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Tag: Signs

  • God’s Sign for us

    God’s Sign for us

    March 25, 2025 – Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032525.cfm)

    Asking for signs has been part of our belief and culture as far as our human civilization is concerned. We ask for signs when we make small and big decisions in life. We also look for signs both natural and supernatural to guide us. Among the indigenous people, being able to recognize and understand the many signs would either bring us to prosperity and blessing or to dangers and risks.

    On this Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, a great sign has been revealed for all humanity. What had been announced was the sign of redemption and life. Let us discover how Mary played a special role as she herself was the first to have received the sign from the Lord.

    The first reading from the Book of Isaiah relates to us a story of a person who refused God’s offer. Ahaz who was King of Judah was told to ask a sign from God. Yet, Ahaz refused. Why? He was asked so that he may believe in God’s faithfulness and salvation. This refusal of Ahaz was a show of not believing in God and a refusal to trust in the Lord. Ahaz, rather trusted another god, the King of Assyria.

    Assyria at that time was politically powerful. It had powerful army.. Ahaz thought that by trusting Assyria then he will have the certainty of protection and salvation. Judah at that time was threatened by other nations. Ahaz feared that his kingdom will end and his people will perish. Hence, he did not believe that God was the surest protection for the people.

    However, despite the refusal of Ahaz, God still promised a sign of salvation. This will be through the participation of a virgin who shall conceive a son. This son is the , Emmanuel, that God is with us.

    Indeed, even in our unbelief or refusal to believe in the Lord’s invitation, God is still in our midst. God remains faithful to us.

    This is the message to us on this Solemnity that we are called to take comfort. Yes, take comfort, because no matter how much fear, sadness, depression, worries, desperation and anxiety we are feeling at this very moment, God is with us! The Lord had given the sign for us. And this is hope.

    The prophecy in the Book of Isaiah was fulfilled through the participation of a young woman. Unlike Ahaz, Mary took the risk of trusting God despite the confusion, fear and suffering that she was to undergo.

    The angel Gabriel, whose name means, “God is powerful,” assured this young woman not to fear, because God is with her. The very presence of Gabriel was an assurance to Mary that God was working powerfully and wonderfully with her.

    This encounter became the space for Mary to receive God’s invitation. She was chosen to be that virgin who shall conceive a son, the greatest sign of God’s promise. The refusal of king Ahaz to God’s invitation was now being countered and redeemed through the acceptance of a simple young woman.

    Mary responded, “Yes, I am a servant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word.” It was her full expression to participate in God’s action. This echoed both in our Psalm and in the Letter to the Hebrews, “Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.”

    Through the generous response and participation of Mary, the promise was fulfilled. In this way, Mary in turn also became a sign of God’s faithfulness and love. Mary who became the Mother of God, is also God’s sign of healing and life.

    This tells us now that our (human) participation is very important for God to fulfill the promise of salvation and restoration, of healing and freedom. Without our participation, God cannot also work with us and through us. God cannot just impose even though God is powerful. God is not an imposing God. Rather, God calls us.

    On this Solemnity of the Annunciation, through the person of Mary and her participation, we too are called to respond to God’s invitation. We are called to participate in God’s action of fulfilling the promise of salvation, healing and restoration.

    We may ask ourselves, how is God calling me now to participate in God’s plan of healing and bringing salvation to all? In what way I could be of help for others or bring blessings to those who are most in need? In what way I could inspire hope and give comfort to those who are afflicted, those who are sick, grieving, depressed and lonely?

    Like Mary, let us also ponder and keep in our hearts God’s invitation. Like her, we may also become God’s sign of healing and blessings for others. Hinaut pa.

  • SIGNS AND MEANINGS

    SIGNS AND MEANINGS

    October 14, 2024 – Monday 28th Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101424.cfm)

    Everywhere we look at, there are many signs around us. Depending on its intended us, a particular sign will tell us what it is about. For example, a red light in an intersection, would tell us that cars should stop and let those other side of the intersection pass through since they have the green light. In a water dispenser, a red colored faucet means hot water while the green or blue means cold water.

    There are also natural signs around us. When we see thick and dark clouds above us, most likely rain will come in few minutes or hours. After an earthquake, when the sea would recede quickly, surely, there will be a tsunami after.

    Aside from these, there are also human emotional signs that we have to be aware of. When a person who withdraws into the recesses of his/her room, feeling sad or anxious and lonely, the person might be already undergoing depression. A person who feels afraid and terrified over particular  another person, event or place, the person might have a traumatic experience associated in those things.

    These are just few examples of different signs around us and of their meanings. And it is also important that we are able to understand them and so respond appropriately to every particular situation.

    In today’s Gospel, we too are reminded of signs. Jesus was asked by the people to give them sign before they believe in him and in what he showed them. The people seemed to believe rather that Jesus was like a magician who would do out of this world signs that would entertain them. Their demand to give them a sign was rather, a sign as well, that they have not able to understand the greatest sign already given to them.

    Jesus was the greatest sign ever revealed by the Father. Yet, their unbelieving and malicious hearts made them close-minded. Even when the sign was in front of them, they refused to see and recognized God’s greatest sign of love and salvation.

    St. Paul in his Letter to the Galatians reminds us that such attitude and way of life is a sign that these people still like with the yoke of slavery. It was slavery of hatred and indifference, the slavery of malice and selfishness. Hence, they were not free.

    However, Jesus desires that we indeed become free. Again St. Paul told us, “for freedom Christ set us free.” The very presence of Jesus in us brings us to freedom!

    Thus, as we come to understand the many signs around us, may we also become more attuned and familiar to the signs the Lord gives us. These signs from the Lord, and his presence revealed to us may not be extra-ordinary or spectacular, but simple and ordinary. Let us be discerning and patient then and make ourselves free from anything that would prevent us from recognizing and embracing God’s many manifestations in our life and relationships. Hinaut pa.

  • WE ARE SIGNS OF GOD

    WE ARE SIGNS OF GOD

    December 18, 2022 – Fourth Sunday of Advent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121822.cfm)

    Do you ask signs from God? Certainly, there are many of us who can relate well in asking the Lord to give us signs especially when we make big decisions in life. Even when we become desperate over life issues and concerns, we could ask signs from God to confirm our belief, to affirm ourselves. We ask signs so that the hope in us may continue to live.

    With this, allow me to dig deeper into our readings on this Fourth Sunday of Advent and let us see how God also reveals his signs to us and how God calls us today.

    The first reading from the Book of Prophet Isaiah is very interesting because what we have heard was that, it was the Lord who asked a man to ask for signs. Yes, the Lord spoke to Ahaz, the king of Judah to ask for a sign. However, Ahaz refused to ask for a sign. This was the King’s refusal to believe in God.

    Ahaz actually sold himself to the King of Assyria and became a puppet king. He trusted this foreign power who once defeated him in a battle to protect him from two other kingdoms who threatened his reign. Yet, his political alliance with Assyria was to the detriment of his own people. He turned away from God, desecrated the altar of the temple, worshipped foreign gods and murdered his own people as long as he shall remain king. He even burned his own son as a human sacrifice to the gods of Assyria in order to please the King.

    However, despite the refusal of Ahaz, the Lord spoke and promised for a sign. Yes, it turned out that God initiated to give a sign through a virgin who shall give birth to a son. He will be called Emmanuel, God-with-us. He is God’s greatest and most wonderful sign of the divine presence and love.

    This sign which God spoke had been realized through the annunciation of the angel to Mary. The Gospel of Matthew spoke about this today. However, God’s sign that was already conceived in the womb of Mary had been surrounded by scandal. It was scandalous that it must have brought the entire village to feast on a gossip that Mary betrayed Joseph, that Mary was a whore.

    The neighbors even the relatives of Mary must have suspected her for being adulterous. They must have passed harsh and hurtful judgments against Mary “without further investigation,” without knowing or caring about finding the truth. They must have wished and thought that Mary will be shamed, be dragged out of their village and be stoned to death.

    Well, even today, this is not far from our own experience. How many have suffered and traumatized by gossips filled with malice and insults? How many have we terrorized by maligning others only to cover our own guilt? This culture of gossip or using the popular online lingo called “MARITES” of a person who spend more time spreading malicious gossip against a neighbor, is perhaps no different from what Mary experienced. If Mary’s pregnancy happened today, what would people say, then? “Bigaon nga babaye!” Nagbusong nga indi man sang iya bana!” – and that is scandalous! (And when people hear judgment like this, many would just nod and laugh and not confront it to stop it.)

    I remember, when I was in high school, my older sister got pregnant out of wedlock. I would hear our neighbors saying something that demeaning to my sister. And that was terrible!

    Yet, in the midst of this scandal in the neighborhood, God intervened again and gave Joseph a sign. Joseph never thought to hurt Mary. That is why in his own way, he wanted to divorce Mary secretly so that Mary could join with the man who fathered her child. Joseph must have also thought that Mary got another man. In the midst of these, the Lord gave the sign through a dream. Joseph’s dream symbolically means “resting with God” – where we are most comfortable and peaceful in God’s presence. As Joseph was asleep, God revealed to him the divine plan.

    This was how Joseph understood the plan of God. And indeed, God’s sign was scandalous! Because God who is almighty, all powerful, who cannot be seen or touched, is to be born as human! Joseph began to see the scandalous situation of Mary’s pregnancy through the eyes of faith rather than his fear and disappointment.

    The scandal of God’s sign is imprinted in the name of Jesus, which means, God will save us from our sins. This is how Joseph also realized that the pregnancy of Mary is God’s greatest manifestation of love. That is why we have lighted the fourth candle of Advent, which is also called as the Candle of Love.

    How are we invited now on this last Sunday of Advent? There are two invitations on how we can become signs of God’s presence in our homes and communities, which I would like you to bring as your take-aways for today.

    First, BE A SIGN OF LIFE. Remember, even when Ahaz chose death for his own people, God promised of a birth of a child. That is life! Thus, in our relationships always choose life, nurture your life and the life of others, protect and defend life. Hence, reject also anything that will abuse life, traumatize life, suppress life, manipulate life and destroy life because that is not what God wants us.

    Second, BE A SIGN OF LOVE. The Emmanuel is the face of love. Jesus is love made flesh. May we always choose to love, because love is always right and it can never be wrong. But remember, it requires us great amount of commitment and sacrifices because to love can be so demanding. Mary who chose to love was subjected to ridicule and harsh judgments. Joseph who chose to love had been in great troubles in order to protect his family from danger.

    And so, be a sign of life and a sign of love. Ok lang? Sana all.

  • Give me a sign Lord

    Give me a sign Lord

    October 10, 2022 – Monday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101022.cfm)

    Do you also ask signs from God? This is surely a common experience to many of us to ask signs from God especially when we are about to make a major decision in life or undergoing difficult situations. We take comfort and assurance when we also believe that we already have the sign that we have been asking. This belief must be coming from our need to see something physical or concrete because we want certainty and security.

    However, the divine signs that we ask for may not appear to what we expect it to be. Meaning, we could be more focused to look for what is extra-ordinary and out of this world signs when in fact, the Lord reveals his presence and graces through ordinary means. This is something that we have heard in today’s Gospel which is both a warning and an invitation for us.

    The people who were around Jesus asked for a sign from him. They want Jesus to do something extra-ordinary, perhaps, some kind of magic. This was the sign that they wanted to ask before they would believe in him. Yet, as Jesus said, no sign shall be given them.

    They did not realize that Jesus himself, his very presence in their midst is the greatest sign shown by the Lord God to them. Jesus is the Word-made-Man, God who dwells among us, nevertheless, people were unable to recognize such Divine Presence because they were blinded and deaf. They were blinded by hatred and bitterness in their hearts. They have become deaf to God’s invitation because of being self-righteous and self-centered.

    Indeed, we could become a person who is blinded and deaf of God’s self-revelation and invitations when we only think of ourselves and more busy of looking for extra-ordinary things to happen. Let us remember, God manifests himself in ordinary ways, through our human experiences, through the movements of the world and the whole creation. Let us be more welcoming of the presence of a person in our life, of an embrace of a loved one, of the kind words and generosity of our friends.

    Thus, we are invited to be more attuned to God’s many manifestations in our life and in the world. It is by being able to discern and recognize God’s invitation that we also discover more God’s desire for us. Kabay pa.

  • Beyond Signs

    Beyond Signs

    February 15, 2021 – Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021521.cfm)

    Once we happened to be night driving from Sagada to Baguio City. As we were fast approaching the city at around three o’ clock in the morning, we got lost looking for traffic signs. We happened to see a police outpost & we asked the police: “Sir, where is the road going to Baguio?” And the police officer replied: “This is already Baguio.” We realized how foolish we are looking for signs that we missed what is obvious – that we are already in Baguio.

    In our gospel today, the Pharisees try to test Jesus by asking for a sign from heaven. It seems they have missed a lot of signs & miracles already revealed, like the healings of people, casting out of demons, feeding of thousands, & countless of people following Jesus. Great things have been already happening in their presence but they still look for signs. They are yet to recognize God is in all things, already surrounding us with signs of His presence & love.

    Somehow during these pandemic times, like the Pharisees, we may have found ourselves searching for a sign from heaven. We may have asked & looked where God in all these things going on & happening to us.

    Be as it may. Jesus however said: “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generations.”  Beyond his frustration & exasperation, Jesus is telling us here that we don’t need anymore signs, for His presence is better enough than what we are looking & searching in life. All we have to do is just to look, recognize & believe in Him who is God’s way, will, & plan for us.

    True indeed, we may concern & worry ourselves with signs, that we may have missed the obvious presence & blessing already upon us.  Remember that God’s graces are not only about the blessings we ask & look for in life but moreso about Jesus, the source of our blessings already given us & have with us – better & beyond than what we ask for, though yet to be recognized & accepted into our lives.

    So, stop looking for signs, rather, Start looking at Jesus.

    In other words: “If you cannot sleep, stop counting sheep. Talk to the Shepherd.”