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  • 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.

  • Fear not, I will help you.

    Fear not, I will help you.

    December 11, 2025 – Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121125.cfm)

    This season of Advent draws us once more into a kind of waiting. Yet, this is not just any kind of waiting but waiting filled with hope, longing, and readiness.

    In today’s reading from the Prophet Isaiah we hear the Lord say, “Fear not, I will help you.” This is not a distant promise, far removed from our lives but a personal and present invitation. Indeed, God does not speak to crowds only. The Lord reaches out to you, to me, to us, holding out His hand in love and assurance.

    Imagine a world shaped by God’s promise where deserts are turned into springs, where dry places become alive into gardens with trees uncorrupted by human greed for power and profit.

    This is God’s divine plan not only for the world but for each heart parched by fear, pain, loneliness, or doubt. God says to us, “I will help you. I will bring life where there seems to be no life.”

    Yet taking that divine help means also trusting. It means accepting that yes, certainly, we may feel like “worms” and “maggots,” as Isaiah says. We may feel unworthy, frail, and small but God promised and said, “Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, will not abandon you.”

    What Isaiah proclaimed was set in a context when Israel felt being abandoned and discouraged. The people were exiled into Babylon after the war. They lost many things in their life including loved ones. This is how war create deep pain and anguish in the human heart. Yet, the Lord has promised salvation and freedom.

    And so for us today, as we also prepare for the coming of our Lord both in the memory of His Nativity, and in the hope of His coming again, God whispers to us, “Fear not, I will help you.” This is the heartbeat of Advent, a God who draws near, who rescues, who renews us.

    Indeed, we may be filled with uncertainty, anxiety, and suffering, yet the words in the Bible are not just ancient. These words give us a living hope. Each of us may know weariness, struggle with relationships, health, finances, and loss. Some may have felt like giving up. Some may have felt unseen and forgotten by friends and family. But God sees, God knows and God promises help.

    This means that advent invites us to trust again. To believe that even in our deserts, God can make springs. Even in our fears, God is our help and refuge.

    I leave to you now two simple and doable invitations for this Advent season.

    First, pause each day for a moment of quiet trust. Set aside few minutes maybe early in the morning or late at night and pray quietly: “Lord, I trust in You. I open my heart to Your help.” Let this be a daily turning toward God, especially in moments of fear or worry.

    Second, reach out and share hope. Choose one person, a friend, a neighbor, a colleague, or a family member who may be hurting or alone. Send a message, give a call, or visit if possible. Remind them that “God has not forgotten you and you are not alone.” In doing this, we become signs of God’s help to someone else.

    And so, may this Advent be for each of us a season of deep trust, renewed hope, and courageous faith. May we step forward not in fear, but in light because our God is our Helper, our Redeemer, our constant companion. Hinaut pa.

  • God Gives Strength & Rest When We Are Weary

    God Gives Strength & Rest When We Are Weary

    December 10, 2025 – Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121025.cfm)

    A year ago, I met this young woman burdened with what she lost. She was the bread-winner of the family, and so losing her job meant everything. With such loss, a wave of worry came, as well as fear and sadness. She felt hopeless and afraid that she would not find another way of making ends meet. Her nights became sleepless and mornings heavy.

    However, a friend reached out to her and cared to simply listen to her fears, and prayed with her. That became an opportunity to hope in God even when things are difficult for her. And slowly, the heavy burden on her heart began to ease. The presence of a friend became a comfort and support.

    She began to look at her current crisis as an opportunity to be more creative. She decided to take the initiative rather than only waiting in worries. Instead of burying herself in fear, she began to trust more on God. In that way, she discovered a quiet strength returning. She found the courage to hope again and to trust that something better comes in God’s grace.

    In the first reading from Isaiah, God’s voice echoed to remind the people of His creative power. After all, God is greater than anything to which we compare God. Hence, when we grow tired, weak, or discouraged, God does not grow faint. The Lord God promises to renew our strength and those who wait upon Him. This was what Isaiah reminded us, “He shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles … they shall walk and not faint.” This is not a promise to escape all difficulties in life. It is a promise that God carries us. He restores our strength when we rely on Him.

    Such good news reechoed in the Gospel. Jesus says to you and to me now, “Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. … For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

    Jesus does not ignore our burdens. Instead, Jesus welcomes us, inviting us to bring all our tiredness, worries, and pain to Him. Jesus offers rest for our souls, gentle guidance, and relief. His “yoke” is the life of discipleship. It embodies trust and surrender. It is not a heavy oppression. Rather, it is a light and life-giving support to those who welcome Him.

    That young woman’s real life situation reminds of God’s invitation for us today, as we wait for Jesus. Overwhelmed and hurting, someone reached out, it moved her to trust a friend, then opened her heart, and brought her pain before God. And God, through the community and prayer, renewed her strength. In fact, her burdens did not vanish instantly, but she found rest, hope, and the possibility to rise again.

    What does this mean for us now? When you feel worn out, fearful, or overburdened by work or studies, remember that God sees you. When life’s troubles, loneliness, anxiety, or illness burden you, know that God acknowledges your struggles. Jesus is greater than your problems. This means that you don’t have to carry them alone. Jesus invites you to come to Him.

    Thus, be open to support from prayer, from friends, from our faith community. remember, sometimes God’s strength comes through simple our human compassion. Hinaut pa.

  • God Seeks the Lost and Brings Us Back Home

    God Seeks the Lost and Brings Us Back Home

    December 9, 2025 – Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120925.cfm)

    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.

  • Jesus Restores Us    

    Jesus Restores Us    

    December 5, 2025 – Friday of the First Week of Advent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120525.cfm)

    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.