Category: Season of Advent

December 8, 2019 – Second Sunday of Advent

Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/120819.cfm)

Homily

A friend came to me and shared how she finds her life in darkness. She finds failures in everything she did and she has – her job, her boyfriend, her family, her friends and including herself. She felt confused and hopeless. Her life seems miserable and so she feels unhappy and bitter.

Listening to her, I asked her how she handles all of these. Although she feels that she is in darkness and not happy, she continues to believe in God. She persisted to hope that God would bring her into a life filled with joy, where everything shall also fall into its place.

However, what helped her more was when she began to recognize her own failures and sins. She herself took for granted the many good things she has in her life and was ungrateful. This was the reason why she was bitter and negative at everything. There was a deep emptiness in her heart that she was trying to satisfy but could not. This was the reason too why she found her life miserable and joyless. But recognizing and owning these attitudes completely changed the way she sees things and relate with herself, with people and with God.

As she repented and came closer to God, there is more hope and more joy that she finds. She begins to see more her God and not herself alone, and to see more brightness rather than misery and darkness.

Herself reminds me of the prophecy of Isaiah in the first reading and of the Gospel from Matthew that we have heard. Let us explore briefly the scriptures today and discover how God invites us on this second Sunday of Advent.

The prophecy of Isaiah was announced to the people who were both faithful and unfaithful to the covenant with God. This was a message of hope preached to them that despite the suffering brought about by their unfaithfulness, God remains faithful. The promise of the birth of a child will bring order, peace and harmony to their seemingly dark lives under exile.

As this is a message of hope, the prophecy is also a call to repentance, an act of recognizing the coming of the Messiah and coming closer to Him. It is through the recognition of sin that leads to asking forgiveness and turning away from the sinful way of life back to God, that hope becomes alive. This leads to restoration, forgiveness, prosperity, peace, harmony and joy with God. Indeed, Isaiah proclaimed a joyful hope for the people through the birth of a child who will be with us.

Hence, joy is promised to us when we allow God to be with us, to transform us and allow him to be our God. And it begins with repentance and in recognizing that we need God. This means that when we begin to be less self-centered, less arrogant and less greedy, the more we come closer to God. And the more we come closer to God, the more we recognize Him too, not just in our life but also in the life of those who are next to us. Thus, what is being “zoomed in” is God and not ourselves; what is being maximized is grace rather than sin, forgiveness rather than guilt, love rather than hate.

So, how do we allow God to come to us and transform us as what has been told by Isaiah? John invites today to “prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight.” This is where we can find the preaching of John about “hope.” John proclaimed “hope” as he reminded the people that salvation is possible, that peace and freedom from sin is possible. This hope dawns on us when we start recognizing our sinfulness rather than the sins of others. Hope becomes alive when we humble ourselves before God to accept that we are in need of mercy.

Hence, preparing God’s way to our heart means to take away anything that prevents us from allowing God to come closer to us. 

We may reflect today, what are my un-confessed sins that need repentance? What are my selfish tendencies that keep me away from others and from God?

Hopefully, this Season of Advent may truly become a preparation for us to encounter God daily and to celebrate with joy the birth of Jesus on Christmas day, as we make ourselves more available to God and for others. As a shoot will sprout from a stump, we may allow God also to grow in our hearts, allowing him to occupy more space in our life. Ok lang? Sana all. 

Jom Baring, CSsR

December 1, 2019 – First Sunday of Advent

Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/120119.cfm)

Homily shared by Fr. Mar Masangcay, CSsR (a Filipino Redemptorist Missionary in South Korea)

A mother once knocks at his son’s door and have this following exchange of words. “Son, wake up,” the mother said. The son replied: “Mom, I don’t want to get up.” “Son, Get up now. You have to go to the church today,” mother continued. The son replied, “I don’t want to go to church today”. “Why not?” mom asked. The son snapped, “I will give you three reasons: “I’m too young to go church, it’s dull and boring, and people there don’t like me.” But the mom persisted, “Now, I will give you three reasons you should go to the church. You are already 30 years old, and have to be there today, because it’s your wedding day. So, Wake up and get up now. You are already grown up, enough to just go back to sleep again. 

Which is more difficult nowadays: to lay down and go asleep in the evening or to get up and stay awake in the morning? Waking up and getting up in the morning, and staying awake the whole day have always been our daily struggle these days. We always want to go back to sleep. All day long there is a longing in us to go back to bed and sleep again. Even when we are up and awake, we still have bouts of daydreams and musings the whole day through. That is why we have a Filipino saying: Mahirap gisingin ang taong gising. “It is not easy to wake up someone who is already awake”. In other words, how can you wake up someone who is already awake?

We may not only be dealing here about our getting up physically in the morning and the whole day through, but this may also be true about getting up and staying awake in our whole life.  This may also be about how awake and aware are we in living our lives. As we go through our lives, there are many moments that we are more asleep than awake. Habitually we may have found ourselves already physically awake but still actually unaware, out of sync, lukewarm, numb, and out of touch of reality. In life, we find ourselves usually in situations where we are already but still – that is, already awake yet still asleep. It is like, you already realize your mistake, but still doing the same mistake all over again. Same way as that son, who is already awake but still find reasons and excuses not to get up but to go back to sleep. 

Waking up and staying awake in life may be a struggle but it is also a choice. In other words, “to get up and stay awake OR to go back and remain asleep” in life is perhaps the first decision we have to struggle with and make everyday in life. What is significant here is not only the action and decision taken but moreso on the awareness, realization and choice of the present NOW in facing life. Since now you know your mistake, now you have the choice to continue the same mistake or do something about it. Since you know NOW you are old enough to go to church today because it’s your wedding day or your Lord’s Day, you may get up OR to go back asleep. 

This is why on the first Sunday of Advent in preparation for the coming Christmas day, the Lord has very simple message to us: STAY AWAKE, and BE prepared.

Human as we are, the Lord knows that we rather stay asleep than awake in life. He recognizes that we are already awake yet at times mostly asleep in life. He also knows however that we do have the choice NOW whether to stay awake or asleep. That is why He is particularly calling us to Stay awake, be prepared, get up and go forward for He promises that there are more and better in life yet to come.  His words in our gospel today are not His warning but a wake-up call to us. 

To remain awake and stay aware in life, is indeed a struggle yet a choice. But if we continue to heed and do our part in the Lord’s invitation of staying awake and being aware now in our life, we will see more and eventually become witnesses to fullness of life God can offer us. Or else… we miss again the chance.

As the Lord reminds us today: Therefore, Stay awake and be prepared… for the Son of Man will come.”  In other words, Hoy Gising … Wake up for I am coming.

May the Lord shake and disturb us from our spiritual slumber and laziness these weeks of Advent so that we are prepared enough to welcome Him again in our life now and ahead. Amen. 

December 1, 2019 – 1^st Sunday of Advent

(Click here for the readings – http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/120119.cfm)

Homily

According to scholars, about 20,000 to 40,000 years ago, we, humans began domesticating dogs. We have lived with dogs side by side for many years. As a result, humans and dogs have developed relationship which include emotional connection. Because of the familiarity of the dogs to human, dogs have developed ways of recognizing emotional reactions from human. But more than, dogs also as well as humans have established an intimate emotional connection with each other.

That’s why, if I may ask you, who among you have dogs at home? Have you also noticed your dog when you are about to come home? When dogs are left alone, it creates anxiety to them because they are in need of mental stimulation and social interaction (from https://www.rover.com/blog/dogs-get-lonely-keep-home-alone-dog-happy/). Consequently, dogs long for their humans to come home and keep them company.

What is more interesting is the behavior among dogs when they can sense that you are coming. This is how dogs show their alertness to welcome their humans. Thus, even from a distance they can sense your coming and when they begin to hear the familiar noise of your car engine or even of your footsteps, they begin to wiggle their tails. They patiently wait for you and when they see you they make terrible sounds but for them it’s their expression of joy. That joy it expressed in excitement by jumping at you, licking you and going around your feet.

This behavior among our dogs reminds me of this Season of Advent. Advent, which is understood as the coming of the Savior, is a season of joyful waiting.  And to joyfully wait, our dogs have something to teach us. To joyfully wait involves longing and attentiveness or alertness. Indeed, dogs long for our presence and very attentive by sensing our coming and even smelling our scent.

The readings today wonderfully tell us of that longing for the coming of our Lord. In the first reading from the Book of Isaiah, the prophet expressed that longing when everything will fall into its place. This was written at the times when the people suffered from being exiled in Babylon. They longed for the time when all of them will come home and will be reunited. They longed for that time of peace where there will be no more wars but abundance and harmony. 

Isaiah expressed this hope for the people and this is meant to uplift the spirit of the people. Indeed, on this first Sunday of Advent, we have lighted the first candle that symbolizes hope. This hope is what the prophets have told us. Thus, the candle is also called as the candle of the prophets.

This is what the Psalm proclaims to us, “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.” This is an expression of a longing to be with God. However, let us also not forget of our human tendency to lose hope especially when things are too difficult for us. We too might also feel of losing hope and forgetting our desire for God.

This is what St Paul in his letter to the Romans reminds us. Paul tells to be awake from sleep because of the discouraging and disappointing events that have happened in our life. Thus, we may fall asleep because we have become so tired from waiting for the Lord, because our prayers remain unanswered, because you have failed several times in your exams despite your reviews and prayers, or your partner or a family member is still problematic despite the prayer intentions you have offered, or until now you are not yet healed from your illness which gives you suffering despite the many “pamisa” you have made, or your loved one was taken away from you because of a sudden death even though you have been a good catholic.

Because these are discouraging, and so we feel that our faith is weakened. This happens when we lose our desire for God and tend to focus more on our personal wants, personal assurance of comfort and security. That is why, Paul also tells us to let go of these works of darkness and rather put on the armor of light. 

Putting the armor of light is making ourselves more familiar of God, of his presence in us. This is what Jesus reminds us today “to stay awake and be alert at all times.”

Hence, as St. Paul teaches us in “conducting ourselves properly,” we are called to be more selfless by expressing our love for one another. When we become less self-centered, then, we also begin to recognize others and to recognize God. By showing our concern for one another, we also become more aware of God. When we begin to build intimate connections with our family and friends by opening up ourselves to them, then, we also begin to open up ourselves for God. Our intimacy with others brings us, actually, into the intimacy we have with God. In other words, our closeness with those who are around us brings us into our closeness with God.

Indeed, the emotional connection between dogs and humans, reminds us of our intimate connection with God. We are a people who longs to see the face of God, who longs to feel His loving and comforting presence in our life. Yet, let us also realize that though we long for God, God longs for us all the more. God is more excited to meet us. Jesus would surely come and meet us where we are at this very moment.

This is the invitation for us this Sunday – to joyfully wait for God’s everyday coming in our life by being attentive and alert of His presence. In this way, hope becomes more alive in us because we know and we believe that Jesus is truly with you and with me. 

Remember, God reveals his abiding and loving presence to us in any moment of our life. Let us keep our hearts to always desire God through our constant and intimate communication through our personal prayer and through this Eucharist. 

Let us hope that as we are able to meet the Lord in our ordinary life may it become a moment of joy for us and a life-changing experience for us and for our community. Hinaut pa.

Jom Baring, CSsR