When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. – Matthew 1:24

       God used the Angel Gabriel to send His message to Joseph. Today, He uses many different ways. He even speaks to us through famous advertising slogans. Take the following and see if they speak God’s message to you:

       “Where do you want to go today?” “Para kanino ka bumabangon?” “What drives you?”

       Through these slogans, God is asking: Are you living life for Me? The following are even very similar to Bible verses: “You’re in good hands.” The Lord reminds us that we are in the palm of His hands (Isaiah 49:16).

       “Just do it.” Let’s heed Mary’s words to just do as He tells us (John 2:5).

       “Magpakatotoo ka!” (Be truthful). Are we faced with the temptation to tell a lie or compromise the truth? God is giving us a nudge right now (John 8:32).

       There are many ways that God tries to reach us — through the Bible, the Mass, the sacraments, angels or angels in disguise; through slogans, people, circumstances and even missent text messages. This Christmas season, let’s be attuned to His voice and receive His message. Jun Asis (mabuting.balita@gmail.com)

Reflection: Open your eyes and ears. God is speaking to you!

Lord, open my heart today that I may see and hear what You have to say.

Blessed Anthony Grassi, pray for us.

One of the names for the Messiah is “Lord of Justice” according to the Prophet Jeremiah. We need to take this name seriously as there is too much injustice in the world today. Where abortion can be had virtually on demand, there can never be peace. True justice is impossible when the most defenseless human persons are being destroyed, more often than not, out of search for pleasure and convenience for the adults concerned. As we reflect upon the birth of Jesus, it could be helpful to wonder what might have been if Mary, a single mother, had the option of abortion open to her.

5 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security. This is the name they give him: “The Lord our justice.” 7 Therefore, the days will come, says the Lord, when they shall no longer say, “As the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt;” 8 but rather, “As the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of the house of Israel up from the land of the north” — and from all the lands to which I banished them; they shall again live on their own land.

R: Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

1 O God, with your judgment endow the king, and with your justice, the king’s son; 2 He shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment. (R) 12 For he shall rescue the poor man when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. 13 He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save. (R) 18 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous deeds. 19 And blessed forever be his glorious name; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. (R)

Mary chose to carry the child in her womb to birth. I doubt she even contemplated trying to get rid of the child. The world today needs to accept the truth of the dignity of the unborn child such that the scourge of abortion be removed from the legal statutes of all countries. Abortion, the deliberate destruction of the most defenseless human life, is a holocaust that has far surpassed any other human crime. We need to be rid of it if we ever want to have a truly just society.

O Leader of the House of Israel, giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai: come to rescue us with your mighty power!

18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. 20 Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. 21 She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel”, which means “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. 25 He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.

think:  We need to be rid of abortion if we ever want to have a truly just society.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Amos 4-6

HE IS THE ONE

Ask any Mass-going Filipino Catholic to recite the Creed and I’m sure he will immediately rattle off, “ I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth….” This is the version called the “Apostle’s Creed.” There is a longer and more detailed version called the “Nicene Creed,” which we Filipinos are not so familiar with as we don’t often use it in the liturgy. It begins with the simple line, “We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth...” One basic difference between the two versions of the first line of the Creed is that simple word: “one.”

       For centuries it has been prophesied that a Messiah will come to bring liberation to Israel. Jeremiah, in the First Reading, prophesies: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David.” What kind of Messiah and what kind of liberation He will bring was not easily apparent in the prophecies. In the Gospel, the veil of uncertainty has been lifted. Mary was now with child through the power of the Holy Spirit and He shall be named Jesus. And Matthew added with certainty: “All these happened to fulfill what the Lord has said through the prophet…”

       Jesus is the One, and not just one god among many. He alone is God and there is no other. When we say, “We believe in one God,” we are actually professing a willingness to rid ourselves of the other gods we enshrine in our hearts, whether we know it or not.

       At this time of the year, I usually take some days of self-imposed retreat before the start of the Christmas season and the nine-day Simbang Gabi. I do not necessarily go off to a secluded place and be by myself but I do put off and put out anything that I feel clamors for my attention unnecessarily. In these sabbath days, I root out the gods of TV, Internet, social media and the cell phone. In their place, I put more time for silence and reflection.

       Amidst the glitter and clutter of the yuletide celebrations, it is easy to get excited and look forward for something else. In this season, tell the Lord from the bottom of your heart, “Ikaw na!” Fr. Joel Jason

REFLECTION QUESTION: What Sabbath preparations are you willing to do to dispose yourself for “He who is to come”?

With a special consciousness on the word “one”, pray this in mantra fashion: “I believe in one God.”