Today we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. To some Filipinos it may not mean any more than a town fiesta. But it gives me a lot of great thoughts that we are celebrating this special day. Everything that is attributed to Mary points to Jesus all because she accepted the will of God to happen in her life. We, like Mary are invited too, by the Angel Gabriel to conceive Jesus in our hearts. It is by our own decision that we should answer God's call just like what Mary did. We thank Mary for her obedience. She did not disobey God like what Adam and Eve did in today's first reading. The Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs that "Genesis 3:15 is called the Protoevangelium -first gospel: the first announcement of the Messiah and Redeemer, of a battle between the serpent and the Woman, and of the final victory of a descendant of hers." Even before the time when Mary was not yet born, she can already be found in the scriptures owing to the great role entrusted to her to be the Mother of God. It is God's original plan that we live in paradise but Adam and Eve fell into sin that He immediately switched to another plan through Mary who did not frustrate God's plan in her life but instead accepted God's will in her life. We’ve got to straighten up some things about God. Who He is and what He wants for our life. What is our picture of God? It’s not surprising to know that most of us think that God doesn’t want us to have fun. It’s like all the things that we want to do with our friends that are interesting and exciting when we were young is against God’s commandments. It may seem like we have to settle for less. What’s worse is that all the faithful Catholics get less out of life. This is part of the propaganda way back in the Garden of Eden. God gave us a magnificent paradise wherein there is perfect intimacy and no shame with each other. In the Garden they have everything they need but gave just one limit, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is very interesting because God said, “Don’t do this because you will die.” The reason why God commands us something is because He is a loving Father who cares for us. He wants us to have the best. But then came the serpent, he didn’t create Adam & Eve, nor gave the garden or anything at all. All the serpent gave was a lie and told Adam & Eve not to listen to God or they’ll lose out and won’t become like God. They were made to believe that God is holding out something from them and is actually their rival because God doesn’t want them to have what He has. So instead of trusting the one who gave them everything, they trusted a stranger. They disobeyed God and listened to the liar. They were hooked into a downward spiral of destruction. This is what sin is all about. It is a trap. It is disguised as an apparent good because the fruit looks good and desirable but it ends in disaster. The relationship with God is messed up and so creation turned against them, thorns and thistles appear and things in life become hard. This is what sin does, it seemed small but it gets out of control. Things get worse and worse and there are broken lives everywhere. This is the reality about sin. Don’t allow the trick to be on us. We are draining life out of ourselves unless we recognize the one true source of Life. Amen. Hallelujah!
Genesis 3:9-15, 20
...The LORD God then asked the woman, “Why did you do such a thing?” The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.” ...
Is there any other place we would like to be other than in the loving presence of God? This, I'm sure we can and should have a straight answer without delay. No one should ever claim that they haven't heard or known about God since it is our prime duty to spread and make it known throughout the whole world. There is no denying to the truth that all of us are given the chance to know who our God is and it is also our duty and responsibility to take part in this mission of spreading the good news and make known to everyone to the best of our ability the saving power of God. We should consider each day as an opportunity to know and learn more about our God. Whether it be an ordinary or special day in our life nothing should be amiss and should be spent in giving glory to God our Savior and Master. We can never ever deny the greatness of our God even just by looking at the simplest part of God’s creation like the tiniest grain of sand to the largest ocean in the world. As in Jeremiah 5:22, “Will you not tremble before me who set the sand as limit to the sea, as an everlasting barrier it can not pass? Its waves may toss but not prevail, they may roar but can not pass beyond.” We ask ourselves how in the world can a tiny grain of sand hold the vastness of the ocean in the same way we know that we have a God whose saving power is known throughout the earth. It is our duty to ourselves to aim for the ultimate good which is the will of God in our lives. This is not something that we still have to search and look for. It is already programmed in us and made known to us by the Lord. If by any chance this is not the case especially for those people who have not heard or known about our Lord Jesus since birth then the Lord Himself knows how to deal with them in accordance to His Divine Wisdom and Mercy. For us who have been blessed and endowed with the privilege of hearing and knowing about Jesus, this is coupled with a responsibility. The principle that to those who have been given much, much is also expected, definitely applies. We have a responsibility in our hands to make known to everyone we meet about this vital truth that could spell the difference between life and death. It is always for our good to attend activities that nourish our soul. We are enlightened and inspired because of the many good things we can learn from it. Whenever we hear words of wisdom it could always help us make sense of the things happening around us even suffering. It gives a feeling of special joy and gladness in every person’s heart. If we continue to stand by the principles of God then we will come to know that there is no truth in the saying that faith is against reason. We can truly appreciate the relevance of the truth as explained by Pope John Paul II that true faith come together with true reason. It is the same thing as saying that Theology tells us that God created the world while Science tells us how God created the world. The problem is that great propaganda out there. It makes sin appear with all its fun, excitement and glamour. It makes virtue appear boring, lame, bland and unexciting. But the truth of the matter is, it’s not. The pleasures that God created in this world are enjoyed the most by those who don’t abuse them and use it simply. Who do we think enjoys food most? The person who doesn’t know how to fast and engorges all the time or a person after a fast experiences a feast? The virtuous person enjoys life the most. The person who uses creation and all things according to God’s plan enjoys it the most. It is because pleasure is God’s idea. All the good things in the world that people want are God’s idea. Satan can’t invent even one bit of pleasure. But God commands them to be used so that it leads to life and a part of life is joy. The way to enjoy life is to follow God’s commands. Life is not all about rules and regulations. God did not just give us a bunch of rules and regulations that we are supposed to obey like machines. What we do does not just proceed from who we are but also makes us who we are. The actions we engage, the words that we say and the things that we do have an impact on us. We are making ourselves all the time. The bible tells us that God created everything in 7 days what we don’t know is there is an 8th day. Each day of our life is an invitation from God to co-create with Him and could be called the 8th day and so we may say that creation did not really end on the 7th day. We, Catholics believe that God gave human beings reason although it sometimes gets darkened by sin but still human reason can figure out some things. One of the things that human beings figure out without God having to reveal it, is that human beings need to meet 4 qualities to be deemed a human being. The philosopher, before even Plato, Aristotle and Socrates, had this figured out. We find it mentioned in Wisdom 8:7, the 4 virtues or qualities are also called the hinge virtues because it is where all the other virtues or qualities of good people would hinge. The word cardinal means hinge. The Cardinals who surround the Pope are the doorway to the Pope. They are also the ones whom he rely the most for advice. Everything else depends on the cardinal virtues. (Prudence or wisdom, justice, temperance and courage or fortitude) We can also find all the cardinal virtues, like justice which means giving each person his or her due in the Book of Proverbs, Sirach, Ecclesiastes and all the wisdom literature in scriptures. We all know even as kids instinctively, how important justice is. The first thing that a kid cries out as soon as he learns how to talk if he has brothers and sisters is “Not fair, he got more than I did” or “You ask me to do more than what that person is doing.” This is because we have instinctively or natively offensive justice. Each person has rights and ought to get their due. There’s also another part of justice that we forget, that is, we have obligations and duties to everyone. A person who is unjust is not a good person. To be just, we need to control our passions. Temperance is a virtue that balances and controls our passions. It is like controlling our desire for that last piece of cake if we know that it belongs to our sister. In order to be just, we’ve got to control our appetites. Make our appetites come into line with justice, truth and goodness. We’ve got to have that balance in our life in order to be a good and effective person. Temperance makes this happen. We also have to be courageous. If we are not courageous then every time a difficulty arises we’re going to shrink back. If there’s any danger involved in doing the right, just and wise thing then we’re just going to crack out and find an excuse because we’re afraid. Courage or fortitude helps us to master fear and not let fear keep us from doing what’s right. In the same way that we want justice to prevail always since it is very frustrating when we encounter situations that are very unjust. We are reminded in today's psalm that we can all be assured of the truth that the Lord rules the earth and He rules with justice there is no doubt. We've got to take hold of the marvelous things that God has done. Nothing else matters than the truth that we are all loved by God and given the privilege of taking part in His great kingdom in heaven. God revealed to us Himself in various different ways. In the gospel of Mark: "the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God" (Mk 1:1) is summarized by the phrase - The person of Jesus, and the gospel of Luke:"The gospel of glory to God in high heaven and peace on earth to those on whom his favor rest (Lk 2:14) is summarized by the phrase - Joy to the world, while the gospel of John:"the gospel of the Word that became flesh and made his dwelling among us and we have seen his glory" (Jn 1:14) is summarized by the phrase - Eternal life then the gospel of Matthew is where all this happened to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet (Mt 1:22) and is written almost 55x in this gospel and summarized by the phrase - The Coming of the Kingdom. God's saving power is manifested in this treasury of books that have been preserved and handed to us from generation to generation. No one can deny the fact that to all God has been gracious and loving with no exception at all. God's faithful love should compel us to do the best we could ever do. There was a time when my computer got bugged down and happened to be the same time that I heard and was touched by the homily of Fr. Joseph Magdaong in the healing mass at St. Christopher where Hendrie who fixed my computer was serving as a member of the choir. It had been several years since I heard about this story of a tailor and his needle but I would never forget and always remember it especially the perfect timing and situation when I heard it. This tailor who was about to die spoke his last and they were these words, "Give me my key to heaven." At first those people who were there and heard him did not understand what he was talking about until they realized that he was asking for his needle. In the same way we must have our own keys in heaven as we try to examine ourselves and find out what is it in our life that can be compared to that needle in a tailor's life or our special talents that we can offer to God. I could still very well remember that I was on the verge of tears upon hearing that because I immediately thought of this computer that I am using to spread the word of God through my everyday reflections on the word of God that I write and share to others through e mail. I am just full of gratitude and joy in my heart for all the amazing things that God had done especially of the fact that this computer which I consider the needle in my life remained in perfect condition since that time on. There is a need for us to respond to God's call to each one of us to become channels of His blessings as His power is revealed in us. We will just run out of excuses and alibis why we should not give honor and praise to God. There is really nowhere to go but to God and that we would have to realize not sooner or later but right now and act on it. But we have to trust, hope and rely on God rather than our own power. Let's face it we sometimes rely too much on ourselves and too little on God. We are troubled about a lot of things when sometimes there's really no cause for it. There are levels of anxiety. Exaggerated anxiety and discouragement are one of the greatest obstacles to holiness. There is a level of anxiety that we just have to trust in God's Grace and Goodness. We should not disturb our inner peace not even momentarily. Life on earth is a great struggle indeed for God's Kingdom. A lot of things can bother and bring us down but we do not have to stay that way. We have to exercise our minds and wills to put our confidence in God. He is the one whom we can totally trust and depend on to save us. Our life is much about the daily revelations of God to us through all the circumstances that surround us which points to only one truth, He is victorious. Victory is surely in our hands once we've made the right move and choice. Let us take our stand and know that God's grace is sufficient for us. We will not be put to the test beyond our strength. Things are bound to get better for as long as we hold on to God's promises. Today's psalm, kind of remind me of this preaching about this wise man from the East in the Old Testament (OT), he is a prophet named Balaam and served an evil and wicked king. King Balak wanted Balaam to exact a curse upon Israel but from his mouth came forth a blessing. He prophesied in Numbers 24:15,18 that there shall come a Star out of Jacob and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel who will dispossess Edom . A star and a scepter signifies kingship. In parallel, it was also the 3 wise men in the New Testament (NT) during the time of King Herod an Edomite who were looking for a star that would direct them to the newborn King of Israel, Jesus. He is truly our King and the fulfillment of God's promise. We are all called to respond with gratitude to the Lord who has revealed His saving power to us. There is no doubt that the God of the house of Israel is still the same one true God of today. The same privilege is handed over to us as the chosen people of God , Israel
Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
R: Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds.
1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. (R) 2 The Lord has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. 3 He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel . (R) All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. 4 Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; break into song; sing praise. (R)
God created us when we came out of the womb, our mothers and fathers have a great role in that but our creation continues every single day of our lives thus we can call it the 8th day of creation. We’re even becoming someone more beautiful, mature and stronger or someone weaker and more despicable. There’s no middle ground. We’re going one way or another. Life leads either to heaven or to hell. That’s what the acts that we commit do. Virtuous acts build in us strength. The word virtue comes from the word manly which is strength and power. Virtue is a habit that makes it easy and pleasurable to do the right thing. Golden virtue isn’t always easy. It is hard. But what is vice, it is a habit that makes it easy to do the wrong and evil thing. Let’s take exercise as an example. People make it their New Year’s resolution and people who go to the gym noticed that it’s packed on January but they’re gone by the 3rd week. If we’ve ever engaged in an exercise program for the first time, we know that we feel bad, tired, exhausted and wake up sore. This is because we do not have the habit of exercise. We have not trained and our bodies are not used to it. It hurts and it’s hard the first time we work out. If we persevere past the first few weeks and developed a habit of regular exercise then we end up getting used to it and become easy that when we don’t exercise we feel bad. What happens is that we build up the power or the virtue. We’ve conditioned ourselves so that it becomes second nature to us. If we want a progressive course we need to do something hard. No pain no gain. The next time we work out we add up a little bit more since we are stronger. We can move forward and grow in our ability to lift weights. This is the deal. The actions we do have an impact of what we are. It’s like when we start lifting weights we start to change and look different. We look like someone who has strength, power and endurance. This is the point, God is about building champions. The goal of the Christian life is to build champions. Well, not necessarily athletic champions but spiritually. A real champion in every aspect of life. God wants us to be strong, loving, wise and to have the power to live. It’s not so much what we do that counts but it’s who we become. That’s what the commandments, teachings and God is all about. God's love for us is great and everlasting. Its height, depth and length can never be measured. It is only through God's revelation that we can be able to attain knowledge of God. We all pray that the eyes of our hearts be enlightened to the great inheritance that awaits us. We are the children of God and we also give ourselves to Mary and treat her as our Mother the way God willed to bring His only Son to the world. If God willed Mary to be the Mother of Jesus, who are we not to follow the example of God and subject ourselves under the care of a loving and holy mother. We are blessed to have our earthly mothers but even more blessed to be cared for by our heavenly mother. Amen. Hallelujah!
Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Brothers and sisters: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Among all of God's creation, the Blessed Virgin Mary is the best and most perfect work of God's hands. For through her cooperation with God, salvation of mankind was made possible. Mary never doubted God's mercy and goodness to carry out His plan for she trusted God more than anything else. We should always be confident in the truth that God's will in our lives will always work out for our own good. Whenever we feel afraid let us always follow the example and trusting attitude of our Blessed Mother. No matter how bothering the news or instances that are happening before us we should always maintain the same total surrender. Just like Mary who agreed to conceive and give birth to Jesus we should also openly and freely accept Jesus in our lives. We should always follow after her example of a perfect handmaid of the Lord. We are destined for the Lord just like Mary, all we have to do is follow the example she set before us from today's gospel. The example of Mary's complete obedience and trust in God should compel us to do likewise and believe in the fulfillment of God's promises in our lives no matter how impossible and difficult it may seem. During the time of Mary, she knew perfectly well the implications of her total surrender to God in agreeing to become pregnant could make her the object of ridicule and can lead to a very humiliating and life threatening situation but despite all of these she consented willingly and obediently. We, too can learn a lot from her and not miss out on the glorious reward that the Blessed Mother is bestowed now in heaven and for all generations to come. Mary was predestined to take on this special role to be Mother of God. It wasn't easy for her during that time for she was still bound by human laws which meant being stoned to death if found pregnant out of wedlock. But she thought of accepting the will of God in her life first and foremost by consenting to God's word like a handmaid would do to her Master and God. We are also invited through our daily circumstances to live out the will of God in our lives against all odds. May we also have the courage to say the words that Mary said whenever we are confronted with situations in our life that calls us to carry out God's will rather than our own. May we find in our hearts doing God's will at every moment of our life and truly make it our own, God's and our own wills as one. We all have plans in life but as the scripture in Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the decision of the Lord that endures.” Mary knew of this and though she may have other plans for her life back then already betrothed to Joseph, she did not hesitate and accepted the will of God in her life and the rest is history. It’s forever etched in the pages of the bible, every kind of reading material and most especially in the heart, mind and soul of every Christian. The greatest miracle is the birth of our Lord Jesus made possible through the obedience and cooperation of our Blessed Mother Mary. May we in our total surrender to God's will become a vessel of the birth of our own miracles. God coming to us in the form of man is a truth so great and awesome that no one can fully understand all the mysteries that surround it. Even the Blessed Mother who was favored by God and given this great privilege of giving birth to Jesus, our Savior was troubled. Because of our probing minds we tend to question a lot of things and resort to various ways in order to get a better view and understanding of things but there are times, too when all we have to do is follow the example of Mama Mary's perfect obedience to the will of God. There is only one thing we need to know, meditate and internalize daily, that God loves us this much, He suffered His only Son to become man and die on the cross for us. From this standpoint I am sure that all other things will follow. There are famous stories that are very wonderful to tell that it continue to be spoken of throughout the length of time. It has been passed on from generation to generation and never lose the awe, wonder and mystery it holds for those who come to know it. There are some that never leave our memory and continue to inspire and give us hope. It serves as a driving force that keeps us going and lifts us up when we are down and out. These stories are a source of strength and courage at times when we feel like giving up. The story of how God came to save us. This is one story that we should take personally. It should never leave our hearts, minds and memories every waking moment of our lives. It is the greatest story, living and true, ever told. On the day that the angel appeared to Mary she may have already been praying for a Savior to come. We all have been praying to God for something. Le us not doubt that God answers all our prayers in the best way possible. We should not waver or falter and have faith in God who knows our past, present and future. He can make all things beautiful in His perfect time that is for sure. There is no question to this, God is moving in power. Everything lies in the hands of God but it is in our hands to respond in the way Mary did and say this to God with all humility and trust, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” St. Anselm brilliantly captures the crucial role of Mary in our salvation history. He said, “God... is the Father of the created world and Mary the mother of the re-created world. God is the Father by whom all things were given life, and Mary the mother through whom all things were given new life. For God begot the Son, through whom all things were made, and Mary gave birth to him as the Savior of the world. Without God’s Son, nothing could exist; without Mary’s Son, nothing could be redeemed.” This is an incredible thing. It was only possible because God became man. There is an interplay between God’s grace and Mary’s free acceptance. This is what the real Catholic life is all about. This is God’s desire for us which is a fantastic calling. The power to do this is given to us by God in Jesus through Mary. Let us no longer be tricked into believing otherwise and know that just like Mary we are also called to play our part in the history of salvation the way she did. The wonderful phrase from the lips of the angel is pregnant with meaning as He announces to Mary she is full of grace. When something is full there is no room for anything else just like a glass there’s a limit to what it can hold. When the angel announced the words in the present tense by saying you are full of grace. She has no room for sin and is where the Church got its dogma that Mary is conceived without sin. The angel could have said, hail who will be full of grace. She is already filled with the grace of God, special grace from God and for God so He can do His work. God made Mary the untainted human nature and spotless. There's this painting of the Annunciation where the angel is hovering over Mary with a ray coming from his mouth to Mary’s ear. Though, this is not a literal depiction of the Incarnation but a metaphor. The angel spoke the Word of God because the angel can only speak the word of God and this painting is a beautiful depiction of what happened in the annunciation. Jesus conceived in her womb without the assistance of husband or father but with the power of the Holy Spirit. Mary hearing the Word and accepts the Word became flesh. We also hear the Word and must accept that the bread and wine in Holy Mass is transformed in the Body & Blood in the Eucharist. We celebrate this when we pray the Hail Mary which is recorded by St. Luke spoken by the angel and also taken out from the words of St. Elizabeth inspired by the Holy Spirit. This is a prayer that we should say often each day. Mary is a part of what she heard, accepted and said yes. Eve was also created holy and in innocence. Eve and Mary are two innocent women created by God. Lucifer tempted and spoke a lie to Eve. The devil starts off by telling a lie while Mary is greeted by an angelic being speaking the truth. Eve gives in to the devil's allurement. At first Eve spoke the truth when the devil said in Gen 3:1-3, "Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?" The woman answered the serpent: "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'" but Eve was allured and gave in. Mary on the other hand when greeted by the angel, instead of propping herself up like God she said I am the handmaid of the Lord and said yes and her womb became God’s dwelling place. Eve is the mother of the living while Mary is our spiritual mother. In the beginning humanity fell flat on his face when Adam & Eve sinned so we needed a Redeemer. We should remember these words in Gen 3:14, "Then the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; On your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life.” These are the words we should say to the devil every time we are tempted. Following that, is Gen 3:15, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel." We know that the woman spoken of is Mary, the New Eve, Mary crushes the serpent’s head by her Son and defeat the devil once and for all. Lucifer’s no to God made him lose heaven. God breaks into human history and becomes one of us, wanting to be like us, as true God and true Man, filled with divinity and humanity. This is a glorious day as we celebrate the Immaculate Conception and every time we pray the Hail Mary. We should say it with love and not embarrassed. When we speak of something important we say it with intention, deliberation and reverence. We ought to keep this in mind that the Hail Mary is the inspired word of God. It is a beautiful prayer and a sign of God’s love for us. It is God's poem to us to get us to participate in the plan of salvation and to motivate us to say yes. If we say no to God then we’re in trouble but if we say yes then we are saved. There’ll be suffering, even Mary who is without sin suffered the 7 sorrows. When Jesus is just a baby she was told of the sword that will pierce her heart. The sword pierced her heart when Jesus was missing for 3 days but the most intense was when He died on the cross. She had to go through sorrow and she is without sin. Do we think we are to get away scar free? How we get there is not as important what matters most is that we get there. It is God's divine will that He chose Mary to be part of the equation. Her immaculate heart keeps the heart of Jesus alive while He was in the womb. He loves us and He loves her so we say yes to Mary and be a handmaid of the Lord. She will definitely help us get to where Jesus is. We will never regret it for we are a people of the Word like Mary is. We are in the middle part of Advent and very soon we celebrate Christmas when Jesus is born, the Word made flesh. Amen. Hallelujah!
Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth , to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
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