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The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)

12/25/2016

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John 1: 1-18
by: Br. George Diones

Christmas is the celebration of God becoming man.  Christ becoming man and who is born of a woman we call this Incarnation.  In incarnation it celebrates the union of the divine and the human in Jesus (Sr. Coyle).  Even before Jesus came the ‘divine indwelling’ was already present and as he came to realize that He and the divine Indwelling spirit are one (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and Jesus opened up a whole new understanding of human destiny.  Because the Word has become a reality in our world, all of the reality is touched by Christ’s presence, all of us are sacred. 
If all of us is sacred therefore no one has the right to destroy our life, no one has the right to take the life of others even the criminals and drug addicts.  But what is the reality in our country today?  Everyday there are number of peoples killed.  Killing is everywhere in our country.  Another thing, capital punishment is now on the way of reviving it.  I think as children of God and believe that every single life is important we need to show it to them.  We need to help to defend life and we should develop the culture of life not of death.  
Incarnation is God’s coming into the world as compassion.  The innermost being of God, God’s inner mystery, the magnificence and sacred identity of God – is revealed as compassion.  Jesus reveals his identity when he gives sight to the blind, gives the ability for lame to walk, preaches to the poor, heals the leper and accepts the prostitutes. These are all human hearts thirsting for God.  God is now redemptive active in human persons who embody the goodness and love of God.  We too, should have a compassionate heart to these people who are drug addicts and who are criminals.  We should not be a righteous person as if we did not commit any mistake. 
Like the lord, we bring the glory of God, the presence of God to others when we offer forgiveness, feed the hungry or care for another, when we appreciate the humanity of another person and deal with him/her with attention, devotion and reverence – when we allow our hearts to be touched by those we meet along the way, we bring the creative love and glory of God in their lives and we reveal the glory of God again and again.
What is the message to us by Incarnation?  I will mention here two points.  First, it is a call to prophecy and participation.  We are called here not as a prophet who is foretelling the future events but we are asked here to raise a prophetic voice for those who have not been allowed to be at the center of the community especially this time that we are experiencing in our country.  We are called to be the voice of these innocent people who are victims of extra judicial killings, injustices, sexism and other form of violence.  We should not be blinded by the truth. 
Second point, the message of Incarnation is a call for us to a contemplative living.  I am not saying here that we should live a contemplative life but we are called to “Contemplation.”  We need to contemplate on the situation in our society now.  Because contemplation is the direct experience of our participation in the divine life, it opens us the imagination to a new possibilities.  It has to do with hearing, feeling and doing. 
So this time, with all the happenings in our country let us ask ourselves “am I just be silent and do nothing about it or am I willing to become the voice of the voiceless and defend the defenseless.  



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Fourth Sunday of Advent

12/18/2016

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by: Rev. Fr. Rodrigue Azanmasso

     Dear brothers and sisters, imagine a sailor lost at sea, without any means, not even a compass. On this immense ocean where there is no sign, no signal but only waters, he would naturally be unable to know where are the north, the south, the east and the west, in short, he would be in a desperate situation.
     We can easily guess what a person in such a condition can strongly long for. In effect in any difficult situation, we naturally look for signs, any sign that can revive our hope. We can undoubtedly say a life given, or revival sign is a sign from God, who is the life itself; and the greatest sign of God is he himself made visible in the person of his beloved son Jesus Christ. No sign is greater than the revelation of himself that, God in his unfathomable mercy, has given us.
     In the first reading King Ahaz was troubled and frightened because the kings of Israel and Syria decided to wage war against his kingdom.  The Lord God sent the prophet Isaiah to him so as to calm him down and invite him to remain firm in his faith. But king Ahaz was unable to fully trust God despite the first intervention of Isaiah. God then asked King Ahaz to ask for a sign, since he seemed to be looking for a tangible confirmation of God’s promise. Ahaz actually has closed his mind and was no more willing to listen to the prophet’s advice. Nevertheless, the unresponsiveness of Ahaz did not prevent God to confirm through the prophet, that his promise would be fulfilled. The young woman will be pregnant and have a son who will be called Immanuel that is with us is God. Immediately, the prophecy means that a wife of Ahaz will give birth to a son who will be different from his father and will be capable of rejecting evil and choosing good; he will be a king who totally trusts God. But beyond the immediate sign, lies a more important one, the advent of the true Immanuel, which is the incarnation of the Son of God.
     Indeed, what has been announced several hundred years ago by Isaiah, is fulfilled in a young virgin, Mary of Nazareth. Let us remind that King Ahaz is from the house of David, he is a descendant of King David, and Joseph the spouse of Mary is also from the house of David. Nevertheless, the character of Joseph is different from the one of Ahaz. In effect, Joseph was troubled when he noticed that the woman he was going to marry  was pregnant, and Matthew said through the Holy Spirit. Naturally, as a human being, Joseph was certainly doubtful, nothing could allow him to believe that, the pregnancy is the work of the Holy Spirit and we can imagine how disturbed he was. He had the possibility to get rid of Mary in a brutal way, exposing her to shame and stoning. But he chose to be merciful toward her by deciding to break off secretly. Joseph’s trouble and doubt vanished with the vision of an angel of the Lord who enlightened him. What is remarkable is that, he decided to obey God’s will and through the obedience of both Mary and Joseph the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled definitely.
     Dear brothers and sisters, the sign of Immanuel is not a historic and old fashioned sign, it is a sign of the past, a historic sign, a sign of the present time and a sign of the future. In other words it is a permanent sign and it will be the same till the time, as Saint Paul said, God will be all in all. It concretely means that, the sign of Immanuel is definitely fulfilled but its full understanding is still ongoing. As it is said in the Eucharistic prayer number 4, the Holy Spirit is the agent of this, slow but sure, accompaniment to the full comprehension of the sign of Immanuel (he sent the Holy Spirit from you Father as the first fruit for those who believe, so that, bringing to perfection his work in the world, he might sanctify creation to the full). We are in the messianic time but as Saint Paul said we know that up to the present time all of creation groans with pain, like the pain of childbirth. …For it was by hope that we were saved…but if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Rm 8: 22-25).
     We pray for an advanced comprehension of the sign of Immanuel.



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Third Sunday of Advent

12/11/2016

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MT 11:2-11

by: Rev. DJ Garcia, CJM


     Today, the Third Sunday of Advent, also known as Gaudete Sunday, we are invited to “Rejoice”, to be filled with joy because the Lord’s coming is near and he is coming to save us.
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     The first reading reminds us of a beautiful promise from the prophet Isaiah — that when the God comes to save us, all the people will cry out with joy and gladness; even the earth itself will rejoice. Flowers will suddenly bloom even in the deserts. People who cannot speak will suddenly be singing a joyful song!  And In the gospel, Jesus tells John’s disciples to “Tell John what you are hearing and seeing: the blind can see, the lame can walk,… the deaf hear, the dead are brought back to life….”  This is what the presence of Jesus brings: life and joy.  

     We are invited to be filled with joy. The joy that God wants to give to each one of us. The joy of Jesus, who is “God-with-us,”. God who has come to be with us in our humanity.
 
     How can we rejoice in the midst of all our problems, our sufferings and disappointments? How can we rejoice with the injustice, hatred and violence around us?
Aware of these unpleasant realities, the Church in today’s liturgy, insists: “Rejoice, I say it again: Rejoice!” This is the message of one who believes that the entire universe is in the hands of an all-powerful and all-loving God. It is the faith from one who places his trust in a merciful God who will never abandon him. Such faith refuses to give in to discouragement and defeatism, and continues to believe in the light even in the darkest of nights.

     This is the faith the Church places in Jesus, in which she continuously invites her members to do likewise. Concomitant to this faith is placing one’s hope in Jesus. We can hope in Jesus, because God is faithful and we can be certain that he always keeps his promises.

     While we may put our happiness or even our joy in something or someone else and experience pleasure with these, we are reminded that Jesus is the source of real joy. He himself said that he came to bring us joy and that our joy may be full.
So, in this season of Advent, we need to renew our attention and focus it on Jesus, because he is the ONLY source of real joy.

     As we focus on Jesus, St. Paul exhorts us to remain steadfast in our faith and to patiently endure our trials and sufferings in the hope that Jesus will console us and redeem us from all our sadness and pain. When we get impatient with God’s timing, let us be reminded that God is in control. With such hope, we can be joyful even amidst our difficulties. Hope and joy are intimately connected, for joy is rooted in hope, and thus, a hope-filled person can be a joyful person.
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      As we go on with our busy lives and in our own struggles, we can rejoice in knowing that Jesus is with us. That God is near. To keep trusting in God and live with the assurance that Jesus came to be with us — to be with us, to save us and to make our life a happy one.   And this truth, we need to share with others, and why not also, to go out of ourselves to make life better for others. We can be God’s instruments in bringing hope and joy to one another. As we continue our preparation for Christmas, it is a wonderful time to share our happiness and joy by making life better for others. With little acts of kindness, we can make life more pleasant for those around us, and thus, be a source of hope and joy for our world. 
 


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    The following reflections are courtesy of Eudist Fathers in the Philippines with some Eudist seminarians assigned to give their sharing and reflections on Sunday readings.

    For feedback and comments, please email us, cjm.vocph@gmail.com

    Thanks and God bless you!

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