we become members of God’s church as God’s beloved children doing our part and mission in life for God’s glory, and Kingdom.
Today we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ. Today officially ends the Christmas season and we continue with the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Year. As we are now in this transition in liturgical moment, we are reminded of the Baptism of the Lord wherein Jesus publicly proclaims His identity and commitment with God’s affirmations of Him to be the Beloved Son of God. As baptized believers of Christ, we Christians today are also reminded of our identity and dignity as publicly proclaimed and acclaimed to be like Jesus, also sons and daughters – beloved Children of God during our baptism, fulfilling our life-mission of proclaiming God’s glory and building up God’s kingdom in our lives always.
As we continue on with our New Life-Year with the Lord, may we always hear again and again, and be at rest always on God’s words to all of us baptized followers of Christ and members of Christ’s church: “You are my Beloved Child on whom I am well pleased.” Amen.
A DOSE OF GOD TODAY 