My friend showed her eight year-old daughter a pink box and said, “Come and look at this, sweetie. I took a pregnancy test and see these signs? If it’s positive, there’s going to be a baby. Negative means no baby. So this is the result. What does it read?”

This conversation happened in a video clip their family shared. I could see the wheels turning in the little girl’s head as she noted the positive outcome. When it dawned on her what it meant, she exclaimed to her mom, “You’re having a baby!”

The joy and wonder in her face were heartwarming to behold—she had been praying for a sibling for a long time. She prayed for a gift from heaven, and her dearest wish was granted. 

When I feel down, when doubt and anxiety seem overwhelming, I take a step back. I count my blessings and let gratitude lift me up. I remind myself that having a childlike faith opens the door to even more abundance. God’s promises are fulfilled as we grow in focused, unwavering, and pure trust in Him. Gina J. Verdolaga (mgjver@yahoo.com) 

Reflect:

Peace of mind and harmony in our soul comes when we surrender to a higher power. In God, we can trust. 

Father God, like a child, I come to You for comfort and the solace of Your loving embrace.

 Saint Flavian, pray for us.

First Reading | Micah 5:1-4

On this final Sunday before Christmas, Micah shows us the ancestral origins of the Messiah. Jesus faithfully fulfills all the Old Testament promises and prophecies, and ensures the continuity of God's work of salvation in the lives of His people. Through this, we know that the One who saves us is one of us. The roots of Jesus are both divine and human. Thus, the Savior of mankind has experienced being human and is able to redeem it. 

¹ Thus says the Lord: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. ² Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, and the rest of his kindred shall return to the children of Israel. ³ He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord, his God; and they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; ⁴ he shall be peace. 

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

R: Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved. 

² O shepherd of Israel, hearken, from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth. ³ Rouse your power, and come to save us. (R) ¹⁵ Once again, O Lord of hosts, look down from heaven, and see; take care of this vine, ¹⁶ and protect what your right hand has planted, the son of man whom you yourself made strong. (R) ¹⁸ May your help be with the man of your right hand, with the son of man whom you yourself made strong. ¹⁹ Then we will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your name. (R) 

Second Reading | Hebrews 10:5-10

The ultimate sacrifice we can offer to God is obedience to His will. Obedience is at the heart of the Gospel message. It was disobedience that brought to sin into the world; it is the obedience of Christ that results in our salvation. As disciples of Jesus, let us pray for the grace to grow in obedience to God and "die" to our own desires and wants. 

⁵ Brothers and sisters: When he came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; ⁶ in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight in. ⁷ Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll, behold, I come to do your will, O God.’” ⁸ First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in.” These are offered according to the law. ⁹ Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second. ¹⁰ By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  

Gospel | Luke 1:39-45

One of the things I like about the saints, Mary included, is their willingness to put the needs of others before their own. In today's Gospel, Mary travels to Judah to help her older relative Elizabeth who is pregnant even as she is also pregnant. Her selflessness always inspires us to do the same. Love expressed in Mary's selflessness is the most powerful witness to the Gospel. 

Gospel Acclamation

Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. 

³⁹ Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, ⁴⁰ where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴² cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³ And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” 

Read the Bible in one year! Read 2 JOHN today.

The First Christmas Rush

During the monthly Mass for the public elementary schoolchildren in my previous parish, I asked the students to spell the word “Christmas.” In unison, they spelled it five times as “c-h-r-i-s-t-m-a-s.” Thanks to the coaching of their advisers, they only got it right as capital “C,” then “h-r-i-s-t-m-a-s” as I asked each section to spell it aloud. That’s the sad thing about the Lord’s birthday that everybody remembers the date except the Person and the reason for the celebration. Even non-Christian nations are so fired up with our holy season for the wrong reason—the ringing of cash registers as people shop for gifts and new things. Everybody is in a rush without really knowing why, unlike Mary who “set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth . . .”

This is perhaps the world’s first official Christmas rush: when Mary “set out and traveled to the hill country in haste” to visit Elizabeth. But it was not a rush to buy gifts or things; it was Mary’s intense joy upon hearing the angel’s news that her old and barren cousin Elizabeth was six months pregnant through God’s grace. Her haste was more about her internal disposition of great faith and joy in God who does wondrous things to His people. Mary was in a hurry because she had a deep conviction that part of God’s plans for her and Jesus was also a part of His divine plan for Elizabeth and John. Mary wanted to experience this great divine plan of God right away.

The Visitation reminds us to work anew on our family ties and other relationships so that we may again capture the joy in them. Jesus comes first through us in our family. Like Mary, may we also see our interconnectedness as family and friends, as a community and a nation. Fr. Nick Lalog

reflection questions

Have you already seen and experienced the deeper reason for the Christmas celebration? Or are you caught up again with the Christmas rush for material things

Lord Jesus, as I receive You in Holy Communion this Simbang Gabi, help me to enflesh You in me so that I could share You with others, just like Mother Mary did. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _________________________________