Embraced by mystery

 

It is Christmas. We welcome the Word-made flesh among us, as the greatest manifestation of God's love. Our life has meaning. The incompleteness, the never-ending journey of living life's questions and paradoxes without desiring to have all the answers, is sustained by our experience of God's tender love. He is the dawn from on high that slowly illumines the darkness. Yes, slowly, almost in a hidden way. And if we are willing to wait, God gives us a glimpse of the mystery.

The God of life

Today's Gospel reading is on the Magnificat. Mary remembers and gives praise for the presence of God not only in her life but in the life of her people. This Magnificat led to the "Pietà". God is not only the God of good times. God is the God of life, and it includes the failures, the suffering, the apparent defeat of reason and goodness. In your courage, in your steadfastness, in your magnanimity in these times, God is present. And that is the meaning of Christmas. God-became-flesh, and in doing so there is no one and nothing excluded from God's embrace.
A very merry Christmas to all.
Let us bring back Christ to Christmas.

God remembers

It is almost Christmas; just three more days.
Today, Mary accompanies us on our journey to the stable in Bethlehem by Mary, the woman of the Magnificat. In the midst of all the bad news that we hear, we are tempted to ask, "where are you, Lord?".
Mary reminds us that God hasn't left us alone. Just as winter doesn't cancel out life, rather, keeps it pulsating within until it bursts out in full force at springtime, God "remembers His promise of mercy".

To share our life, to show us how to live

It's the day after Christmas. Is there anything left aside from discarded wrapping papers, leftover food, and a hangover for some?
December 26th is also the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Isn't it an irony that a day after Christmas we already celebrate martyrdom?
I think today we are reminded of the real meaning of God "coming down" and becoming man in Jesus: to share our life, to show us how to live.

If Mary and Joseph didn't say yes

If Mary and Joseph didn't say yes, we wouldn't have Christmas as we know it now. Of course, God could have done it another way, but Mary and Joseph would have missed their chance to enter into this amazing story.
Surely Mary and Joseph didn't know how their decision would have huge consequences. Yes, really huge. Talk about a decision that cuts across generations and assumes global consequences.
That is also true with us. We will never know how our "yes" or our "no" affects people and history itself.
History isn't something that happens outside of us. We are all contributors to it, for better or for worse, In fact, I think it should be called "our story".

Christ in Christmas

There is no Christmas without Christ. Let us give Christ back to Christmas!

The irony of Christmas

The irony of this birthday celebration is that it is the celebrant who gives gifts. May we not forget this truth. The true gift of Christmas is Jesus and it is a gift that God freely gives to each one of us. May this truth be the foundation of our lives. In our moments of defeat, solitude and lack of purpose, may this truth be the streak of light that will guide us through the darkness.

After the tragedy

To my fellow Filipinos:
Perhaps we can cut down on the glittery Christmas decorations, the glamorous parties and the expensive gifts. Let us share our presence and our material resources to those who have been hit by this tragedy. Let us rediscover the things that really matter. Let us rediscover the real meaning of Christmas.

A Christmas carol

The other day I watched the film "A Christmas Carol". It's a classic, and watching it made me reflect on certain things.
The ghost of Christmas past. It made Scrooge reminisce his past. You feel sort of sorry for the neglected boy who turned out to be the arch-enemy of Christmas, Ebenezer Scrooge.
Who we are today is greatly influenced by our past. It might be helpful to remember this in order to have more compassion towards people.
The ghost of Christmas present. It made Scrooge see the lives of the people who presently come in and out of his everyday life.
No man is an island. Being human means being related to people. Our deeds, misdeeds and omissions have repercussions on the lives of the people closest to us, as their lives have consequences on the lives of others. We can say that every deed, misdeed or omission has a ripple effect. It makes me remember the film "Pay it forward".
The ghost of Christmas future. It made Scrooge have a vision of what will be in the future. Scrooge asked the ghost if what he has seen "will be" or "might be".
It is never too late to change. Yes, our past has a great impact on who we are today, but if we just try to be honest and to see our life now in terms of its effects on others, or on that good person that we are deep within our hearts, we can always change and go through the road of conversion.
Thanks, Ebenezer Scrooge. I guess this is your life's message for me now.
"God bless us, everyone."

Apple is for Christmas

At breakfast today we had a conversation about foods typical of the Christmas season in our own countries. This is actually one of the perks of being in an international community. We have a wide range of topics for conversation. It makes our interactions colorful and interesting. Anyway, going back to the topic of typical Christmas foods, I remember that when I was a little girl Christmas time meant seeing those red, shiny apples. Yes. Some might think that I come from another planet, but yes, again, during my younger years (a century ago), we only saw those apples at Christmas time, after all I come from the Philippines.
But now they have apples all year round in the Philippines. It is one of the consequences of globalization and the many advances in science and technology. Many things are now possible, defying issues of distance and seasons.
I guess our life now is pretty much the same. We have the possibility of having everything we want. Ironically, though, when we have what we want, we don't really become happy. Rather, we become bored. We don't even have time to enjoy what we have because we want to gear forward to the next level.
The red apple will remind me to slow down and to appreciate the little things, to wait and to look forward.
Life is not something to be devoured. It is something to taste, bite by bite, letting the sweetness or the bitterness linger.
In order to really live, we don't just nourish the body. We also have to feed the soul.