Category: English

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord; forty days after the Christmas, bringing to its final conclusion in Luke, the story of Jesus’ birth.  Why was Jesus presented in the Temple today?  It is for two reasons.

First, to fulfill the law of the redemption of the firstborn as required in Exodus 13: 1-2; and, secondly, for the purification of Mary after the childbirth.  In the Jewish law of Leviticus 12, there is always the ritual purification of a mother after childbirth.  Our Blessed Mother, though a virgin that did not need purification, still did it.

It is this story of the fulfillment of the law in the presentation of Christ in the temple that we read in the Gospel of Luke. Today, the divine Son of God entered into the temple for the first time, fulfilling the prophecy made in Malachi that the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple.

Dearest ones, among many other things that may be said about today’s celebration, is how Jesus and his parents fulfilled the law.  Today, each of us is challenged to examine our relationship with the laws of the land.  How do we fare in our duties as citizens or residents of the U.S state?  Like in the Presentation today, each of us is reminded that our vocation as Catholics includes being a good citizen or resident of the United States.

It is important to remember that we cannot be good Catholics if we are not good citizens or residents.  Among the things that God will demand an account from us on the last day is how we bore witness to him through our obedience to the good laws of the state.  The filing of taxes, for example, is once more here upon us?  What are we doing?  Are we being honest in our filing?  In our individual prayers, do we pray for our leaders including the ones we do not like?  Are we driving without a driver’s license?  Are we driving while drunk?  Are we endangering others by reckless driving?  And so forth.

To be good citizens, our lives need always to be filled with God’s presence.  Simeon and Anna showed us good examples.  They were regular visitors to the temple.  Anna, for example, never left the temple. Dearest ones, is our every day lives filled with God’s presence?  Do we take out time for God every day?  It is important to remember that it is only when our lives are filled with God’s presence that we can transform our society.

In the second reading today, St. Paul reminds us of the importance of living in harmony.  As he said to the Corinthians, “I urge you brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that there should be no divisions among you”.  My dearest sisters and brothers, this message of St. Paul is important for every one of us in our divided America today.

Though we are not called to compromise our faith in the name of false unity or peace, the question is that faith and morals are not the only thing that divide us.  In fact, when we look inward, it will be obvious to us that many of our divisions are coming from things that has nothing to do with Christ.  It is rather being fueled by our struggle for power, prestige, wealth, pleasure and so on.  Just like the Corinthians, division came from the prestige they attached to different apostles, as if the apostles were rivals like the Memphis Tigers and Old Miss Rebels.  

Dearest ones, it is obvious that when the center of our lives is not Christ but creatures of various kinds, there will always be division since brothers and sisters will be seen as rivals.  I often see Black Fridays on television, where early shoppers try to jam others with their carts not wanting to miss out on the so-called sales.  It is important to reflect on how our consumerist culture turns human beings into instruments and enemies.

Someone sent me a quiz and asked me to ponder on it.  He asks:  Name the last five wealthiest people in the world, Heisman trophy winners, Miss America winners, Nobel or Pulitzer prize winners, and the Academy award winners for the best actors and actresses.  While these people are bests in their fields, it is likely we have forgotten them.  He gave me the second quiz, name a few teachers who aided your journey through school, three friends who helped you through a difficult time, people who made you feel appreciated and special, and so on.  I was able to do that in a split second.

He said, people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials or money or awards since applause dies, awards tarnish, achievements are forgotten, and accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.  It is, rather, people who show Christ’s love and care, searching for peace and harmony in bringing people together.  That is what each of us today is called to do.

As we begin the ordinary time of the Church, today’s readings remind us of our individual missions.  In the first reading, we saw how the servant prophet, Isaiah’s mission was chosen from the womb to show God’s glory while Paul’s in the second reading was to be an apostle.  In the gospel, John carried out his mission bearing witness to Christ, testifying that he is the Son of God.

Dearest sisters and brothers, just like Isaiah and Paul, each of us is entrusted with a mission by God from our birth.  It is to bear witness to Christ like John in individual circumstance of our lives.  Our world is like a court of law where the devil and his agents are like prosecutors, denying God’s truth, goodness, love, and mercy.

Each of us is like one of the witnesses called upon to bear testimony for the Lord before the world through our lives.  As we know, one cannot be a credible witness if one does not have firsthand knowledge of the event or the person he or she bears witness about.  If we think about Trump’s impeachment, for example, one of the arguments is that those bearing witness to his impeachment do not have first-hand knowledge of the event.

To have firsthand knowledge and experience of the Lord, each of us is invited today to find the Lord in the ordinary things of life.  That is also the meaning of ordinary time of the Church.  It is important to always remind ourselves that God is not absent from the routine of our lives but we must find him there.

One example of finding the Lord in the ordinary things of our lives is to consecrate every action of ours from the moment we get up in the morning.  Every day, when I get up, there is a prayer for the consecration to God of my whole faculties:  my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, my whole being without reserve which I pray.  Remember, when we think about our daily faults, these faculties are major culprits.  Finally, I also consecrate everyone I am going to meet in the day so that each person becomes an instrument of God’s presence for and to me.

Today, we celebrate the baptism of Our Lord which was described in the gospel of Matthew, bringing the Christmas celebration to its conclusion.  The question we need to ask today is, does Jesus actually need baptism if it is for sinners?  Why did he get baptized?  Jesus only got baptized because he wants to identify with us sinners.  He stands in solidarity with us.  Think for a moment how sinful each of us is. How we have been lured by our self-centered priorities, power and lust, blinded by our greed, prejudice, lies, anger, revenge, and so forth.

Today, our society wants to minimize the fact that we are all sinners by reminding us how good we are.  I think, for example, that famous song by Luke Bryan, “I believe most people are good and most mama’s oughta qualify for sainthood” where he further says, “ain’t nothing you should ever be ashamed of, I believe this world ain’t half as bad as it looks”.  How I wish that were true!

Without being a prophet of doom, the truth is that we are all sinners and being nice in the worldly standard does not qualify for being good before God.  St. John reminds us, “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves” (1 Jn. 1:8).  That is why today’s solemnity is a celebration of hope for us.  Jesus understands and knows that we are all sinners and that is why He identifies with us.  His grace is there to make us good and better people.  Are we ready to invite him to work in us?  Today, in his baptism, Christ’s identity is revealed to us by the voice from heaven that says, “this is my beloved Son”.

Dearest ones, remember, it is into this Christ’s identity that each of us is baptized.  We need to look at our lives now to see whether it is still true to that identity, answering the question whether our lives mirror that of Christ and whether we are another Christ to our neighbors and friends.  Can you proudly say to your friends, imitate me as I imitate Christ?  In Jesus’ answer to John, “it is fitting to fulfill all righteousness” simply means, it is good to live by God’s will doing all that he commands.  Imitation of Christ can only be done through doing his Father’s will as he did.

Today, we celebrate the solemnity of the Epiphany of Christ who came into the world to restore harmony between God and all his children.  Epiphany in a simple sense means the manifestation of Christ to the whole world, especially the gentiles.  In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah, announced the coming of the light that will guide all the nations and all the peoples.  We saw the three Magi Kings visiting, worshiping, and adoring that light who is Christ in the Gospel.

The gifts they offered to the Newborn King were gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  While gold signified the kingship of Christ, frankincense signified his divinity.  The myrrh which is the traditional herb used for the burial of the dead is a reference to Christ’s coming death.  It is that oil that Nicodemus used to anoint the body of Christ (John 19:39).  Christ is our God, our king, and the victim that will be crucified for us.

In the second reading, St. Paul reminds us that we are fortunate to be part of those to whom this revelation has been made.  In thanksgiving to God, therefore, just like the Magi, what are we going to offer to Christ today and in this New Year of 2020?  What will be our gold, frankincense, and myrrh?

The Magi Kings, after encountering Christ, went home by another road different from the one by which they came, in order to avoid Herod.  That is exactly what each of us is called to do now, especially in this new year.  That will be our gift to Christ.  There is no one who truly encounters Christ and remains the same.  Christ’s revelation to us today is supposed to lead us to take a new road avoiding the Herod of our past lives.

In King Herod, we see jealousy, anger, and envy personified.  Pompousness and pride that makes one think that he is like God and has unlimited power.  Selfishness and greed that drives one to unimaginable cruelty and all the evils one can think of.

It is from all these evils that Christ’s revelation today wants us to take a road away from so that we can be his epiphany to others and our entire world.  The hidden God wants to reveal himself to others through us.  It is only when we are free from evil that we can be translucent to allow the rays of God’s light to pass through us to others.  Remember, when your headlight glass is filled with dirt the light from bulb does not shine out.

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.  This celebration encourages us to reflect once more on the importance of family.  When we look at the Holy Family, there are many things the Lord wants us to learn from it.  The first is that family is a divine institution of a father, mother, and children.  Family is not simply a human construct where one decides the type of family one wants.  It is not a designer good that is made according to our whims.  It is not formed by a man and a man or a woman and a woman.  It is formed by a man and woman together with their children.  That is what Holy Family teaches us today.

From the Holy Family, we learn how to patiently endure the trials and sufferings of life.  In the Gospel, we see how God did not shield the Holy Family from human pain and suffering.  They had to go into exile in Egypt to escape from the murderous rage of King Herod.  Joseph and Mary carried on through all with absolute trust in God.  In our individual circumstances, we are all called to follow their example.

Many of our present families are undergoing various trials and temptations, sicknesses, misunderstanding, divorce, and other tribulations.  We are to endure all with absolute trust in our God who loves us.  As St. Paul reminds us, patience, forgiveness, and bearing with one another should be the hallmarks of our lives in our families.  Forgiveness says someone “is the oil that makes family relationships run well”.

Our families should be filled with love.  Sirach challenges children today to take care of their aging parents.  I saw a message from Blair Schoeb, the chief executive of Areawide Aging Agency in Oklahoma, who says, “it seems like the number of people who come to visit their families is decreasing” and “at some point, the loneliness is coming at you like a train coming down the tracks”.  This is a sign of the absence of love that should exist between family members.

Dearest ones, like the Holy Family, let’s try to rekindle love in our families by the way we care for each other both parents and children alike.

Today, we have all gathered to celebrate the birth of Our Lord.  The prophet Isaiah prophesied, “all the ends of the earth will behold the salvation of our God”.  The book of Hebrews tells us, “in these last days, God has spoken to us through the Son”.  John in the gospel says, “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us”.  Dearest ones, it is this Word that became flesh hat we have all come to adore.

While Christmas is the celebration of that light which John says enlightens everyone, it is important to ask ourselves, will that light shine out in my life today?  Today, we live in a world clouded in darkness of sin.  Just yesterday, for example, I read an article in New York times about an old woman from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who posted an appeal on Craigslist which says:  “Does anybody need a grandma for Christmas?  I will bring food and gifts for the kids!  I have nobody and it really hurts”.

In the responses given to her post, some were so cruel, “one asking her to go kill herself”, while another telling her, “she is a parasite hoping to prey on a generous family”.  Reading through them, I asked myself, what kind of a world do we live in today?  A world that is ruled by hate and has lost all milk of human kindness.

It is this world that Christ is born to save.  Therefore, it is important to remind ourselves that Christmas is about Christ and what God did for us and not just about ourselves and our selfish desires.  To remind me of this truth, a friend jokingly sent me what he called 3 Christmas rules:  “If you can’t afford new clothes, wear the ones you already have.  It’s Jesus’ birthday and not yours.  You mustn’t “out dress” the celebrant.”  “If you can’t afford the kind of food you want, eat what you have and move on.  If you don’t tell people what you ate, no one knows since your stomach has no “show glass.”  “If you don’t have the money to travel back to Memphis, stay where you are.  After all, Jesus wasn’t born in Memphis and it is not the appointed place for His Birthday celebration either”.

Though we may laugh over these words, they remind us that Christmas is not necessarily about us, but about God’s love for us in Christ.  The important question today is what impact will Christ’s birth make in my spiritual life besides the social joy that comes with it.  Remember, while we thankfully celebrate Christmas, we also dedicate ourselves to being the instrument of God’s presence into the life of others.

Dearest sisters and brothers, as we get closer to Christmas, the readings today call us to reflect on the meaning of this moment.  In the second reading, Paul reminds us of our primary mission here on earth. We are each called to be holy, as each of us like Paul, has received the grace to be an apostle of Christ. It is to help us fulfill this mission that Emmanuel, “God is with us”, is being born in our midst.

In the gospel, Joseph fulfilled his own life’s mission and apostolate by the way he carried on God’s will. He jettisoned his intention to divorce Mary, which, by the way, was the right thing to do under the circumstances he found himself in. Each of us, just like in Joseph’s example, is also called to fulfill our own mission in holiness.

For Joseph, his mission meant initially enduring the public shame of being betrothed to a woman who was pregnant with a child that wasn’t his.  It meant remaining faithful to the Angel’s demand despite his own agony and confusion.  It meant refusing to follow the dictates of the law about a woman conceiving outside wedlock to carry on God’s will.

All these actions we find in Joseph’s life is what holiness is all about.  It is having God as our all and all no matter what the cost may be.  As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, each of us, like Joseph, is called upon to contribute and play our role in making Christ’s presence real in our world.  We are to be part of that name Emmanuel—God is with us.  God wants to be with everyone in our world today but he wants to do it through you and me.  Are we ready to hand ourselves over to Christ who is coming to be born in the world?

We can best do that in our different states of life whether it be as a teacher, a retiree, a policeman, a sales representative, an office worker, a student, a priest, a wife, a husband, a construction worker, a cleaner, or whatever you are.  God wants you to be holy through it.

Today is Gaudete Sunday—a day we are called to rejoice! The reason for our joy is found in Jesus’ answer to John’s disciples, go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised again”. All were in fulfillment to Isaiah’s prophecy in the first reading. The time of Christ as St. Augustine says is that of fulfillment.

Dearest sisters and brothers, our time is the time of God’s fulfillment and that message of hope is important for each and every one of us.  Today, the problems and uncertainties around us are overwhelming.  If we are not careful, we may define our lives from them, spending our whole life whining and entertaining negative feelings and thoughts.  That is what God is asking us never to do.

Remember, the time of Advent is a time of joyful waiting—a time that brings us nearer to the Lord in spite of whatever we are going through.  Today, each of us need to ask himself or herself:  How is my life centered?  Is it filled with joy or sadness?

Sure, there are many reasons to be sad and yet St. James in the second reading reminds us that we should not be so.  He urges us to persevere in the face of trials.  Dearest ones, I want to tell you that the most successful secret to a joyful life is patience.  It is the virtue that helps us to put our complete trust in God who is always there, looking beyond our present ordeals.  John the Baptist showed us an example today.

While suffering in prison, he never allowed his prison ordeal to cloud his joy of welcoming the Messiah.  That was why he sent his disciples to go and inquire whether Jesus is the Messiah.  In our own individual situations, let us look beyond our present trials to God.  As someone rightly said, “when you get to the end of the rope, tie a knot in it and hang on” for God is near.

Today, we begin the first Sunday of Advent, a time we prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas, who as Isaiah tells us, shall be established as the highest mountain and all the nations shall stream toward it.

In Advent, as St. Cyril of Jerusalem says, “we do not preach only one coming of Christ, but a second as well, much more glorious than the first.  The first coming (at Christmas) was marked by patience; the second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom”.  Jesus reminds us about this second coming in the Gospel.

How are we to prepare in this Advent for both comings of the Lord at Christmas and at the end of our lives?  St. Paul tells us in the second reading to “throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light”.  Today, we are surrounded by a lot of darkness owing to our sinful actions both as individuals and as a society.

There is so much evil everywhere around us.  Just pause for one moment and think about the frequent mass shootings, abortions happening in our clinics every second, family divisions among siblings, hatred among couples leading to countless divorces, terrible child abuse by the clergy, lies and deceit by our politicians, persecutions against the people of faith, and so on and so forth.

As someone rightly noted, the darkness in our society has changed many of our today’s vocabularies; think for example, the word 911 which was a call for help now reminds us about the horrible terrorist attack as nine eleven.  The word “freedom of choice”, which should be the celebration of God’s gift of freedom, is now a code word for abortion; the word fingerprinting that is used for identity now reminds us of child abuse and so on.

Dearest brothers and sisters, it is in this darkness that envelops our lives that the coming light of Christ wants to dispel.  As Children of God, darkness and sin should have nothing to do with us.  We are created in the image and likeness of God and we were also imprinted with Christ at our baptism.  Can we allow that coming light of Christ to shine again in our hearts and, through us, upon our world?  As St. Paul urges us, let us conduct ourselves in the right way, casting away all the desires of the flesh that is contrary to the Spirit of God.