THE REAL REASON FOR THE SEASON

Micah is considered as a young contemporary of Isaiah and well known as the prophet of authentic worship/service to God and social justice. Today's 1st reading is taken from the Book of Micah which speaks of the coming Messiah, the future perfect King of Israel which was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. Whenever I hear about people who are able to tell the future I have always been skeptical and never really believed them to be true. But in the case of the prophets like Micah, we can never be in doubt for their prophecies are all confirmed and supported by other prophets in the Old Testament even those who have not lived in the same era. This is what fascinates me most when I started to join the bible study in San Lorenzo especially when presented with the timeline of the bible from the time of Adam and Eve (2000BC), the Patriarchs (1900-1700BC,Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph), Moses (1300-1200BC), the time of the Judges (1100BC), Saul, David and Solomon (1000BC), exilt to Babylon (600-500BC)post exile under Persians, Greeks, Maccabeans and Romans (400-100BC) and finally to the time of birth of Jesus Christ. The bible covers over 2,000 years. Fascination, I guess is an understatement especially upon acquiring a broader understanding and knowledge of these things that surround the birth of our Savior. Everything that has been foretold about Jesus was fulfilled. It never ceases to amaze me whenever I encounter prophecies about the birth of Jesus from the Old Testament which were written hundreds of years before it came to be. It proves time and again that the words of God remain and never fade. It gives as an assurance that if the Lord says so then it will come to pass. Micah mentioned that the one who is to come is from of old and ancient times. This is very true for Jesus the 2^nd person of the Most Holy Trinity and is God. The Word of God became flesh in the womb of the Blessed Mother and dwelt among us. We too, have our own personal prophecies that are yet to pass. If we entrust it to God then we can be assured that God will make a way and make it happen in our lives. It is through Mary's cooperation and obedience to God that it all came to be. During this season we come to Mary, the mother of Jesus our God and also our mother like children longing to be in her tight embrace and be part of that one big blessed family of God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Micah 5:1-4 (or Romans 8:28-30)

1 The LORD says: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. 2 (Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, and the rest of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel.) 3 He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God; and they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; 4 he shall be peace.

As we continue to be confronted with the mystery of our everyday living, may it gives us a better view and understanding of what life should be all about here on earth. May our perspective about our existence here on earth continually grow and prosper in the knowledge of our Infinite God. In times of trouble and doubt we should realize that God is always with us. If we truly believe in this, then nothing should stop us from conquering all our fears. Let us never grow weary of the things that life brings to us but rather look to God always. We must not let ourselves be defeated by the things that we encounter in life knowing that we are being sustained and strengthened by an Almighty and Immortal God. For to Him alone do we come for help. Let us make a stand for God. Nothing is hidden from the Lord. Everything that happens is known and seen by God even the unpleasant ones. We simply have to continue trusting in the Lord. He is always in control of things and He is in charge even of the most trivial and irrelevant matters. If we are sometimes or most of the time disappointed of how things turn out in our life, we should never lose hope because God can always turn everything into a blessing. This is one of the most important things we have to realize especially in times of trial. There is really nowhere else to go but to God. He is our best option there is and if we choose to be wise and smart then we will discover that nothing or no one is the best choice but only God. Once we've made our choice then we've got to live by it to the end. For He is ultimate choice as the saying goes, "the cream of the crop," and the choicest cutting edge above the rest! Today's readings should really remind us of those times when we were able to conquer our fears. We should reminisce these occasions and inspire us to do greater things in the future. God will always be an endless flowing river that refreshes us continuously. I heard a story a long time ago, that God is very holy and no one can withstand His presence much more look at Him if we have the slightest trace of sin in ourselves after we die. We all hope to stand face to face with God someday that is why we are praying for God's grace and power to overcome the snares of the devil and be able to stand firm on that day. Let us not hold back and know that if we decide to do things for the glory of God and the sake of His name then we will surely see His face and be saved. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 80:2ac, 3b, 15-16, 18-19

R: Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

...From your throne upon the cherubim reveal yourself...May your help be with the man at your right hand, with the one whom you once made strong.

Then we will not withdraw from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.

Sometimes we are confronted with situations that make life difficult for us but what's most important despite the hardships, discomforts, hurts and inconveniences that we encounter is our sincere desire and intention to please God above all and submit to His Holy will. We should always be confident in the truth that God's will in our lives will always work out for our own good. Everything depends on our will if and only if we could assimilate this will to God's. In the midst of all these celebrations in line with Christmas may we not forget the real reason for the season. We should look beyond the superficial and know what's most pleasing to God is the genuine celebration of Christmas in our hearts as we submit to the will of God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Hebrews 10:5-10
5 Brothers and sisters: When Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6 holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight in...Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.”  He takes away the first to establish the second. 10 By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Mary's privilege and honor as the Mother of God is no doubt a singular grace given to her alone. She has been greatly blessed by God for being chosen to carry Jesus in her womb and nurse her. It has been written and foretold from generations past. There is no question about this as it is written in today’s gospel, "For he has looked upon his lowly servant; from this day all generation will call me blessed."  Though, Jesus in Luke 11:28 tells us that we are called to follow what Mary did when He said, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” Predestination is one thing but to hear the word of God and observe it is another thing. We have all been given this option of being blessed as Mary is. All we have to do is to listen and obey. Though, we can not physically give birth to Jesus we can spiritually give birth to Him in our hearts. During the time when I haven't given birth to Allan yet and Jude was the only son I had back then. He used to wait at our doorstep at exactly the time he expected me to come home. I used to hide behind our gate but my son Jude would become very excited to the point of like a panic state, this may sound a bit exaggerated, but what he did was grind his teeth while his body started to stiffen while extending both arms in a gesture that he wanted me to carry him. But things changed for Jude the moment I gave birth to Allan, he was happier and more secure being left at home knowing that he has a brother with him. I guess, the joy that Jude felt when his baby brother Allan came can be compared to the joy that St. Elizabeth and the baby St. John still in her womb, felt. Mary is sharing the joy of having Jesus to all of us. We like Mary, who is Mother of God, full of grace, blessed among women, and bore Jesus in her womb can also be blessed if we listen and observe the word of God. God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus and I am sure that God did the right thing in choosing her for she responded to God in a perfect way that none of us her children would be in want or in trouble if we only come to her then we can be sure to also be with Jesus and be the happiest and most secure. Jesus has given her to us at the foot of the cross on that day He saved the world. We should not neglect this important truth that all of us are called to bless ourselves with. Having a loving and caring mother is one of the things every human being should be thankful to God for but more than this is the fact that we have a heavenly mother standing before God and pleading for all her children at all times. She is now in heaven with God and that gives her a place that is close enough to God to whisper in His ears whatever she asks for the sake of her children. One of the biggest mistakes we could ever do is to turn our backs and abandon our devotion to our Mother Mary. Mary is our guard because she is our blue mantle of protection, if we abandon Mary we abandon ourselves to the enemy, we make ourselves vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. Why? Because God deemed it so, God himself when He became man sought the protection of the womb of the Blessed Mother for 9 months as He silently grew in secret and was finally born to our world. She is the one whom God speaks about who crushed the head of the serpent in Genesis 3:15. If there's one thing we should not be forgetful of and always think about then this is it. The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Elizabeth shows us a number of wonderful things about God. In the womb of their mothers, John the Voice and Jesus the Word met, the women raised their own voices in praise. Elizabeth praised Mary and her child; Mary turned the joy of them both into a hymn of praise to God. In this scene of the Visitation we are made aware of Jesus acting here from the very start. This also calls our attention to the unborn children. He was barely a week old in Mary’s womb and John was only 6 months in Elizabeth’s womb. Mary takes Him to his first missionary work. Jesus is already pouring out grace and John received the grace as he leaped in her mother’s womb. Mary is the instrument in bringing Jesus to Elizabeth and John. We must realize this and not fear that she will distract us from being with Jesus. We should respond like Elizabeth and say something that we always say when we pray the rosary. No way should we think that it will get in the way rather it would lead us to praising God even more. The Son of God was still invisible at the time of the Visitation but the sound of Mary’s voice made it visible for Elizabeth. This is why it is also worth mentioning this meditation from Magnificat entitled: The Graces of the Visitation.

The events of today’s mystery bring before the faithful in a peculiar manner the fact that our God is a hidden God, and that his power works in the soul in a secret and impenetrable manner. Four people are concerned in the occurrence we are celebrating: Jesus and Mary; St. John, and his mother St. Elizabeth. Now, it is most remarkable that of all thee sacred personages the only one who seems to perform no particular action is the Son of God himself. Elizabeth, enlightened from on high, acknowledges the Blessed Virgin’s dignity and humbles herself deeply before her: “Whence is this to me?” (Lk. 1:43) John even within Elizabeth’s womb, feels his Divine Master’s presence, and shows his joy in a wonderful way: he “leaped for joy.” Mary, marveling at the great effects of divine omnipotence in herself, exalts the holy name of God and declares his munificence in her behalf, with her whole heart. But all this time Jesus Himself, hidden beneath his Mother’s breast, gives no sensible sign of his presence. He, who is the cause of the whole mystery, takes no active part in it.

            Strange as this may seem, it is not really surprising. Our Lord here hides his power intentionally, to show us how he is the invisible force that moves all things without moving himself, and directs all things without showing his hand. Hence, we shall find that though he may seem to be passive on this occasion his influence is fully apparent in the actions of the rest, whose movements are really all inspired by him alone. One of the greatest mysteries of Christianity is the holy union that the Son of God forms with us, and his secret way of visiting us… When God deigns to look upon us, we can but learn from Elizabeth how to reverence his supreme greatness by fully recognizing our own nothingness, and to acknowledge his benefits by confessing our unworthiness. - Bishop Jacques Benigne Bossuet (1704) French Bishop and Theologian.

Pope John Paul II said that the Visitation and the Eucharist is related. Also St. Francis addressed Mary in this way, “Hail His tabernacle.” When Elizabeth said, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Mary also anticipated the mystery of the Incarnation. She has become the 1^st tabernacle in history. The Son of God became man in Mary’s womb. God entered human history. Every time we receive Holy Communion we do not see God, He is hidden from our gaze but we can radiate God’s presence. We can do this by beating the heart of Mary and reliving the experience at the foot of the cross especially the part when He said, “Behold your mother.” We should recognize her divine motherhood. Mary carried Jesus with such devotion and love. We should relate Mary’s fiat with our amen as we receive the body and blood of Christ during Mass. The word became flesh within her and dwelt among us. In the Eucharist the flesh, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus come within us. Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 1:39-45

39 Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”