Zechariah's Prophecy

Then Zechariah his father, filled with the holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.
He has raised up a horn for our salvation within the house of David his servant even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old: salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to show mercy to our fathers and to be mindful of his holy covenant and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father, and to grant us that, rescued from the hand of enemies, without fear we might worship him in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high will visit us to shine on those who sit in darkness and death's shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace." Luke 1:67-79

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The Lord is here among us. It is only a matter of being attuned with Him. It is just a matter of making ourselves aware of His presence. The Lord has never forsaken us much to the disappointment of those who lived as if they will live on this earth forever. More importantly and positively this is such a welcome and consoling truth that believers and disciples can hold to not only in times of grief but also in the regular and routinary aspects of our life. That we have here a God who is among us and not the kind of god that many people have thought as remote and inaccessible. Yes, indeed, a God who cares and nurtures. A God who fights for justice against oppressors and maintains peace through tolerance and harmony.

The Nativity

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. Luke 2:10-11

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This good news is not news to many people because this world has already decided that only that which gives impact will merit its attention. Thanks to the technologically advanced marvels that confound the senses but do not in the least fill in the gnawing emptiness within.

But there has been recently a resurgence of interest in spiritual matters like the angels. They have captured the imagination of many as seen in a market demand for angels in figurines, books, movies and prayer books. Angels are bearers of good news and people who bring good news by their words and actions are into what we can call as angelic ministry. They announce the coming of the Lord because they make the worldly pursuits as senseless and stupid. So these "angels" remind all people of good will that unless we go back to the simplicity of the manger and the ironic scenery of the God born into poverty and helplessness then all the things that we see and hear are mere passing scenes of an insignificant movie we call life.

The Missionary

He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15

To be a Christian is to be a missionary. The life of the Spirit need not remain stagnant. Indeed God's love cannot but radiate outwards into the world...the world which awaits the love of God who alone fulfills and satisfies. The imperative of Christ is not only a marching order for all Christians but a unique characteristic of the Word of God. It works within filling the heart with so much joy that overflows...making it possible to go where one's personal comforts will not usually allow. Yes, there will be opposition, difficulties and even emotional pains but victory is assured ---for doing battle for the Almighty....one cannot be defeated.



The mission field is an area for the brave and daring not for the faint-hearted. But of course, no one goes to a battle even before counting the costs. The goal and the harvest is so great that what one can do-- can only be a matter of how much one can give. For the giving, Mother Teresa once said, "...give until it hurts." This brings us to the reality of the cross because giving among Christians will always be sacrificial. It does not depend on where one wants to go but where the Spirit leads them. Jesus once said to Peter: "Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." (John 21:18) The Lord said these words but only after He asked Peter the three-fold question: "Do you love me?"

How can I ever answer You, Lord...if you asked me this question. Will I give you the proper and expected answer? But that won't work, Lord because You know what goes in my heart. I cannot simply lie to You, Lord. Will I rather ask You Lord to change the question because we know what happens to those who have loved You. I must confess. . . I am afraid. I have heard once that there is no fear in love but perfect love cast out fear . . . so that's it . . . my love is not perfect. I have so many attachments . . . so many things that I simply cannot let go. Then how can I be a missionary? How can you ever send someone like me?

Koinonia

As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. (John 15:9-12)

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We are all created to be with God that is to be in communion with God. God is love and that is because God is a communion of love of three Divine Persons. The communion of love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is so complete; their unity is so perfect that there is only one God who reaches out to us. This reaching out simply means God created and saved us because of God's great love.

We can only remain in God's communion if we remain in God's love; that is, if we bring God's love to one another. To our families, communities, the society and church.

Koinonia is the anglicisation of a Greek word (κοινωνία) that means communion by intimate participation.

The Rosary: A Marian Treasure

"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19)

All these experiences with the Lord have always been precious to Mary and this has made Her indeed the first Christian and the foremost disciple. The rosary embodies the meditations of Christ's life and passion that should fire up the ministry of any disciple who is serious into following Christ. These events are ever in the minds and hearts of Christians if they need to purify their intentions regarding their decision to work for the Kingdom. While it starts with visualizing them in their minds, it ends up in being affected in their hearts and therefore spilling up in their apostolate. Thus making the meditated gospel events more personal and meaningful because they have been painted with one's joys and pains.

The rosary allows us to pray the Lord's prayer and the angelic salutation of Mary and at the same time be immersed in the gospel events. This practice will eventually initiate the Christian to mental prayer which is assisted by word-based prayers such as the "Our Father" and the "Hail Mary." So it is also important that we take into consideration the value of the words and phrases in these two common prayers which many already knew by heart especially those who have been studying in Catholic schools.

Unless we transcend the boredom and repetitiveness of the Rosary prayer then we would not really understand what it is and how it can make us see and feel God's love working in our lives.

Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.

The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Our gospel for today is something that many self-righteous individuals especially among the religious and church people cannot seem to accept. The fact that Jesus dined and ate with sinners. Yes, the Lord has always been willing to "march into hell with a heavenly cause" (so goes the song). But of course, this is not for the weak...this is not for the faint-hearted because only those who are sent by heaven can carry the heavenly cause into hell without being overwhelmed by the minions of demons, devils and evil powers in Gehenna .

Yes this is the person who possesses God's spirit in a superlative degree, a person with a heart so much in love with God and with the zeal of Elijah, the prophet. Indeed, like Elijah who put to rout all the false prophets of Baal and proclaim with a thunderous shout, "The Lord is God."

O God we acknowledge Your Presence here with us, in the midst of godlessness and chaos brought about by moral degradation, environmental abuse, human rights violations and oppression of the poor. For we believe that where sin abounds, grace abounds more and more efficaciously....yes, Lord You alone are victorious and nothing can stand against You. Let Your Kingdom come. This we ask through Christ our Lord and the intercession of the Immaculate Mother of God. Amen

Rich or Poor?

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

(1 Timothy 6:6-10)

We had this reading for our sharing and I started it with the story about a young man who died of cancer very recently, saying that our life in this world cannot really be ascertained because death can come at any hour. That whatever we take in this world cannot be brought to the life hereafter. I proceeded to talk about those street dwellers whom I met trying their best to survive, they neither have money or food. It makes me wonder if they really are less fortunate than the rich men who cannot break free from the clutches of greed and corruption.

Language of the Word

I have been comparing verses from different bible translations, namely: New American Standard Bible (NASB), King James Version (KJV), New American Bible (NAB), New International Version (NIV) then lately the Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV) which is translated from the Latin Vulgate, using the Challoner Douay Rheims as a guide.  It has been so far quite an intellectually stimulating experience.  Lately I have found out that in John 3:8, the standard translations NAB, NIV mentioned about the wind which is interpreted as spirit in KJV and Douay Rheims. The Catholic and Protestant standard versions (NAB & NIV) agree on interpreting the Greek work pneuma as wind while the King James and Douay Rheims (which are older Protestant and Catholic versions respectively) interpret the same Greek word as spirit.  What I can say is --when it comes to the Scriptures there are certain things going in terms of unity between Catholics and Protestants

Desire as Prayer

"The desire is thy prayers; and if thy desire is without ceasing, thy prayer will also be without ceasing. The continuance of your longing is the continuance of your prayer." - St. Augustine

St. Aloysius Gonzaga once asked the Lord to love Him as He deserves but since St. Aloysius knew too well that this is not possible, he just consumed himself with holy desires.

Dear God,

I don't know when or where have I started to pray....I just found myself talking to You...and if this is already praying, then, how thankful am I to You, for You have led me to prayer. Pls. don't allow me to wander off or put off some other pretense...for I really know that sooner or later I will simply be looking for You and long for Your Presence....for You have loved me and I simply cannot help but love You in return. Furthermore, I also realized that if I love You now that is only because You have loved me first....

Little Known Path in Catholicism

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.

This is an ancient prayer which started among the desert monks. They use this as some sort of a mantra wherein they calm themselves achieve peacefulness and one-ness with the Triune God. The idea is to be able to gently and softly empty the mind and the heart of all things ...when a person has arrived into nothingness then we meet the One who necessarily exists...the One...Who has always longed to be with us mortals

Contemporary Catholic practice teaches meditation that is more on thinking and considering scenes in the life of Christ and Mary especially in the gospels (the positive way) but the via negativa (the negative way) is more on detachment and emptiness, a kind of desert experience when a person forsakes all in order to look for God. The eastern mystics of different religions and faiths have been practicing this for centuries and even our very own Catholic religion is not an exception. One should look into the writings of St. John of the Cross as well as The Cloud of the Unknowing in order to see the richness of this orientation and spirituality.

Bishop Chito Tagle's Talk

I attended the talk last Sunday of Bishop Chito on proclaiming the word in season or out of season and it really resonated in me. It jibed with my recent experiences in CFC, with the Sunday gospels and homilies, with the theme of the SPC pastoral ministry conference and yes, to my very heart...I was moved to tears almost all throughout the talk...now, I realized why God arranged all things just to have me attend this.