MERRY CHRISTMAS to all! On this most blessed and joyous day when we liturgically celebrate the birth of the very pattern and savior of our humanity, it is most apt to echo as often as we can this gospel acclamation in one of the Masses of Christmas. For, indeed, what can
December 25, 2025
THAT beautiful prayer of praise by Zachary, father of John the Baptist, contains a message that, while directly meant for his son, is actually also meant for all of us, especially the Church leaders, who have the duty to “prepare the way of the Lord.” (cfr. Lk 1,67-79) In this regard,
December 24, 2025
AS we approach Christmas and see how God’s ways are quite different from our ways, as can seen, for example, in the naming of John to the son of Elizabeth and Zachary which surprised their neighbors (cfr. Lk 1,57-66), we are reminded that truth and charity, which we normally consider as
December 23, 2025
“MY heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.” That’s one of the responsorial psalms in the Mass just days before Christmas. It’s actually from the First Book of Samuel (2,1) which was the prayer of the mother of Samuel, Hannah, expressing her great joy and sense of victory for reversing her
December 22, 2025
THIS is said of Mary, the mother of Christ and our Mother too. This was prophesied already of her in the Book of Isaiah 7,14: “Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel.” And it was realized by that famous response of Mary
December 20, 2025
THE gospel episode about the barren Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary, who because of the faith of her husband, Zachary, managed to bear a son who later on became John the Baptist, the precursor of Christ, (cfr. Lk 1,5-25) simply tells us that the key to cure whatever barrenness we have
December 19, 2025
THESE are the angels, of course. Each one of us is assigned a guardian angel which is one way God makes himself present in us and continually helping us. Let us remember that in this life of ours on earth, we actually are engaged in battle not only against our natural
December 18, 2025
WE need to be clear about this. We may have our human ancestry that defines our biological and natural identity. But we should not forget that we all come from God and our identity is not limited to the biological and other natural standards alone. Let’s always remember that we are
December 17, 2025
THIS is what we can gather from that parable about a man with two sons, asking them to work in his vineyard. (cfr. Mt 21,28-32) The first one refused but eventually went, while the second one said yes, but actually did not go. That second son somehow personifies anyone of us
December 16, 2025
THAT’S from Psalm 25,4, and is used as a Responsorial Psalm for one of the Masses in Advent. It’s a psalm that should always be on our lips, since we cannot deny that we are meant to be identified with Christ, the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our
December 15, 2025
THE 3rd Sunday of Advent is usually dubbed as Gaudete Sunday (Rejoice Sunday) because the Entrance Antiphon of the Mass for that day starts with the joyful greeting, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.” (Phil 4,4-5) We are clearly encouraged to be happy as
December 13, 2025
THAT’S because of our undeniable tendency to enclose ourselves in our own world, practically unwelcoming and even hostile to God who actually gives us the proper spirit of our humanity as his image and likeness. We have to find ways of how we can live out this basic necessity of ours.
December 12, 2025