STAR IN OUR HEARTS

We sometimes make certain decisions that we are not totally sure of and would just have to constantly pray to God for things to turn out for the good. When we have decided to do something that somehow contradicted what we have earlier planned and our decisions bring us to where we are right now and could not help but think that we could have decided otherwise and could have done exactly what we have planned to do but there are some things and issues in our life that we have to confront, live and deal with that make all the difference. Although things did not turn out the way it should have been, we find that it wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be. We always have to be grateful that we had the chance of being where we are standing right now. We just got to have the faith of Paul in his letter to the Romans that everything works for good for those who love and serve God.  This reminds me of a lady whom I met several years ago. If not for this opportunity, I wouldn’t have had known of this encouraging assurance that God has given me through her. It was all because I was showing her the petal with the image of a cherubim that I got in a healing service in Oct 2007. Most especially when instead of picturing the angel imprinted on the petal saw the outline of the map of the USA. Everything that surrounds that particular incident when I got the petal more than 5 years ago, just came back to me. I could still remember very well during that time when I got the petal that I was still discerning whether to stay here in the US or go back to the Philippines. It just connected because I consider this petal as one of the things which made me confident in deciding to stay since I felt at that time, that the angel in the petal serves as a reminder to me that I am always guarded and well taken care of and loved wherever I may be. Now it has given me a new found meaning why I got that petal at a time I was discerning to stay for it really became an indication that everything has a reason and a purpose. This is especially made obvious by this woman who instead of seeing the face of my angel saw the map of the USA. Though, she was able to figure out the face of my angel later on, it just surprised me that the first thing that she pictured from it is the USA map. With all of those things happening I told her that my spending time with her turned out for good.  Another wonderful incident in the past that I could associate with today’s 1^st reading was the time when we were praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, I suddenly had a vision of a dark cave which looks really cold and eerie. I also saw an angel holding a sickle standing at the entrance of the cave. At first I thought it was just a product of my imagination so I immediately decided to dispel it from my mind. It was at that same time or moment when a sister in the community spoke a prayer intention for the suffering souls in purgatory and those people who are trapped in darkness and sin which gave me this impression that my vision was depicting the state of those poor souls who are in dire need of prayers for the eternal repose of their souls and the souls who are in bondage and enslaved to sin. At once it gave me a feeling of unbelief that these things coincided with each other. I was so overwhelmed by it and suddenly felt tears flowed from my eyes. I had this feeling that our prayers helped these souls to finally enjoy the perpetual light of God to shine upon them and rest in peace. And as the 1^st reading for today is telling us, though darkness and thick clouds may be over and around us but the Lord continues to shine and appear in His glory that is manifested in our very own lives. The famous philosopher, Aristotle said that all men by nature desire to know. This is because we have an intelligence and we want to know why, where for and what exactly the world is all about. Curiosity is a child's natural instinct. It's how they learn. In fact, it's how we all learn. During the 1st stage of learning the child wants to know the ultimate things and asks the most unimaginable things. As adults, we still have questions. Unfortunately what we seek is the light and understanding that this mysterious world can never give. It is the light of glory that stimulates people to seek. It is the very light in redemption brought by Jesus given to all men. If no one had known about Jesus Christ, how will we be saved? The glory of the Lord appeared to the Jews, the shepherds on the night Christ was born. They were uneducated but they rushed to the stable and sought the light. The light that Aristotle sought is experienced by the Magi, the 3 wise men, the philosophers and astrologers, partially religious and scientific. They were brought to Jesus by the star through nature. It is a physical event that led them to Israel. It is where faith and reason meet. They were looking for the Messiah as foretold from of old. It led them to Bethlehem and saw the fulfillment of nature in the light that even the wise men sought. What these philosophers, wise men, the uneducated and shepherds sought on that night paved the way for faith and reason to meet. This is the true wisdom that the light of Christ filled this world with and we should be led by the star in our hearts to receive Him and transform us. Amen. Hallelujah!

Isaiah 60:1-6

1 Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory.

What the wise and the unlearned alike sought and found in the stable is the encompassing light of heaven. Herod was so afraid that Jesus will take away his earthly kingdom without realizing that He gives away the heavenly kingdom. We continue to hope and pray against all odds as days of the New Year roll by amidst all the negative speculations, we must be firm in our belief that God will make a way. The psalm reading should inspire us even more because it is a confirmation of God's abiding presence in our thoughts, feelings, sight and hearing. There are times when it is easier for us to just be angry and fight back but the psalm reading tells us otherwise. We should experience peace in the midst of all the problems and concerns that beset us knowing that we have a God who knows, hears and sees all. Jesus Christ our Lord entered into this world as a helpless little infant like we all did. Thus every single day, hour, minute and second of our life should constantly remind us that He is our Savior. We pray that as we earnestly celebrate this Christmas season the coming of the Lord who took this humbling form of an infant may we prostrate ourselves too in homage in adoration to God. We have no reason to fear knowing that we have a God who saves. No matter how difficult things may seem to be if we will just persevere in prayer then nothing can ever withhold the blessings that God has promised us. We must always develop a kind of surrender and dependence on the Lord that is total and be confident that He is our Savior. God is our stronghold and our defender. His strength and power is beyond all telling. In Him alone should we trust and depend. There is really no room for doubt and this confidence should lead us to only one resounding cry to God alone. If we allow God then we would discover and find a source of inspiration that could arouse a lot of good thoughts in our mind and heart.  A talk entitled, “Life is worth living” delivered by Bishop Fulton Sheen in EWTN served as an inspiration which we could all benefit from. He was sharing about his childhood and was describing how he used to argue with her mom whenever he was asked to run an errand at a time while he was busy playing. And her mom would always reason out, “What difference does it make if you’re running around the backyard or running an errand for me?” He said he would always end up  unable to answer her mom. It was only recently when he found the answer upon reading what Thomas Aquinas said, The difference between work and play is that, work is for a purpose while play is not. It relieves a tension. He further shared about St. John the Evangelist who was seen playing with his disciple and was questioned for his behavior. To stress his point, he asked that person to shoot arrows and asked if he loved it. The person said yes so he asked him to keep on doing the same thing non stop. But the person reasoned that he would end up tired. He was able to get his message across that when we get tired it has to be relieved by play.  He called God as the Workman and quoted this beautiful statement. “I was with the Workman playing with him all through the day.” Where does play come in when we work? Love is free without any obligation. In the divine order these 2 things go together, work and play. Greek philosopher, Plato even pictured God holding the universe with His hands playing with it. The Workman playing and swinging the world. He said that according to a famous writer, when giving a serious discourse you have to play but never completely distract the discourse. Even Shakespeare from his book “Taming of the Shrew” said, Have we any play to distract us from this terrible hour? These 2 elements work and play, tragic and comic are important in life. Why does life have a serious side? Because we have freedom which implies responsibility. We have the liberty to open doors and close others. Life is great to be alive. There’s joy in it. We get the true concept of life. Who best describes this combination of life, tragic and the comic? Comedians? Is it Jack Benny? He said he represents the victim of being the butt of the joke and the laughing stock of Billy Graham’s jokes. He depicts the tragic side of it. How about the comic? He chose Bob Hope whom he said is on top of everything. He always have something to laugh about and represents the comic side. Who depicts both sides? The clown, a man who combines within himself. He has the laugh and the tears. There is sadness in the clown but there is also humor. He said that there is no specific group who can claim the clown because  he depicts all the contradictions of human life. He could be the butt of the joke but does the same to others. Why do we like the clown? A picture of what we are. Dignified and yet we make fools of ourselves, proud and frustrated and glory in our wealth and yet impulsive. He mentioned Charlie Chaplain as an example.  A clown could be appearing in green pastures, makes us ridiculous and laugh at ourselves. Scriptures have it that God laughed, too. He laughs at the atheist, those who say God is dead. He is laughing at finite men trying to be infinite, poor man trying to be rich, and carbon copy who calls himself to be the original. The clown reveals both sides of the tragic and comic. Hedonists and pessimists. Urges us to see life as a whole. Tears and laughter. But in the end we have to really make the serious side or work side matter. As an ending statement he said, “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul? There was a commentary about Bishop Fulton Sheen and what catches my attention most is what was said of him  in relation to the  responsorial psalm which says that he is a man loved by all peoples of faith. God is constantly assuring us of His great love for us. He never fails in reminding us of His enormous and endless love that is displayed throughout the world. Which reminds me of another incident of this old lady close to my heart who confided of some plans she is considering acting upon. I was just so surprised when I found myself brave enough to advise her though she’s much older than I am to be patient about her situation and not take actions without giving it much thought and praying to God for it. I know I have said this to her several times already and still continue to remain unwavering in my position with regards to that matter but then again the choice is all up to her. I just left her with this words of wisdom that was impressed to me to say to her, that the end will never justify the means and it would always help to put God first in everything we do and He will do exactly what is stated in today’s psalm. Has there ever been a time when we look back at our past and realize what it meant to us today? It is surely good to do this and would help us better understand what path we are headed for in this life. There is a need too, to look back at our life's time line most especially during the times that we can never forget for the rest of our life, the dramatic and significant events that happened which will remain forever etched in our memories. Which reminds me again of what happened a long time ago in the Philippines when my son, Jude was still very small and we were strolling in Megamall and before I knew it Jude is gone and nowhere to be found. I guess what happened was Jude panicked when he realized that I wasn't by his side and ran outside the Alexis watch store where we both were, without realizing that I didn't really leave him and was still with him inside that small store. As a mother my first reaction should have been panic and fear but I couldn't understand why I have the calmness and peace in my heart although we were really alarmed and were already looking for him intently.  The unexplainable feeling of serenity in my heart came from the assurance from God that was playing at the back of my mind that everything will be alright. We were able to find him at once with an old couple already carrying him. There is really nothing to fear although things at the moment demand or compel us to be afraid. Instead of running outside the security of God's love when our limited or disturbed vision hinders us from seeing God, we should always seek God who is always by our side and never really leave us. We can not deny that God constantly communicates to us in many different ways. He knows our limitations and would speak to us in the language that we can comprehend. He is never amiss in reaching out to us in countless ways that we may run out of excuses not to draw near and be able to speak to God and listen to His messages. Several experiences in the past have started a devotion to always pray whenever I can for the poor souls in purgatory and the souls of my dearly departed relatives, friends and even those I have no relation whatsoever but just happened to know them briefly and in passing. Our God is infinite and powerful. He is able to make all things possible. We just have to entrust everything and everyone, let go and let God. Let us trust God’s judgment in everything and we can be rest assured that nothing is outside His Divine Will and Providence. No matter how unstable and unsecure things are in this world we can always look forward to the time that God promises us in today's psalm. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13

R: Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

...For he shall rescue the poor man when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. 13 He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save.

The unbelievable turn of events which I have shared and the several occasions which I already encountered in the past in relation to this devotion of mine to pray for the poor souls in purgatory and the faithful departed give me consolation, confidence and no more room for doubt to go on with what I have believed in and decided to do in order to help them obtain eternal life in union with God in Heaven. God wants all of us to be with Him in heaven. The kingdom of heaven is not just for a select few but for all who believe and faithfully follow our Lord Jesus Christ whether Jew or Gentile, woman or man, slave or free. These things that have been happening one after another tell us about a lot of things. I believe that throughout our lifetime we will always encounter different people and situations that will continue to unravel to us the mystery that our lives hold especially in relation to our Lord Jesus Christ. We are all aware of the fact that in this world nothing is permanent, something may hold true for now but will end up different sooner or later. Nowadays, looking at the present situation around us, people are getting confused, anxious and uncertain of what to do next. We must admit that there are moments when we are guilty of those feelings. No matter how close we are to God as some people may think, we can not deny the fact that we succumb to it, too. You know why?  We are never sure of what lies ahead of us, there's only one thing we can be sure of, Jesus. For thousands of generations past, God has been attempting to reveal Himself to mankind and trying to establish a relationship with us. From the time of Adam & Eve and Noah and dates way back to 1800 BC during the time of Abraham, Moses (1200), David (means the favored one,1000), Exodus (600) to the birth of our Lord Jesus. From this time line, significant events happened from the time of Creation when God created man who fell into sin and became unfaithful and how God continuously called us back to Him by showing us who He really is throughout the length of time. Dramatic events like the entrance of the Israelites to the promised land and the pockets of rebellion as they took over the 12 tribes. The sequence of events when they settled into a life of monarchy (kings) from their 1st king (Saul) to King David and King Solomon. The time of David as the greatest time of the people of God when the kingdom grew bigger while the time of Solomon as the time when the temple is at its best owing to the "wisdom of Solomon which was manifested in the 3000 proverbs and 1005 songs he wrote. But it was also marked by an event when the kingdom was divided due to Solomon's involvement to 1005 wives. It was a very difficult time marked by political upheaval, assassinations and adultery in the manner of the people's worship to Yahweh mixed with the pagan god, Baal. They all symbolize the covenant of God's love and relationship to man. The untiring and immense love of God for us revealed in the fullness of time through our Lord Jesus Christ. Our God is a perfect and precise God. No hit and miss and trial and error kind of thing. We would just be continuously amazed at how God speaks to us in a very specific way. God throughout time has sent emissaries, patriarchs, prophets and kings to declare His great love for us and in the fullness of time has ultimately revealed His naked love in its entirety by sending His only begotten Son Jesus who was not spared to suffer and die on the cross just to show His great love for us. When a person speaks as if he/she can never be wrong then it must have been because of his/her level of confidence. If we are so sure of something, it shows. If such is the case then we should have the highest level of confidence in Jesus for the whole world to know.

Today’s 2^nd reading reminds me of a lot of miracles and unforgettable events in my life through the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Looking back at my life's time line most especially when I first had this devotion, I can never deny and forget for the rest of my life the dramatic and significant events that happened to me. My novena to the Sacred Heart and St. Jude Thaddeus during that matter of life and death situation for my 1st born son opened up the door for miracles to happen. In a prayer meeting I attended during that time which happened to be the 9th day of my novena, the prayer leader whom I just met and did not know of my novena neither of my pregnancy nor would even suspect of it announced her vision of Jesus carrying a baby standing in the middle of our prayer circle and specifically described Him wearing the Sacred Heart attire  and said these words, "I have a message for my daughter, consecrate the baby in your womb." I have witnessed the revelation of God's great love to me in its naked and stark reality. Especially when I gave birth to Jude, my 1st born son, as proof of His undeniably awesome and unbelievable miracle when he came out normal and healthy despite my problematic pregnancy. From that day forward, God never ceased to amaze me every single turn in my life since His  sacred love is beyond comprehension. God continues to lure us back to His loving embrace. His love knows no boundary, it gets more intense, longer, higher and deeper as the days go by. Amen. Hallelujah!

Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6

2 Brothers and sisters: You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for your benefit, 3 namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation. 5 It was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6 that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. The Magi or the wise men presented Jesus with gold, frankincense and myrrh. These gifts were very prophetic for they spoke of our Lord's offices of King, Priest, and Savior. Their gifts manifest what they profess. The events and circumstances that surround the birth of Jesus are all so magnificent and amazing. We sometimes think that things just happen for the sake of nothing. If we are to look very closely at all these things we will come to a conclusion that God arranges everything in a perfect and orderly way. These 3 wise men from the East were not Jewish nor do they belong to the chosen race of God and yet they believed and sought the Messiah and King. When they responded to the presence of God in the realm of their vast and high level of knowledge and learning they opened up themselves even more to a greater intelligence that not even this world can offer in a lifetime. We just have to open ourselves to the infinity of God’s power. God manifests Himself to us in various ways that we sometimes can not even imagine. It could be in the form of dreams or a sudden or gradual realization of something through the things that are happening to us or around us. It is not enough that we stand and look at the star. The wise men were wise because they allowed themselves to be guided by the star. Today’s gospel tells us also that they were warned in a dream. They have properly used their knowledge and learning in a way to be with Jesus. We can also follow guidance of the light shining from the star in our hearts through the leading of our faith in Jesus our God that will bring us to heaven. Just like the 3 magi, we should also faithfully follow the star thar leads to Jesus and bring with us the best offering that is fitting for a King. And we must keep in mind that as we travel through life we ought to be always sensitive and wise enough to know the messages that God is sending our way whether in a form of a confirmation or a warning so as to be well guided in our journey. The gospel for today spoke also of the shepherds whom the angels appeared to and announced the birth of Jesus, our Savior. The shepherds symbolize that Christ came first to His people. Just like that woman in the well when everybody is staying in their homes and was the only one out there fetching water. It is the same thing for the shepherds who were out at midnight caring for the sheep.  These people who can be somehow considered outcast and sinners are mostly whom Jesus would reach out to. Though, He came for the whole world and for every single one of us. The reign of the Messiah extends to all nations. As demonstrated by these 3 kings who represented each and every color and race, bowed down to Jesus for they had recognized the greatness behind the baby lying in a manger. We have to acknowledge that Jesus our Savior came and redeemed us. What goes with it should be our submission and adoration to God. What stops us from adoring God is due to the fact that we want to be our own king and ruler of our lives. This Child is  King, Immortal,  Deity, God and Man capable of dying for our sins. We rejoice at this truth and though we are not Jews, the chosen race whom God first came for, we together with the Gentiles profess our faith in Him. We have to give Him homage. When we have no intention of kneeling down before the God Man then all we do are just pretenses the way Herod did in front of the 3 Kings. It’s a good thing having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way. In our hearts we should recognize the deception of the enemy and listen to the voice of God.  When we fall into the trap then we might end up in fits of rage just like Herod who ordered the killing of the innocent children. We drive Jesus out of our lives. The enemy would attempt to eliminate the light of Christ in our hearts and homes. We should always have the Lord reining over us because He came to save us all. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 2:1-12

… He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out… And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 11 and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.