A few months ago, a friend of mine, let’s call him AJ (not his real name) struggled a lot. He felt lost. He was depressed, discouraged, and felt that he had failed everyone around him. As a result, he stopped going to church, stopped praying, and even stopped believing that things could get better for him. Yet, one evening, a fellow friend visited him and cared to listen to him. That presence of a friend gave comfort to him, and gently encouraged him to open the door again, to hope, and to try again. Slowly, AJ began to pray. He joined small prayer groups, allowed others to care for him, and bit by bit, he found peace again. That gentle love and tender encouragement, gave him hope.
The first reading from Prophet Isaiah reminds us of the voice of the prophet, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” God speaks tenderly to His people, telling them that their suffering is over, their sins forgiven, and their burden lifted. God promises to make paths straight, places smooth and to lead them gently like a shepherd as “He will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom.”
Moreover, the Gospel of Matthew reminds us of the words of Jesus who said, “if one sheep goes astray, the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to find the one lost. When he finds it, he rejoices more over that one than over the ninety-nine.” This means that Jesus makes clear that our heavenly Father does not want even a single “little one” to be lost.
In both readings, they tell us that God pursues those who wander, the lost, the hurting, and the hopeless. God, indeed, does not give up on us. It is us who usually giving up on God.
AJ’s story echoes this that when he was feeling abandoned by life, a friend became a caring shepherd who showed him understanding, offering support, helping him find his way back home, back to faith, and back to hope.
This calls us now that when we feel lost or burdened by guilt, in pain, or in doubt, or feeling lonely, know that God sees you! The Lord longs to bring us back, to comfort us, to gather us like a lamb in His arms. Whisper this simple prayer: “Lord, come find me.” Trust that He searches for you and will not abandon you.
When we also see someone lost or hurting, perhaps a friend, a neighbor, or a classmate, don’t ignore them. Be like that caring shepherd by offering compassion, a listening ear, giving gentle words, and sharing God’s love with them. Hinaut pa.
Not so long ago, we come to be familiar with the oxymoronic word “New Normal”. Strange & contradictory as it sounds, “New Normal” simply calls us to adapt & change whether we like it or not to the new realities that we are in. As we all know, life after COVID pandemic have really transformed our lives nowadays.
Not only our personal immune systems have changed, we cannot help but be exposed to deal & challenge to confront realistically anew our old previous lifestyle & corrupted systems we are used to practice. Yes, we are in the New Normal realities now & it calls us to change not for the worse but for the better versions of ourselves.
And what does new normal require of us? Albert Einstein is wise enough to remind us that “we cannot solve our problem with the same thinking we used when we created them”. Meaning, new – (not same old) paradigm for new problem. New (not same old) system & framework for new solution. New (not same old) constants for new contexts.
Same with new computer & smartphones systems, new normal entails system reformat & lifestyle upgrade or else we find ourselves obsolete & useless to the new realities we are in nowadays. Thus, New Normal necessitates our change towards updated lifestyle, values & thinking in life.
We have just begun Advent season this new liturgical year that proclaims us that God’s kingdom is near & coming soon. And so we are to prepare & be aware as Jesus reminds us last Sunday, and, as John the Baptist today calls us out also to repent. As God’s reigns anew in our lives nowadays, our awareness & repentance are thus required of us faithful followers of Christ.
This would clearly mean that constant need for our repentance is part & parcel of our Christian life. Because to repent is first of all to realize that “there is something wrong here” i.e., something is missing or lacking, or something out of sync or tune “yabag” happening in our life.
Second, is to admit that “we are the one who is wrong here” and that there is no point of blaming others.
Third is to recognize that “we need to change and we need help” recognizing God’s mercy and the assistance of others.
Fourth is to resolve that “we want and choose to be better than this”.
And lastly, to commit to someone and something good and better in life, i.e., we declare “We believe in God”.
The challenge of repentance requires us then the realization that “There is something wrong”, the admission that “I are wrong”, the recognition that “I need help and need to change”, the resolution that “I want and choose to be better”, and the declaration that “I believe in God”.
Somehow Advent is akin to our experience of hosting a VIP into our home. In preparation, you realize how messy your house is, and start to worry how to welcome your special guest.
Then you begin to realize & admit that it is not only your house, but more so yourself is at mess. Then you try to do something and ask for help. In doing so, you resolve to make your house and yourself better because you now believe that your special guest look up to you and you guest’s visit could offer you a chance to make life meaningful and better.
And here we understand that new normal & change are all interrelated. For we all know that repentance is more than just be sorry of our faults, but more so about the resolve to change our old ways & to do better in our faith & life as followers of Christ. We consider here that necessary change towards new normal is a significant & meaningful part of repentance. Some are unable to repent because they are unwilling to change. Some also are unable to change because they are unwilling to repent.
But whether we like it or not we have to change & upgrade our life or else we remain obsolete & outdated in our ways.
May we dispose ourselves during this Advent season to the necessary changes required of us in life as we believe & follow our Lord in our faith journey ahead.
As we journey through this first week of Advent, our hearts turn toward the birth of our Savior. Today’s readings from the Book of Isaiah and the Gospel of Matthew fill us with a beautiful promise: God is bringing light into our darkness, healing into our brokenness, and hope into our waiting hearts. Hence, let us open our minds and hearts to this message of restoration through faith.
In the first reading, prophet Isaiah painted a vivid picture of God’s transforming power. He spoke of a time when the ancient land of Lebanon (which Pope Leo has just visited this week), once wild and untamed, will become a fruitful garden.
The prophet told us that the deaf will hear the words of a book, and the blind will see clearly, free from gloom. The humble and the poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. Meanwhile, the ruthless and the arrogant will vanish.
This may sound poetic but this is not just poetry. This is God’s promise to transform the sorrows of His people. Isaiah speaking to a nation weary from exile and injustice, reminded them that God will lift up the lowly and bring justice for them. It is a prophecy of renewal, where what seems barren and hopeless bursts into life, and despair gives way to joy.
This very promise finds its fulfillment in the Gospel, where two blind men cried out to Jesus, “Son of David, have pity on us!” They followed Him persistently, believing Jesus as the Messiah foretold by the prophets. And so Jesus touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.”
Instantly, their sight was restored. Here, Matthew showed us faith in action and not as a magic trick, but as trust that opens us to God’s healing. These men, once trapped in physical and spiritual blindness, now see the world anew. Though Jesus asked them to keep it quiet, yet their joy overflowed. This moved them to proclaim God’s goodness everywhere they go.
Together, these readings have woven one powerful message that indeed, God restores us through faith in His Son.
Isaiah’s vision of a transformed world echoed in Jesus’ miracle. This showed us now that Advent is about waiting with hope for this restoration and transformation in ourselves and in the world.
In our own very lives, we too all face blindness. Certainly, we may be blind to God’s love, to others’ needs, or to our own wounds. We too could stumble in the darkness of our worries, fears, illness, loneliness, or sin.
However, Jesus, the light of the world, invites us to cry out like those blind men. Jesus also asks us, “Do you believe that I can do this?” And our “yes” opens the grace to Jesus healing touch.
This hope moves us deeply because it is real, not an empty hope. Think of a friend who found peace and healing after loss or a community rebuilt after hardship and trauma. These are glimpses of God’s kingdom breaking in.
In Advent, we prepare not just for Christmas lights and other glittering decorations, but for the eternal light that banishes all darkness.
Remember this, God is faithful. And the Lord will turn our deserts into gardens and our tears into joy. So, let us live this hope today. Reach out to someone hurting, pray with deeper trust, and watch for God’s miracles in the ordinary. Hinaut pa.
Two years ago, on a Sunday morning meant to mark the beginning of joyful waiting, our community was shaken by darkness. Lives were taken, bodies were wounded, and many hearts, including most of you here present today, still carry unseen scars. Advent, which should have been a season of hope, became for us a moment of fear and grief. And yet, here we are, gathered again, breathing the same air of faith, standing on the same ground of hope. This alone speaks of a God who continues to hold us together.
Today’s first reading from Isaiah gives us a powerful promise, “The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces.” Isaiah speaks of a God who prepares a great feast, who destroys death, who removes every stain of sorrow. Indeed, this is not a distant dream. This is God’s heart revealed to us now. The Lord God does not stand far from our suffering. The Lord God bends down, touches our wounds, and wipes our tears with His own hands.
Such character of God is revealed in today’s Gospel. Jesus climbs the mountain and there, people bring to Him the lame, the blind, the mute, the sick. And upon seeing all of them, “Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them.”
This is the Jesus who sees our trauma, our memories of that painful day, our fears that revisit us in the night. He does not avoid these wounds. He sits beside them, feels them with us, and slowly transforms them not by erasing that horrifying past, but by filling it with His presence.
Moreover, Jesus also does something even deeper. The Lord feeds the crowd. After days of hunger and exhaustion, Jesus refuses to send them away empty. This is the same Jesus who now tells us: “I will not let you remain empty of courage, of peace, and of meaning.” Where violence tried to take life away, Jesus continues to give life. Where hatred tried to silence us, Jesus continues to speak His peace. And where darkness tried to dominate, Jesus becomes our light.
Certainly, many of you have carried silent pain for two years now. Perhaps others still tremble at loud sounds or crowds. Others are still carrying inside their body those splinters that pierced them. Some might have also wondered if peace will ever be possible for us.
However, hear once more the promise in the Book of Prophet Isaiah, “On this mountain, God will destroy the veil that covers all peoples.”Even the veil of fear that covers our hearts. Even the cloud of trauma that shadows our memories. God is not finished with us.
Let us remember, Advent is the season when a small light begins to shine in the dark. That light is Jesus and no bomb, no violence, no hatred can put Him out. The same Lord who fed the hungry crowds, who healed the wounded, and who wept with the broken is here with us at this very moment. And our Lord Jesus wants your heart to live again.
Tonight, as we remember that painful tragedy, we also stand before the God who wipes tears and restores life. We honor our dead (+Janin, +Riza, +Evangelin and +Junrey) and not only by remembering their pain, but by choosing to live with greater hope, deeper love, and stronger unity as a Christian Community here in Marawi. What happened two years ago does not define us. God’s promise does.
And so, I leave you now two simple invitations as we commemorate this day.
First, choose healing every day. We know that healing takes time. It takes support. And it takes grace. Allow Jesus everyday to touch your wounds as He touched the wounded in today’s Gospel. Open your heart to conversations, to prayer, to our community and anything that helps your spirit breathe again.
Second, be bearers of peace where you stand. Do not let violence have the last word. In your home, at our University-Community here at MSU-Marawi, at your workplace, and with your friends, always choose peace. Choose respect and choose compassion. These small acts rebuild what hatred tried to destroy.
Remember this,God has not abandoned us. The LORD GOD is here, and He is wiping our tears. May this anniversary not only remind us of what we lost and what was deprived from us, but lead us to discover again the God who restores, heals, and gives the fullness of life. Hinaut pa.
Today we celebrate Red Wednesday, a day when we remember, honor, and stand in solidarity with Christians around the world who suffer for their faith. We remember and pray for those who are silenced, displaced, threatened, and even killed because they follow Jesus. For most communities, Red Wednesday is a solemn reminder of a suffering happening “somewhere else.” But for us, this day carries a deeper weight and meaning.
We do not remember persecution as something distant. We remember it as something you have survived. You carry scars in your minds, in your bodies, and in your hearts. These are the scars of the 2017 Marawi Siege, and more recently, the 2023 bombing, when violence interrupted our prayer, our peace, our Advent hope.
And yet, here you are. Still praying. Still gathering. Still believing. And still choosing Christ. If the color red symbolizes the blood of martyrs, then the red we wear today also symbolizes your courage, your endurance, and your unbroken faith.
Hence, we are all here because hope, no matter how wounded we are. This is what today’s theme proclaims, “Living Hope Amidst Suffering.”
In the first reading from Prophet Daniel, King Belshazzar holds a feast of arrogance and disrespect. In the middle of his pride and extravagance, a mysterious hand appears and writes on the wall, “You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.” Belshazzar used sacred things for selfish purposes. He mocked what was holy. He exalted himself instead of God.
Indeed, persecution anywhere in the world often comes from the same attitude. This is the arrogance that refuses to respect human dignity, a pride that rejects God, and a heart that worships violence more than life. And this may come politically and ideologically motivated.
But while Belshazzar was “found wanting,” you, the people of faith, the survivors, the steadfast disciples, you have been weighed in the balance and found faithful.
You did not give up your faith, even when fear tried to choke it. You did not stop praying, even when prayer became dangerous. You did not stop loving, even when hatred and suspicion tried us.
If the writing on the wall declared judgment on Belshazzar, the writing on your lives declares something else entirely that “You have stood firm in the Lord.”This is hope found alive in us, in each of you.
Moreover, in the Gospel, Jesus warns His disciples that persecution will come. Not “maybe,” not “possibly,” but certainly.
Jesus said, “They will seize you.” “They will hand you over.” “You will be hated because of my name.” Jesus does not sugarcoat discipleship. He does not hide the cost of faith. He does not pretend Christianity as a path of comfort and power.
Indeed, these words are not theoretical for you. You know their truth. Yet, Jesus is not giving this warning to frighten us. The Lord gives it to strengthen us. And so, Jesus now gives us two promises. These promises are born from His own suffering love.
The First Promise is “I will give you words and wisdom.”Jesus assures us that in difficult times, we are never alone in our fear. The Holy Spirit is with us, guiding, strengthening, whispering courage into our trembling hearts. And indeed, this community has spoken words of hope when silence seemed safer. You have shown kindness when anger felt easier. You have extended forgiveness when hatred tried to dominate. You have lived this promise.
The Second Promise is “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” Perseverance, that quiet, stubborn faith that refuses to give up, is what saves us. Not the absence of suffering, not forgetting of memory, but the courage to rise again despite everything.
The siege tried to break us, but you stood. The bombing tried to silence worship, but you returned. Fear tried to isolate you, but you gathered again at the table of Christ.
This is what living hope looks like. A hope that limps but keeps walking. A hope that trembles but keeps believing. And a hope that cries but keeps loving.
Today, Red Wednesday invites us not only to remember suffering, but to remember how God works inside our own suffering.
Hope is not pretending everything is fine. This is merely optimism. Yet, hope is not about being optimistic. Hope is believing that God is working, even when nothing feels fine. Hope does not erase ours tears. It accompanies them. Hope does not deny wounds. It transforms them. And hope does not avoid danger. It gives courage to stand, to remain and be still before the presence of God.
And so, this day is more than commemoration. It is a call to deepen our faith, to widen our compassion, and to strengthen our mission as disciples of the Crucified and Risen Christ.
Because those who have suffered greatly are the very people that God sends to become witnesses of hope for the world. And you, brothers and sisters, are living proof that the Christian story is not a story of defeat, but of resurrection. Our Christian story is not a story of darkness, but of dawn. Not a story of violence, but of victory. This is the victory of love.
Now, Red Wednesday does not simply ask us to remember. It rather invites us to respond. We are asked…
How will we honor the suffering of others if we do not let our own suffering teach us compassion?
How will we carry the memory of our wounds if they do not lead us to deepen our prayer, widen our love, and strengthen our commitment to peace?
How can we claim to follow a crucified King if we refuse the path of forgiveness, reconciliation, and hope?
Indeed, suffering can make us bitter or better. It can harden our hearts or open them. It can close our hands or make them instruments of healing. Being persecuted, certainly, does not give us permission to hate. It gives us a mission to love even more dearly. Being hurt does not give us the right to close our hearts. It gives us the grace to open them wider. Being attacked does not mean our story ends in fear and trauma. It means Christ calls us towards courage, healing, unity, and peace.
We now realize that living hope amidst suffering is not passive. It is a choice. A daily, brave, exhausting, and holy choice. And so, I leave you now three takeaways to make hope alive in us.
First, pray intentionally this week for those who have hurt you. Even a simple prayer: “Lord, bless them. Heal them. Change their hearts.” This maybe a difficult prayer to make for those who have hurt us but also powerful in transforming our hearts.
Second, reach out to someone who suffers in silence. A neighbor who is afraid. A young student who is traumatized. A parent who is struggling or sick. Sit with them. Listen to them. And be a small beam of Christ’s light and love.
Third, commit one concrete act of peace-building. Repair a relationship. Start a dialogue. Help rebuild a broken community bond.
Friends, you have passed through fire, but the fire has not consumed you. Let is refine you. On this Red Wednesday, may your courage shine, your wounds speak truth, and your faith stand as a beacon of hope for a world that desperately needs it.
May this Red Wednesday remind you that you are not just survivors, you are now bearers of living hope. Hinaut pa.
A DOSE OF GOD TODAY 