Farewell St Andrews Werribee

Thank You St Andrews!

November 15, 2009

Werribee: A Place of Nourishment

Oppurtunity

There is a strange Greek statue which has disappeared completely. But it could be reconstructed today from a stone inscription which used to be the base on which the statue stood. That inscription is a very unusual one: it makes the statue talk to you while you are reading the text.

Here is what it says:

“What is your name, O statue?”

“I am called OPPORTUNITY.”

“Who made you?”

“Lysippus.”

“Why are you standing on your toes?”

“To show how quickly I pass by.”

“Why is your hair so long on your forehead?”

“So that people may hold onto me when they meet me.”

“Why, then, is your head so bald in the back?”

“To show that when I have once passed, I cannot be caught.”

“And what is your name again?”

“OPPORTUNITY.”

St Andrews

I am very thankful to God that I have been given the OPPORTUNITY to spend the first three years of my priesthood here at St Andrew’s parish Werribee. How quickly those three years have passed? I officially started my role as Assistant Priest here at St Andrew’s on November 29, 2006. I just came back that day from a holiday trip from the Philippines. Fr Frank and Ernie Demate picked me up at Tullamarine airport at 7 o’ clock in the morning. We soon arrived in Werribee 10 minutes before 9, just enough time for me put on my vestments to say morning Mass.

It was the beginning of my beautiful journey at St Andrews – indeed it was a wonderful OPPURTUNITY – to take and to hold.

Bird’s Nest

How can I describe St Andrew’s parish? What is your role to me in the last three years?

When you go to the parish office, you will see a bird nest (like a little tiny cup) on the top left corner near the entrance door. I first noticed it when I came back from my holiday last month. I fondly observed it each day, underneath the parent birds, you can see the unfeathered baby bird peeking her head out of the nest.

Each day and night the parent birds ensured that their baby in the nest is well guarded. When they’re not around I knew that mum and dad were somewhere out there looking for food. While the lucky little bird does nothing but wait for her food supply. The little nest is her world. It’s her home; her comfort zone. It’s a place where she is fed and nourished.

Four weeks have passed, the little bird is now fully feathered in fact it has started learning how to fly. While it takes time for a young bird to become good at flying – not too long from now she has to leave its nest.

Last night, while I’m writing this Farewell Speech, I went out to check the little family, they were sleeping. I took them a picture as souvenir. I hope they didn’t mind the flash of my camera.

While a picture of a bird nest is so simple, I would like to describe St. Andrew’s parish as my “little nest”, my home, my comfort zone. Because St. Andrews is the place where I was nourished and fed for the last three years both literally and figuratively. St Andrews parish, you, built the foundational years of my priesthood. Over the past three years I have grown in experience with your help and support.

I cannot thank Fr Frank enough for his guidance, for sharing his pastoral skills, for his patience and for his friendship. I already thanked our Parish Team and Admin Team last Friday on my Rite of Passage. I thank the Parish Core Group for their vital role in backing up us priests in so many ways.

I thank our school communities – all the staff and students – for the wonderful opportunity to celebrate sacraments and social activities with you.

I thank you all for the love and care and friendship you have shown to me.

Thank you for bringing Christ to me.

Thank you for looking after Christ’s young priest in me.

Thank you for listening to my homily, or at least pretending to be awake during homily. Thank you for opening the doors of homes and doors of your fridge for me.

I learned from the last three years that priesthood is a difficult life, but, as we hear from many priests themselves, it is an intensely rewarding life. I have walked with you at the darkest hours of losing a loved one. I have joined your moments of joy at weddings and celebration of your child’s baptism, confirmation and First Communion.

Priesthood is intensely rewarding because despite our human frailty the light of Christ shines more brightly.

Italian message

I would like to say a few words now in Italian:

GRAZIE PER LE BELLE MEMORIE, SOPPORTO, INCORAGGIAMENTO CHE MI AVETE DATO IN QUESTE POCHI ANNI. IL BUON CIBO, VINO, GRAPPA, E SOPRATUTTO PER LE VOSTRE PREGHIERE AMORE E AFFETTO.

VI CHIEDO DI CONTINUARE DI PREGARE PER ME, E, IL MIO MINISTRO SACERDOTALE IO PREGHERO PER VOI NELLA CELEBRAZIONE DELLA MESSA. GRAZIE!

(Translation: Thank you for the beautiful memories, support and encouragement through the years. I loved your food, wine and grappa. Please remember me in your prayers, as I will remember you all each time I celebrate Mass. Thank you!)

Conclusion

Interestingly the Gospel reading today is about the end of the world. Everything has a beginning and end. So many things come and go in our life, in our world. But the promise given in our Scriptures is that in the end, there will always be Christ.

Like the little bird my days are now numbered, it’s now time for me to take my flight to a place not so far from here. (Maybe the Archbishop thought my wings are not yet that strong).

The wonderful OPPORTUNITY of spending my time St Andrew’s, Werribee is nearly over but wherever I may be it will always remind me of how God blessed me.

In behalf of my parents in the Philippines and myself thank you and I wish for each of you the blessing of Christ’s joy and love.

Quality vs Quantity

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

November 8, 2009
(1 Kings 17:10-16; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:24-28 Mark 12:38-44)

Trust in God results Generosity

Widow
In biblical times widows were among the poorest of the poor. A woman without a husband, in the ancient world was one who had lost everything - no source of livelihood; no money; no security; no social status; no future.

In the bible a widow stood as an example of powerlessness.

Today we heard from the First Reading and the Gospel Reading two powerless women. They were both in poor situation, yet they were both so generous because they entrusted everything to God.

The widow in the First Reading from the Book of Kings had a son who was totally dependent on her. She was down to her last handful of meal: a flour and little drop of oil. After that she and her child will starve.

Yet, she generously shared their last remaining food to Prophet Elijah, in return to her goodness God blessed her with a never-ending supply of food more than what she and son needed. Amazingly, it was in giving that she gained so much.

A widow's trusting & generous heart
In the Gospel, Jesus praises the widow’s dependence on God for giving all she had. Jesus is so thrilled that he calls his disciples onto the stage and teaches them the immensely important truth: ...this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury. She contributed more than the others, because while they gave from their surplus of wealth, she contributed all she had.

The few coins she placed in the treasury box - represent her very self, an expression of high level of sacrifice and generosity which some wealthy people were unprepared to give. She lets go of every shred of security, and committed herself wholly to God. Hence, the story is as much about trust in God as about generosity.

Message
We shall see in the bible widows also represent those poor people who despite their poverty, helplessness and oppression, place all their trust in God.

We wonder what is the source of their generosity? The answer is their generosity results from their total trust in God. Their generosity results from a deep trust that God will provide. They gave cheerfully without complaining. They gave cheerfully without sight and saying; Now I am left with nothing. They gave quietly and cheerfully.

People can be very generous to the Church. Some give money, a great deal of money. Others give their hands, their strength, their time, their energy and their loyalty. The Lord’s emphasis is not on quantity but quality. Jesus looks not on the amount of what we give but on the depth, honesty and sincerity of our hearts when we are giving.


Story of Chicken and Pig
I remember one of Aesop's fable's abut the story of chicken and a pig.

One day the chicken said to the pig, 'Hey, I've got a brilliant idea. The two of us should go into a business partnership.' 'Great,' said the pig, 'but what sort of business?' 'Oh, I don't know ... how about maybe we could try the bacon and egg business?' 'Well, that seems like a good idea, let me think about that,' said the pig. After a few moments the pig said, 'Wait a minute, though - it's okay for you to produce eggs, but for me to produce bacon I'd have to give up my life.'

There is big difference between involvement and commitment. The chicken might be involved in the partnership by laying eggs, but the pig would be somewhat has to commit his life to produce a bacon, he has to give his all. Commitment is giving your all, and it can be painfully demanding, but the reward is overwhelming!

Self-Giving
Giving is at the heart of our Christian religion. The Gospel of John says, For God so love the world that He gave us His only Son (Jn 3:16). The Second Reading, from the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus gave to the Father everything He was; He offered his life the sake of others. In the Eucharist our Lord gives us His all, his divinity and his humanity, not He gives us His Body and Blood for our spiritual and physical nourishment; Jesus also gives us as well his generous mercy, love and forgiveness.

We are called to do the same. To follow Jesus is to learn how to give generously. Let us pray that we may generous in giving with utmost sincerity and honestly.

Let us remember it’s not the quantity but the quality that counts.
The amount or size of the gift doesn't matter as much as the cost to the giver. Of course, we are not only talking about material things. Giving is not only about the money we put in the plate. We can live up generosity more than in material things. Such things are when we share our knowledge, our time, talents, love, attention, understanding and forgiveness to others.

Let us give without counting the cost. Because it is possible to give without losing. In fact, the only way of gaining is by giving.


"Lord Jesus, all that I have is yours. Take my life, my possessions, my talents, my time and all that I have. Grant me the grace I need so that I can share them with others for the greater glory of your name. Amen."

New Life Out There!

Easter 2009
April 10, 2009

New Life Out There!

Today we celebrate Easter with great solemnity because we celebrate the bodily resurrection of our Lord from the dead. Today we share the joy of our new brothers and who have been washed (body and soul) in the waters of baptism, and our brothers and sisters who are welcomed today in the Catholic Faith.

With the Psalm reading today, we proclaim with great joy, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.”

What a great moment face Easter dawn/morning, too early for most of us. We all got up early today like Mary Magdala who came to the tomb of Jesus while it was still dark.

Easter fills churches this weekend not just because it’s a happy ending to Jesus’ crucifixion and death but because it also means a new beginning of life for us. Jesus’ Resurrection is not only about Jesus but also about us, it’s about our new life in Christ.

The Resurrection of Jesus is rising to life beyond death and beyond time and space. It transcends our present earthly life – a life of eating, drinking, merry-making, power-tripping, marrying, procreating, etc. The Risen Life is the life which we are being invited to share according to God’s great promise as St Paul says, Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it dawned on the what God has prepared for those who love Him. (1 Cor 2:9)

Story of the Unborn Twins
There is a story about unborn Twins in the womb who are having a brother-sister conversation. Let us listen to them.

Sister: Do you think there is life after this?
Brother: No, no. You are imagining things again. This is all there is and this is all we need – this dark and cozy space. We only have to cling to the cord that feeds us, and we’ll be okay.

Sister: But there must be something more than this place. There has to be something else – a place with light where there is freedom to move.

(Brother is not convinced. A moment of silence)

Sister: Hey, I have something more to tell you. I believe you won’t believe that, too, but I think there is a mother.

Brother (furious): A mother? What are you talking about? I haven’t seen a mother. Have you? Who put that silly idea in your head? I told you, this place is all we have. Why do you always want more? This is not a bad place after all. So, let’s be content.

(Sister is quite upset by her brother’s attitude. Silence. Meanwhile, she starts to feel strange spasms and squeezes all over the body.)

Sister: Do you feel what I feel? These squeezes on my body are becoming more frequent and painful.

Brother: Yes, I do. What’s special about that?

Sister: Well I think these spasms are preparing us for another place more beautiful and comfortable than this where we’ll see our mother face to face. Don’t you think that’s exciting?

(Brother is silent. He is fed up with guesses and fantasies of his sister. The best thing for him to do, he says to himself, is to ignore her)

We can imagine at the end of the story the twin Sister was right. There is life outside the womb. There is light outside and there is a place where they can enjoy freedom. And yes, there is a mother. But I guess we cannot blame her twin Brother for his unbelief, after all, no fetus ever moved out of a womb, and returned to tell about the magic of sunset, beauty of creation and a mother’s kiss – outside the womb. He has no idea about life and anything outside the womb.

Struggle for Faith is Conquered by Love
Likewise, on that Easter morning, Mary Magdala and Simon Peter, both had no idea about life after death. They had no idea about Resurrection. As the Gospel says, “For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.”

When Mary discovered that the stone covering the entrance to the tomb had been rolled away, she feared that the body had been stolen and taken away. Mary ran to tell Peter and John (the "disciple whom Jesus loved," v 2), and the two disciples raced to the tomb to see for themselves.

Mary and Peter have both surrendered readily that when Jesus suffered, died and was buried, that was the end of him. In their grief, they need to find out where the body of their Lord was.

Only the “disciple whom Jesus loved” believed that Jesus is not dead, not because he saw and touched Jesus but because he loved. John, was the first one to believe that Jesus has Risen because his love to Jesus perhaps is stronger than the others.

Philosopher Gabriel Marcel once said, to say someone “I love you” is to say “You will not die”. To say “I love you” with authentic love, not spoken lightly, but spoken from the depths of one’s being is to write within oneself, “You will not die.” True love mysteriously resists despair at the loss of the love one, face to face with the evidence of death. Love, authentic love, is itself a desire for immortality; it’s a claim for eternity.

On Easter: Jesus Shows Us Newness of Life
Easter Sunday is a celebration of the newness of life, that is eternal life, we received from God, through our Lord’s Resurrection.

Easter Sunday renews our understanding of life in a world that knows so much death, physical death, spiritual and moral death. Jesus has risen from the dead to show us that human life is transformed. Jesus has risen from the dead to prove to us there is loving God, like a mother or father who cares for his or her child. Jesus has risen for the dead to tell us that life has so much to offer, if we believe in His Resurrection.

Today let us make Easter celebration not just a spiritual day trip, but let us make it a renewal of our journey with Christ in His Church, knowing that we are loved, because God loves us that He gifted us with life, and not simply life, but life eternal - not after our death, not tomorrow, but today, here and now.

May the blessing of Easter remain with us and loved ones forever and ever. Amen.




Readings: And They Shall Name Him Emmanuel by Fr C.G. Arevalo SJ; Hello Jubilee by Fr Ruben J. Villote

The Passion of God

Good Friday
April 9, 2009
The Passion of God

Good Friday is a celebration that has two fundamental truths: First of all Jesus really died. God cannot die, but Jesus was also true man and shared the fate of us all. It’s a fact that He entered human history and he died on the cross in Jerusalem nearly 2000 years ago.

What is the second basic truth of Good Friday? Not only did Jesus die young but He was murdered. Jesus was a good young man in his early thirties (just two years older than me), doing great work, teaching, healing, and forming communities. Jesus was innocently murdered on the Cross during the prime of His life!

We ask why the anniversary of such a sad and terrible event is called “good?” What “good” is there when such an innocent man killed in cold blood? It is as if we are delighted by the death of Jesus to call this day “Good Friday.” Is there really something good we have to celebrate for this grim fate of Jesus?

Pope Benedict said in his Holy Week reflection, “Christ's death recalls the mass of pain and evil weighing upon humanity in every epoch: the crushing weight of our own mortality, the hatred and violence which still bloody the earth today. The Lord's passion continues in the suffering of mankind,"

If there is anything “good” at the brutal death of Jesus, that is He did not die in vain. His death is life-giving. The first reading from the book of Isaiah tells us why of all Fridays today is called “Good Friday:” On him lies a punishment that brings us peace, and through his wounds we are healed.

Pope Benedict continued in his reflection, "If Good Friday is a day full of sadness, it is at the same time the best day on which to reawaken our faith, to strengthen our hope and the courage to carry our cross with humility and trust, abandoning ourselves to God in the certainty of His support and His victory."

Good Friday is Sacred
Today the Churches are stripped and there are no other liturgical celebrations provided until Easter vigil. The Church watches in prayer sharing the feelings of sorrowful Mary at the foot of the cross of her beloved Son.

While some people are grudging for being unable to shop, gamble or play sports today, we see Good Friday as central to our Christian faith. Today we venerate saving Cross of Jesus. We give honor to the Cross of Jesus because it gives people hope in despair, and it gives meaning to our suffering. Let us not allow consumerism to highjack Good Friday as one of the few sacred and reflective days we have remaining on our yearly calendar.

Good Friday is sacred. Today is the opportune time to recall the Passion of Christ. When we speak of the passion of Christ, what immediately come to our mind are the pains He endured, the sufferings He bore and the death that He courageously faced. As far as many of us are concerned, our immediate thought about the passion of Jesus is what was done to Him physically and emotionally – by his closed friends, by the soldiers, by the people in authority, in religion and government.

Jesus’ Passion
Yet, there is another passion we must think of today, it’s the strong “passion” of Jesus to obey the will of the Father. Jesus had a strong passion to give His life for us; He had a strong passion to show the human face of God to us.

The Pope explained in his Holy Week reflection how Jesus did not wish to use the fact of His being God, His glorious dignity and His power, as an instrument of triumph and a sign of distance. Out of love for us, "He wished to 'empty Himself' and become our brother. For love, He shared our condition, the condition of all men and women. On the contrary, 'he emptied himself' assuming our miserable and weak human condition."

Whenever we are tempted to doubt, or when we feel weighed down, or worried that God will be too strict, or wonder whether God will ever forgive us, the image of Jesus on the Cross should remind us God’s passionate love for us.

Questions
As we reflect on Jesus’ passion today, let us ask ourselves these questions: First, do we still have our passion for God? Do we still have our passion for the good, for the holy and for morality? Are we now turning cold? Are we still on fire with love to serve and to live according to the teachings of the Church? Do we still have that passion in our life? If we say yes, do we have enough proof to show this in our parish community?

If today we realise that what cold fools we have become, it is not time to retreat and feel rejected. It is definitely not the time to walk away ashamed of our lukewarm hearts and hard consciences. But Good Friday is the time we humbly bring our nothingness to Jesus. That is why Jesus came. That is why He suffered and died. That is the reason for the Passion.

He is at the Cross with arms outstretched waiting for any of us whose hearts have turned cold, numb, hesitant or afraid to come back. All we need to do is to come back to Him with all our hearts, with no fear of rebuke. Remember, he has a passion for the wounded, he has a passion for the sick in mind and body and yes, the lukewarm.

Let us use this opportunity this Good Friday to rekindle in our hearts our passion of love for the Lord. As we come to venerate the Cross, we will offer to our Lord our secret sufferings, and let us imagine how much we are loved by God, how much God wants to give Himself to us in love.

And finally, if you want to follow Jesus and be like him, and like the Father before him, you too, must have this passion to give yourself away. Remembering his own words, "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”





Reading: Jesus Our Light by Bishop Socrates Villegas pp 124-126

Remembering the Last Supper

The Lord’s Supper 2008
St. Andrew’s Parish
April 9, 2007, 7:30pm

Welcome to the beginning of the Easter Triduum. On this evening of Holy Thursday we enter into a somber and dramatic atmosphere of the final days of our Lord, filled with the remembrance of his passion, death and his glorious resurrection on Easter Day.

There are three principal mysteries we solemnly commemorate on this evening Mass of Holy Thursday: First is the institution of the Holy Eucharist; Secondly, the institution of the ministerial priesthood; and lastly, the New commandment of Christ to love one another.

The Eucharist
The first reading from the book of Exodus and the second reading from the letter of St Paul to the Corinthians are linked together to illustrate for us how our Lord transformed the Jewish Passover Meal into his own Paschal Sacrifice, (and the Eucharistic celebration as we have today).

The first reading narrates that the blood of the animal marked outside the door post of the houses of the Chosen People saved their first born sons from the plague of death. In the second reading, St Paul shows us that through the coming of Jesus, we were also saved from the plague of death, not through the blood of an animal but through His very own flesh and blood.

Until the Lord comes, St Paul says, therefore, every time you eat this bread of Life and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.

The Eucharist therefore gives us assurance that our Lord will never abandon us. The celebration of the Mass is a celebration of His loving presence and divine security.

Our Lord’s body and blood is our food for the soul, so that as long as we live, his body and blood is the source of our comfort and strength.

So tonight let us deepen our love and devotion to the Eucharist. Let us not take the celebration of the Mass for granted.

The Priesthood
After our Lord instituted the Eucharist, he then followed by the institution of the priesthood with his command, Do this in memory of me.

The priests as ministers of the Sacraments and the Eucharist, are called to represent Christ in the community. They act in persona Christi to keep the command of Jesus fulfilled for you, the people of God, so that the presence of Christ’s paschal mystery pervades in your daily lives today and until the end of time.

Priests are ordinary people, human and weak, chosen to perform extra-ordinary works.

The priesthood is a difficult life. It is no joke to live a good priesthood… Sometimes priests have to hide from people their tears under a whitened made-up face because they do not wish to add to their flock’s burden. They have to dance and jump at their beck and call, even if their legs feel broken and bruised.

After each busy day in the church, the priest goes to his room alone, fondly remembering the children who can’t be his own. He returns to his room, alone, with no one to listen to his happy story, with no one to whom to bare his aching soul.

The priest’s life is way of the cross. It is the duty of the priests to pray for the people and to sacrifice for them. Priests are called to imitate Jesus, to love Jesus and to share Jesus.

So this evening please pray for us priests that we may always be faithful to Jesus, that we may always be faithful messengers of his love, courageous enough to carry our crosses, and joyful enough to bring God’s hope.

Commandment of Love
Lastly this evening we call to mind the new commandment of Christ, to love one another as He loves us. This love is much deeper than feeling or emotion, but it’s a kind of love that can bear trials, endure sacrifices, and face the horror of death.

In the Gospel, Jesus demonstrated a unique picture of love and humility — he stoops down to wash his disciples' feet. His purpose wasn't to clean up their feet; but his purpose was to give us a genuine example what our relationships should be as brothers and sisters.

He washed his disciples’ feet to remind us of his undying affection and a silent plea for us to do the same for each other. We are called to love and take care of one another, as he loves and takes care of us.

If God so humbled himself, how much more us? If really want to welcome Jesus in our life, we are required to imitate him, we must wash one another’s feet, serve one another, and revere His divine presence in every person.

Conclusion
Let us pray tonight as we celebrate the Last Supper, we may not only relive the memory of our Lord’s paschal mystery but sincerely bring its true message in our actions.

We thank the Lord for the Eucharist that sustains us.

We thank the Lord for the priesthood.

We thank the Lord showing us how to love genuinely.

Amen.





Readings: Jesus Our Light by Bishop Socrates Villegas pp 73-74

Forgiveness of God

St Andrew’s Parish Werribee
Penitential Service
April 7, 2009

Forgiveness of God

A missionary priest on one of the Pacific Islands was surprised one day to see a woman enter his hut carrying a handful of sand, which was still dripping water.
“Do you know what this is Father?” she asked.
“It looks like sand,” replied the priest.
“Do you know why I brought it here?” she asked.
“No, I can’t imagine why?” the priest answered.
“Well, Father, these are my sins,” the woman explained, “my sins which are as countless as the sands of the sea. How can I ever obtain forgiveness for all of them?”
“You got that sand down by the shore, did you not?” said the missionary. “Well, take it back there and pile up a heaping mound of sand. Then sit back and watch the waves come in and wash the pile slowly but surely and completely away. That is how God’s forgiveness works. His mercy is as big as the ocean. Be truly sorry and the Lord will forgive.”

Dear brothers and sisters, we are gathered here this evening for two reasons, first we remember our sins. Our sins may be as countless as the sands of the sea, we remember them all; we feel sorry for them all.

{In remembering our sins, we take time to ask ourselves: What have I done for God in my life? And what am I doing the rest of my life? Am I living a life pleasing to God? Am I making a difference?}

Secondly, and most importantly, we are gathered here this evening because we remember that we have a God, who is forgiving and merciful. We remember that the measure of his forgiveness is beyond measure, his forgiveness is far beyond our imagination, greater than the ocean.

And as we remember God’s forgiveness, we desire for it, we must long for it.

The Psalm reading invites us to want God’s forgiveness, to desire for his mercy more than we desire for gold.

Let us now gently lay down our sins and all our guilt feelings, let us allow our Good Lord to completely wash them away, to purify us, and make us a new and holy people.

Take Control of Our Life Lord

Palm Sunday 2009
April 5, 2009
Mass Homily

Today, Palm Sunday, we come together to begin a solemn celebration of Holy Week in union with millions of Christians throughout the world as we commemorate the Entrance of our Lord into his own city, Jerusalem, to finally complete his work as our Messiah: to suffer, to die, and to rise again.

We remember the adoring crowds raising palms and shouting “Hossana” as Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem.

We remember before the week is out, the stirring welcome wears off; cheers turn to jeers; the sheltering palms into scourging at the pillar and the hosannas into a heart-piercing “Crucify him!”

A Close encounter
The Mass today is unique compared to all Masses, we have a long narration of the Passion Narrative from St. Mark Gospel.

The Gospel reading is intended not merely to narrate what happened 2,000 years ago but it is being proclaimed in Churches all over the world today for us to remember the good news of salvation in our own present time and the good of salvation in our present situation.

What is the good news of our salvation? It’s no other than God loves us! God loves us more than our imagination.

The Holy week which we begin today is the great time for remembering. We remember how much He loved us. We remember especially on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Black Saturday, and Easter Sunday that we were saved with much pain, and at a great price.

Yes, more than anything else, we remember we are loved so much.

St. Paul
In the Second Reading, St Paul spells it out very clearly our Lord’s utmost love for us:

….though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave…he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

St Paul is also invites us to bend our knee before Him…to glorify the name of Jesus…to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord… What does he mean? Perhaps it’s another way of telling us to always remember, never forget, how Jesus he loves us so much…

An Altar Server asked me this morning, “Father, why the statues were all covered today?” I said to her, “It’s because Holy Week is a time when we focus to Jesus alone!” To make sure I said the right answer I asked Fr Frank, for the first time I was right! :)

Like fasting we try to discipline our mind and hearts for Jesus alone. Without Jesus everything will be out of control.

There will times in our life when we seem to be out of control!

Philippines
• My mother’s 60th birthday – many invited guests didn't send RSVPs. Those who were invited and attended the party carried along with them some friends who were not invited!
• We went to an Boracay island – 4 kilometers of white sand beach and crystal clear waters. Our joys were out of control! It was great experience!
• My timetable in the Philippines was out of my control, I was invited to give speeches and hand in awards at graduation ceremonies, bless houses...
• Visited the mother of my closest friend who is suffering leukemia.
• Anointed some people who were seriously sick without medication because of poverty...
• Highschool reunion – we started at 6pm we finished at past midnite. We shared our personal stories sad and joysful.. For some broken marriages and relationship were beyond their control.

When it seems what’s happening around us to be out of control, maybe it’s time to give Jesus a chance to control us!

Conclusion
This Holy Week we let Jesus control of us -- our mind, our hearts, our whole being. We remember that whether we are healthy, rich, happy or not, whether we ended up in broken relationships He left us a mission to accomplish.

Our mission is to remind everyone that there is a God, a God who loves us, and that there is hope.

Let us always remember that Jesus knows our own suffering, the burdens we bear, our depression, conflict in our family, health problem and all other conflict we carry within us.

Finally, during this Holy Week we remember that it is not enough to remember.

Our remembering should lead us to transformation, our remembering should lead us to become better persons, to be good Catholics, holy members of the body of Christ.

In other words, we remember and renew our love for God and for us His people.

Remembering is going back from past in order that we can go forward once more, with great love and devotion!

With all this in mind and heart we are ready for Holy Week.

Wedding in Tasmania

Michelle and Toby Wedding Homily

St Canice Church, Sandy Bay, Tasmania
January 3, 2009

Personal delight
Performing this wedding ceremony for Michelle and Toby is not a pastoral duty for me as a priest but a personal delight. It’s my great honour to be invited here to witness the fulfillment of Michelle and Toby’s dreams to become one in marriage before the altar of God and before their loved ones.

Of course, it’s always a delight for me to travel for free! Thanks for paying my airfare!

Thank you for bringing us all here on this beautiful island of Tasmania. This is my second time here in Tassie and until now I’m still hoping to see a Tasmanian Devil whirling around and devouring everything like in cartoons.

Thank you for providing me a nice accommodation through the hospitality of Fr Michael Tate, your parish priest. On my first night at the presbytery I saw the glimpse of heaven because when I looked outside the window I saw McDonald’s just across the road!

Thank you for your warm welcome and friendship when I visited you in two occasions in Sydney.

Could I also take this opportunity to thank you for flying to the Philippines to attend my thanksgiving Mass just after I was ordained priest in 2006.

Design for eternity
So today, dear friends, 3rd day of year 2009, in this beautiful church of St. Canice, today will be marked as the most remembered day in the lives of Michelle and Toby as they enter to a permanent, exclusive and sacred union through the Sacrament of Matrimony.

Today is not only my first wedding for year 2009 but it’s also my first time to celebrate a wedding of two actors. And I already feel like a Hollywood celebrity here!

Michelle and Toby, you are dressed beautifully today, just like those fairytales we learned in school where the next line after the wedding was always, ‘and they lived happily ever after.’ And we hope today you will be just as happy tomorrow as today.

You are dressed so beautifully today for this sacred union and next day like all of us, you will dress more casually, but the wedding vows you are proclaiming publicly in a few moments, will become part of you for the rest of your lives.

Your wedding ceremony lasts only for an hour, but its effect, its sacramental grace is designed by God for you until your last breath.

First Meeting
It was in 2003 when Michelle and Toby first met at “drama school” at NIDA in Sydney. It was in a class where their friendship started which later on flourished into a loving relationship, and this brought us here today.
In Toby’s own words he said, “We spent a lot of time together in class, and I will always remember those moments in Voice where we would all stand in a circle doing vocal exercises and she would catch me looking at her and we would share a smile. By mid way through first year, the situation had become unbearable. I had to tell her how I felt about her or I would regret it for the rest of my life.”

Here’s what Michelle said in my exclusive interview, “At first we were just colleagues and friends, but then we discovered that we shared many interests, had the same sense of humour and I discovered that he was a loving, kind, giving and intelligent person…Toby is my college sweetheart”

The School of Marriage
Michelle and Toby, you first met each other at “drama school” where you learned together the art of acting and singing. Starting today whether you like it or not you are going back to school again together, not at “drama school,” this time to the “school of Marriage.”

At drama school you became familiar to the important role of a Stage Director. Stage Director ensures the quality and completeness of theatre production and to lead the whole team to achieve their artistic vision for it. Stage Director occupies different places of authority and responsibility, but his or her main job as Director is of course to give direction.

Michelle and Toby at the “school of Marriage” you need a Good Director. There will be moments in your lives as husband and wife when you need to seek guidance and advice. The script lines your Good Director asks you to memorize and live out starting today is all about love, unconditional love. The Good Lord, your Good Director, showed His sacrificial love until the last drop of his blood on the Cross. He said to his followers and now to you, “love as I have loved you.” Let His Love, let His Holy Scripture be your constant light and inspiration.

GPS
Michelle and Toby you will begin your journey today as married couple. Every life’s journey has its ups and downs, you will pass winding roads and you will climb high slopes and deep valleys. So you will need to carry with you a GPS. But this GPS doesn’t stand for Global Positioning System, rather this GPS stands for us Christians as God Providing Security.

Allow Jesus to guide you and direct you. Jesus will be your GPS – God Providing Security personified, anytime and anywhere, with Him you will never get lost.

I am sure you are both excited to work hard for the welfare of your marriage and for your future children. But always remember the best security that you can provide to each other is God. Only God and not material things, who can provide you love, joy and peace. Only God and not popularity, who can bring you unity, faithfulness, understanding and all the good things you dream about for each other. Take advantage of the tools the Church gives us: namely the sacraments. Like your own parents, live a good sacramental life, go to Mass every Sunday and set the example for your future children.

Michelle and Toby it is our deepest prayer for you today that through the grace of God, through the Holy Spirit, you will fulfill God’s divine plan for every husband and wife according to the beautiful of words of Jesus today: “So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must divide.”

in search for justice

I read this story only today, apparently it has been spreading in the blogsphere since after Christmas last year.

"So, I just had the worst day of my life.

At around 1:30 PM today, at Valley Golf and Country Club, Antipolo City, Mayor Nasser Pangandaman, Jr., Mayor of Masiu City, Lanao del Sur, his father, Secretary Nasser Pangandaman of the Department of Agrarian Reform, and company, beat my defenseless 56-year-old dad and my 14-year-old brother to a pulp because of some stupid misunderstanding on the golf course.

read the whole story

Happy New Year!

Yehey! Maligo tayo sa Bagong Taon! :)

GPS

Feast of the Holy Family
Luke 2:22-35
December 28, 2009

Melway 2009 Edition
I hope we are all happy with the Christmas gifts we received from our loved ones.

On Boxing Day I went to Big W to buy myself a Christmas gift I really wanted. I bought myself the latest edition of Melway (map). On the second page of the book there was an insert advertising Navway. It's an electronic device known as navigator which is far better than the Melway I just bought for 32 bucks!

GPS
Like all other types of navigator Navway is using GPS which stands for Global Positioning System. Using GPS you can travel anywhere in the city or far countryside, with it you will never get lost. Let’s say I would like to go to my uncle’s house in Scoresby, I will just type the place of my location (Werribee) and then to my uncle’s address in Scoresby. After few seconds you will receive instructions: go straight, turn right, turn left…somebody will guide you. It will also tell the distance of your travel and will calculate your driving time! Supposing you get confused and you didn’t follow the instruction you turn left rather than right. Don’t panic. There is what you call recalculation. GPS will give new instructions. Just follow me and you will reach your destination. That’s Global Position System. You will never get lost.

GPS - God Provides Security
In our life as Christians we also have GPS, who will call God – God Provides Security.

All of us have a special place in God’s heart. When you get lost or stray God will find you like a Good Shepherd to his flock. When you lost meaning in life, He will fill you. When you sinned, He will forgive you. So with God, with Jesus Christ, becoming man, we have GPS – God Providing Security.

In the midst of our insecurity because of the problems around the world and our society we find our security in God. We have an amazing God, a God who loves us not because we are good but because he just wants to share His life with us.

In sharing His life with us He humbled himself and entered our human family. In the words of Pope Benedict XVI’s in his Christmas eve homily he said, God dwells on high, yet he stoops down to us!... God's stooping down became real in a way previously inconceivable. He stoops down: he himself comes down as a child to the lowly stable, the symbol of all humanity's neediness and forsakenness. God truly comes down. He becomes a child and puts himself in the state of complete dependence typical of a newborn child. The Creator who holds all things in his hands, on whom we all depend, makes himself small and in need of human love.

Today’s feast of the Holy Family Sunday is an opportunity for us to reflect first all on God’s greatest act of love in becoming human and becoming part of our human family, to give us security. Jesus is God Providing Security personified.

Secondly, today’s feast makes us look to the Holy Family – of Joseph, Mary and Jesus – as the model of every human family.

It is more important than ever that we look toward the Holy Family as a true model of family life to be imitated.

In our current society the institution of the family is under attack. There are forces in the world constantly at work to destroy the traditional and biblical understanding of what it means to be family. These people would like to remake the family according to their image rather than Gods.

We see it constantly in the attacks to redefine marriage as being something other than between a man and a woman and God. Marriage as an institution belongs to God and is only between a man and a woman and God. It is a sacred relationship that no one or even the state has a right to redefine for the sake of personal gratification. Every child being born has the right to live in family rooted in natural law, cared by mum and dad.

If our image of the family is distorted then our image of God will be distorted. If our image of family relationships is distorted then our understanding of our relationship with God will be as well. This is one reason God gives us a model to look to in the Holy Family of Nazareth.

Importance of Family
The family is the basic building block of society. Our family performed a vital role in what we are now today. It is where we first experience relationship. It is where we learned values, good manners and even our basic hygiene.

Most of all, it is in the family where we were first taught about God. It is here in the family where we first saw the image of God. Our family is our first church, where we learn the virtues we heard in our second reading: compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another.

The family, is the first Christian community to which we belong, is really the testing-ground for how deep our relationship really is.


Today, we lift all our families to the Lord in prayer to ask for healing, grace and strength because family life is not easy today.

As we come to the end of the calendar year and make plans for next year, let us take priority our family’s spiritual well-being.

Every family must take advantage of the tools the Church gives us: namely the sacraments.

Parents must live a good sacramental life and set the example for their children. Parents must take their family to Mass together as a family every Sunday even when during on vacation. Parents must take their children to confession together as a family.

Conclusion
Every parent will do their best to provide security to their children. Mum and Dad work hard for their children future. But the best security that anyone can provide to his or her loved ones is God.

Only God can provide us love, joy, peace, unity and blessings all the good things we dream about for our family. God will give us these if we but trust Him, if we walk with Him, if welcome Him in our family. Only God can provide security to our families.

Let us be thankful that amidst the chaos around us we have our GPS – God Providing Security.






GPS heard from Bishop Honesto Ongtioco, bishop of Cubao; readings Captured Fire by Joseph Krempa

Quits lang

Ako: Hello Ina, Merry Christmas!
Ina: Malungkot Pasko... Kaming dalawa lang ng Ama mo dito sa bahay.
Ako: Ganun ba?
Ina: Wala man lang kaming anak dito (hikbi).
Ako: Pareho lang tayo, ako nga nag-iisa dito ngayon e, at wala din anak!
Ina: hehe.

Good News

Christmas Midnight Mass 2008 Homily
Is 9:1-7; Ps 96:1-9-3, 11-13; Tit 2:11-14; Lk 2:1-14
December 24, 2008

Good News

One evening a father came home from a tough day at work. His wife opened the door with a big smile and kissed him, “You looked so tired?” Husband said, “You’re right I am very tired and I’ve had a really bad day. So, please, if you have a bad news tonight keep it to yourself.”

To which she replied, “Okay, I promise no bad news hon; only good news.”

So, what’s the good news then dear?

“Remember we have four children?” she said.

“What’s the good news about our four children? he said.

“Well, the good news is three of them didn’t break an arm today.


Good news
Good news. We all want to hear good news. We are all sick of bad news we hear and read everyday. We are all sick hearing the same old news about violence, terrorist attacks, murder, rape, and so on. We are all upset and terrified hearing sad news about the rising death toll in our country due to road accidents. Our hearts break every time we hear the news about people committing suicide, broken marriages, killings of unborn babies, etc.

We all feel betrayed hearing news about scandals committed by our government and community leaders, and sadly even our leaders in the church.

We are all scared about the worsening effect of global warming to our environment.

I think we have enough bad news. Nowadays, people are desperate to hear only good news.

We want real good news. Based from our own experience it’s always beautiful to hear only good news. Good news is always beautiful news.

Good News in human experience
For instance, what a comfort for a mother to hear the doctor saying her first born child is healthy. That’s good news.

What a relief for someone to hear that a friend survived a serious car accident. That’s good news.

What a great delight for the VCE students this year seeing their names amongst the top-passers list.

What a great news for a parishioner to hear she won the brand new car from our parish fair draw.

Remember the first time you received an award in primary school? It’s was good news not only to you but most of all to your proud mum and dad.

Remember when your boyfriend proposed to you after long years of waiting? That’s good news.

And what a great joy for a newly ordained priest, 2 years ago, that he would be assigned to a lovely parish of St Andrew’s, Werribee?

We always want to hear good news. For this reason we always celebrate after hearing a good news.

Mother of all Good News
Tonight we are gathered here in this church celebrating along with millions of our brothers and sisters in faith around the world the Good News, the Good News of all Good News, the Mother of all Good News, proclaimed by an Angel to humanity 2008 years ago.

“I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.”

Today we celebrate the Good News of our salvation: the Birthday of Jesus!

The Good News that people from of old been waiting for long time has finally come: Jesus Christ the Lord is born.

What is greater news than hearing because of God’s great Love to each of us, through Jesus, He came down to our level, to reach us He embraced the fragility of human life?

What is greater news than to hear God, through Jesus, became all things like us except sin, to comfort our longing, to fill our emptiness, to give us direction and to bring us salvation?

So tonight is the most appropriate time to sing out loud, to announce glad tidings, along with the choir of angels, “A Savior has been born to us, Christ our Lord.”

Through Jesus, God is no longer far from us, He now belongs to all the nations and His bare arm is for all. God is now accessible to us, for God is with-us, here present lying peaceful in peace in a manger.

What a great news to hear that we are not alone. What a good News to hear God is with us.

This what makes Christmas, always a Good News.

Everyone is a Winner
In every Christmas celebration, everyone is a winner!

For Children: Christmas is always about making people happy specially our children. Today they will receive many gifts and toys. For sure they will remember your love to them.

For parents, grandparents, and for every family – Christmas is a family reunion

For the elderly, the lonely, and the orphans – Christmas is the time when people from different group or church denomination visit and entertain them. People go to nursing homes to sing Christmas carols.

For us Priests – Christmas is a always great time not only because we receive gifts from parishioners but also it’s a good consolation for us priests, (special for a parish priest), to see our church so filled with so many worshipers on Christmas eve and Christmas day. Suddenly our church attendance is tripled in number!

For Business people - Christmas is certainly good news for business people. I am sure the manufacturer of Dora the Explorer is celebrating today!

For non-Christians - Christmas is good even for non-Christians because it’s holiday. It’s good for shift-workers, they get paid doubled!

On Christmas day we all receive gifts. No one is left out. Everyone is a winner!

After Christmas?
What then happens after Christmas?

Because today/tonight we heard the Good News, that God became human like us, after Christmas we can be agents of God in this world. Because through Jesus, God revealed his dignity, the peace, and his the majesty in this world, after Christmas we can be His angels in disguise, we can be His messengers, His instruments in our world, to share what we’ve seen.

Because God-is-with-us, not above us, after Christmas we can share God’s life with others.

After Christmas, we can be Shepherds who lead other people to Jesus.
After Christmas, we can be Shining Stars to others who bring joy to the lonely.
After Christmas, we can be Mary and Joseph who value family life.
After Christmas, we can always Santa Claus, generous not only with materials gifts, but generous in understanding and forgiveness.

If only after Christmas, we still carry in our hearts the great joy of the Good News we hear today, then, everyday will be Christmas. Then, every day people will hear only good news. No bad news. What a great headline news it would be.

In this Mass and after this Mass let us celebrate and together with the choirs of angels, let us cried out with great joy the Good of News of salvation, as we say: “Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth.”

Pasko na.

Eksena: Dumating si Santa Claus sa kalagitnaan ng kasayahan. Tuwang-tuwa ang mga bata sa party, sabay sabay na nagsigawan ng makita si Santa Claus (parang mga bata). Nakakatuwa halatang Pinoy si Santa Claus. Ang dami nyang inihagis na mga candies at chocolates mula sa kanyang pulang bag. Pagkatapos ay tinipon ni Santa Claus ang mga bata. Habang nakaupo at nakabilog sa harap ni Santa nagtiyaga ang mga bata na makatanggap ng regalo bukod sa napakaraming kending ipinarabol sa kanila. Pero dahil sa 'di inaasahang bilang nila nagkulang ang regalo ni Santa Claus. Umiyak tuloy ilang bata na di nakatanggap (parang mga bata). Ngunit ganun pa man masarap pa din maging bata tuwing Pasko

Christian Joy

Gaudete Sunday

December 13-14, 2008

Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11; Luke 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28

Christian Joy

Gaudete Sunday goes back to the old time when Advent was a period of deep penance and fasting. The priest used to wear vestments with the penitential color of purple or violet. In order to remind the people that Advent is a preparation for the very joyful occasion of the birth of Jesus, the priest wore “rose” vestments on the third Sunday Advent.

We have a similar break during middle of the Lenten season – Laetare Sunday - when the priest also wears “rose” vestments.

Rose or pink is not just for girls, and it is not just a pretty color. Its lovely color also indicates deep joy. This is common theme running through today’s readings - deep joy and hope as we wait and prepare for the rebirth of Jesus in our hearts and lives.

The first reading tells us that we should rejoice because the promised messiah is coming as our savior and liberator, saving us by liberating us from our bondages.

The Psalm is taken from Mary's “Magnificat,” in which she exclaims: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit finds joy in God my savior.

St. Paul in the second reading advises us to “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances (be joyful) give thanks” for this is the will of God for all of us who love Jesus.

Today’s gospel tells us that John the Baptist came as a witness to testify to the Light. His purpose is to lead us to Jesus, the Light of the world. John the Baptist is pointing us that Jesus is the only source of our joy. Joy that lasts forever.

Advent Preparation
On this Gaudete Sunday, we are now halfway in our Advent journey toward Christmas, we need to stop and reflect. We need to ask ourselves today honestly, how do you feel this Sunday? Is the nearness of Christmas causes you some deep joy in your life? Are you too busy that you didn’t have the time to even think about it?

In our culture today, Advent is spent is sending Xmas cards, buying presents, attending year-end parties and then, the day after Christmas, its all over. The Christmas carols disappear and immediately we shift our attention to the coming New Year.

As we come closer to Christmas with the hard times and busyness we are experiencing now, let us remember that the first Christmas was poor and simple.

We need to rememeber that Advent season was traditionally a quiet, somber, deeply prayerful time of the Church. It was a time for a spiritual preparation for Christmas.

Our remaining days before Christmas must be a time of revival and renewal of our faith, thus a time of re-discovering our deep joy.

The Rose candle is that is now shining before us beautifully is not only a decoration. Its symbolism strongly challenges us to ask ourselves: What is the source of your joy? Is there joy in your life? Are you still searching for joy and peace?

Joy vs Happiness
Have you ever wonder the difference between joy and happiness?
At first glance, joy and happiness seem to be similar but, really, when we look them closely they are quite different.

Happiness, according to the Australian Oxford Paperback dictionary, is a feeling or showing pleasure or contentment. It is usually based on luck or good fortune. Joy on the other hand, is described as extreme gladness. The pleasure that joy brings is deeper than emotion.

Happiness depends on circumstance; joy, on our emotional well-being. We may be happy if we win the lottery, but we feel joy when there is peace within us or in our family and loved ones.

Happiness mostly depends on something that is temporary. For instance I am happy with my new beautiful shoes but after a while, when my shoes become torn and ugly, would I still be happy? I am happy with my new hairstyle, but after few weeks my hair will grow again and I am no longer 'happy'. I am happy with my new iphone, but then after a few months for sure a new model will come out to the market, an upgraded better iphone will beat it. We see as soon as object of what makes us happy is downgraded or perhaps taken away from us then our original quality of happiness lessens.

Happiness is most of the time is self-centered. I want this I want that. I deserved this toy and I deserved that. I deserve want to be happy. It is interesting that “I” is the center of the word happiness. It seems to suggest that our search for happiness makes us the center of the universe.

In contrast Joy as being a state of mind does not depend on material things such as on more money, bigger cars, or longer holidays. Joy is always a part of who we are and how we view the world.

A person don’t have to be supermodel… powerful, popular, beautiful, or healthy...to be joyous.

Joy is something we discover. Joy is always within our nature as human. Joy is something innate to us. Joy is always simple. We find joy simply when we appreciate life. We find joy simply when enjoy our freedom. We find joy simply we appreciate the presence of people us. We discover joy simply when we admit to ourselves that we are not alone, there is God that is larger than ourselves.

Understanding the difference between joy and happiness is not about seeing one as better than the other, but rather about recognizing and celebrating the differences.

It’s up to us how to balance our priority: Would search for happiness or for joy? Would you invest your time and money search for joy or happiness.

What would you like to give your children this Christmas - happiness or joy?

JOY: Jesus Others You
There is only one person that can give lasting joy and peace.

John the Baptist says in the Gospel that he is the Messiah is one among us who is not recognised. It can be a real tragedy, with all the lights us, to miss the true Light, the source of joy, our Lord Jesus Christ.

The word JOY itself give us the key to find joy in our life. To love Jesus first, to Love others second, to love Yourself last.

"Lord Jesus, help us not only to find joy in life but also help us to be a faithful witness of the joy of the gospel. This Christmas help us to point others to you as the source of our joy. Help us to immitate John the Baptist who in his witnessing found joy in you. Amen.




readings: www.alive.com; captured fire by joseph krempa

Crowd Breaker

2nd Sunday of Advent B

December 6-7, 2008

Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Psalm 85:9-10-11-12, 13-14;
2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8

Crowded Christmas & Crowd Breaker

19 more sleeps before Christmas!

In other parts of the world particularly in northern hemisphere white Christmas is not far away. You'll see people skating and sledging, and children making snowballs and snowmen.

For us here in the southern hemisphere, although Melbourne weather is unpredictable as always, we are now getting the warm summery feeling.

Whether we are in cold or hot country Christmas is just around the corner.

Christmas season no doubt is really is a crowd builder. Parking lots are with cars; stores are filled with shoppers; shopping inserts in the newspapers are multiplying; it seems a lot of buying is going on.

When we look back at the scene of the first Christmas, we find that it was also crowded. The manger or nativity was surrounded with all familiar Christmas characters: Mary and Joseph, of course, there are the shepherds (the wisemen), cattle, sheep, and some other animals.

Whether we like or not, our popular culture has added more Christmas characters in the crowd: Santa and his elves, Rudolph and other reindeer, the little drummer boy; Frosty the snowman, Tiny Tim and all other funny characters.

We see modern Christmas and first Christmas has both crowded scene. Christmas is definitely not for people suffering demophobia or the fear of crowd!

With all this Christmas crowding, sometimes it’s really hard to see the Lord Jesus, who is the main character of this festive season.

John the Baptist – Crowd Breaker!
Luckily, we have today, John the Baptist, the cousin of our Lord, who is acting like a crowd breaker today with his loud sounding voice: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.

We don’t receive Christmas cards with John the Baptist and there aren’t many Christmas jingles about John the Baptist. But the Church places John the Baptist on the center stage of the Second Sunday of Advent.

The Gospel describes John the Baptist who appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John's message calls us to confront and confess our sins; to turn away from them in sincere repentance; to receive God's forgiveness; and most importantly, to look to Jesus.

John the Baptist is our Advent prophet. His prophetic voice echoes the same message of the first reading from the book of Isaiah, prepare the way of Lord. His voice also echoes the letter of St Peter in the Second Reading wishing all Christians to come to repentance, so the when the Lord comes we are to be found without spot or blemish of sins.

Minds & hearts are also crowded
During this time of the year, its not only shopping malls that are crowded, its not only parking lots that are crowded, its not only tv commercials and magazines that are crowded with X-mas advertisements, but our minds and our hearts are also crowded.

Our human hearts and minds can be so crowded with so many confusions, resentment, brokenness, fear, sinfulness and all other negative feelings.

Preparation for Christmas is not only joining the crowded shopping mall. A much deeper preparation for Christmas is the clearing of our crowded minds and hearts. John the Baptist speaks about preparing the way for the Lord, in terms of getting rid of the bumps and holes in our life to make straight path for the Lord.

John the Baptist reminds us today that Advent Season is a time removing all blockages and obstacles which prevent our Lord Jesus from coming close to us.

Be Empty
The best way to prepare for the Lord this Christmas is to be empty. The more we put Christmas decors and beautiful lights in and out our house that more we need to empty ourselves.

There is a story about a young student who went to visit his elderly teacher for advice. "Sir," he said, "teach me what I need to know to have a happy life. I have studied the sacred scriptures, I have visited the greatest teachers in the land, the Pope, the Dalai Lama, and what have you, but I have not found the answer, please teach me the way."

At this point the old teacher served tea to his guest. He poured his visitor's cup full and then kept on pouring and pouring so that the tea began to run over the rim of the cup and across the table, and still he poured, until tea was flowing upon the floor.

The young student watched it until he could not longer help himself.

“Sir what are you doing? Can’t you see? Its overfull already, no more will go in" he cried out. "Like this cup", the old man said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you the way unless you first empty your cup?"

Conclusion
Let us be empty. Let us empty our hearts of all the unnecessary and harmful stuff during these Advent weeks. Let us clean our hearts with tears of repentance and confession of sins. Let us be empty so that we can see Jesus clearly and make Him the center of our lives this Christmas.

John the Baptist came to teach us today that there is a way out of the darkness and sadness of the world and the wilderness of our human condition, and that way is Jesus himself. Let us humbly listen to his words today: Prepare the way of the Lord.

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Suggested reading: captured fire by joseph krempa