Saturday, December 29, 2007

STRENGTH OF THE FAMILY

FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY (A)
(Mt. 2:13-15; 19-23)
Dec. 30, 2008

In this festive mood of the Christmas season, we are reminded that the child who was God grew up as a member of a human family. Anyone who reads the gospel carefully will see that the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph had their share of troubles and difficulties which caused them great worry. Joseph showed a father’s courageous and protective instinct as he did his best to shield the Holy Family from hostility and from the forces of evil. When he learned in a dream of Herod’s plot to kill the baby Jesus, he quickly uprooted Mary and the Child and left that night for Egypt where they lived in exile.

The most elementary Christian community of our lives is the family into which we are born. The purpose of this feast is to show the importance and sacredness of the family as the basic unit of church life. It provides an opportunity to reflect on the quality of our home and family life, in so far as they imitate the values of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Family life is a full-time job which is not so much about parents and children living under one roof as about their hearts beating together in harmony and love. This will happen if the message of Christ in all its richness is found within its walls. Parents teach their children by word and by example and those who avoid signs of mutual affection and do not show tenderness can scarcely complain if their homes turn out to be empty of love. Such household are not families but a group of people sharing living accommodation. Almost inevitably, conflicts, tensions and misunderstanding emerge when people live in such close confines, so patience and forgiveness are virtues which need to be stressed. Neither can happiness in the home be bought by accommodating creature comforts.

No matter what age young people are, home is the place where they feel free to talk about their troubles and difficulties. Time should be spent with them not only listening to their problems but sharing their visions and dreams for the future. The present age leaves no room for complacency regarding matters of faith. Religion begins at home and parents are the first teachers of their children in the ways of faith. Handing on the faith means handing on a WAY OF LIFE. Its no use parents urging their children to pray if prayer is not part of their own adult lives. One of the great challenges facing couples is to make time and space for PRAYER in the modern family. This feast is a reminder that Jesus came on earth to make a place for each one of us in God’s family.

May our families be strong in the bonds of love and prayer and may the Holy Family guide us through in our journey of facing life’s realities.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

3rd Sunday of Advent (A)

3rd Sunday of Advent (A)
Dec. 16, 2007

CHRIST IS INDEED THE ONE!

During Advent, we wait expectantly for the coming of Christ at Christmas. We wait expectantly because we are aware of our poverty and emptiness, conditions described in the first reading from the prophet Isaiah. In a sense, the landscape of our life is sometimes like a desert when we feel terribly lonely, or like parched land when our activity is barren of the fruit of good works.

At times our eyes are blind when we fail to see the opportunities we have in our present situation. Our ears are deaf when we do not listen to God’s word or to the cry of the poor. Our hands are feeble and our knees weak when we lack the courage to meet our commitments. Sometimes we become lame and a burden on society when we can carry our own load and don’t. We become dumb when we can protest against injustice and don’t!

But we must not allow our weaknesses and failures to discourage us. Rather, they should make us desire Christ’s coming all the more. At least this is the attitude of the liturgy, and it should be ours too.

In the first reading, we are told by Isaiah: “Things are going bad, but you will see the glory of the Lord. So, be strong and fear not.” In the gospel Jesus says: “Go back and report what you hear and see. The blind recover their sight and the deaf hear. Cripples walk and dead men rise to life.”

In other words, we don’t have to stay the way we are- weak, blind or crippled. Our Savior is coming at Christmas to bring us strength, light and healing. We don’t have to look for one another. Jesus is the one who is to come. We need no other. He is our way, our truth, and our life.

Moreover, our question becomes a MISSION. Once we’ve experienced His presence and power in our lives, we are sent to share these with others. “Go back to your homes and neighborhoods and places of work,” our Lord says, “and REPORT what you have seen and heard. Tell them too that I am indeed the one who was to come, and that they need look for no other.”

Jesus came to bring the good news of the Father. When we go to our fellow, do we bring God’s good news with us?

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

2nd Sunday of Advent (A)

2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT (A)
(Mt 3: 1-12)
December 9, 2007

PREPARING OUR HEARTS FOR JESUS

Despite the looks of John the Baptist who is like a first century hippie with his long hair, rough coat and open sandals, the crowds flocked to hear him preach in stern uncompromising language as he fearlessly denounced evil whenever he found it. His words were clear and clear-cut in their simplicity. He came with a definite mission- TO ANNOUNCE TO THE PEOPLE that God’s kingdom was at their doorstep and if they wanted to enter it their present approach to life needed to be changed.

John challenged people to reform their lives, to repent of their sins and undergo a baptism of purification in the Jordan. When a group of Pharisees and Sadducees approached, he confronted their complacency and warned them not to depend upon the good name of past generations. Being a descendant of Abraham would count for nothing if good deeds were not evident in their lives. As a preacher, teacher and prophet, John pointed beyond himself and was a signpost to the coming of Christ into the world.

The call of John to repentance is an urgent invitation for us to prepare a way for the Lord to come into our hearts. And when we come right down to it, that is what Advent is all about. Preparing to celebrate Christmas means RENEWING our lives by acknowledging our need for Christ who is constantly calling us to higher things. John warns us that the greatest obstacle to the coming of Christ into our souls is SIN.

Each Advent is an opportunity for us to come closer to Christ and deepen our relationship with him through prayer and repentance. His power is at work in our lives when we make peace with the family member we have rejected, the relations we don’t speak to, the neighbors we have fallen out with, the poor we have no time for and whose plight we don’t want to know about. Breaking down these barriers will open the way for Christ to come to us and be born in our hearts this Christmas!

May we worthily celebrate Christmas no matter how humble it might be by reaching at higher things that matter most… OUR RENEWAL!