If God is all-loving, why were there times when He didn’t seem to answer my prayers? When I felt like He had forsaken me?

These were just some of my questions after our third miscarriage. My healing journey led me to pursue a master’s course in pastoral ministry. It didn’t make sense at first, but eventually I began to see why. God touched me in one particular discussion about Job’s life when Father Rusty, our professor, said, “God’s response is focused on deeds, not words.” I realized that God has indeed responded to me not through words, but His loving deeds. He delivered us from evil, strengthened our marriage, and embraced us through others. He sent people who went the extra mile to help us and let us know that we are never alone. People who prayed for us. People who loved us through our pain.

It’s difficult to listen when God seems silent, even more so when we are in pain. But now I know that I shouldn’t just listen with my ears, but also with my heart. Because God can communicate His love for me in more ways than one.

Maymay Salvosa Trinidad (christiane.trinidad@gmail.com)

reflect

God may seem silent sometimes, but He is not deaf. This Christmas, He speaks volumes by sending His Son to the world.

Jesus, I know You hear me when I call. Help me to listen to You too.

Saint Florian, pray for us.

At the point of his death, Jacob called his twelve sons and bestowed on each one a message and a blessing. Today’s reading is his message to Judah. Jacob prophesies that from the tribe of Judah will arise the King of Israel and, ultimately, their Messiah. This was fulfilled in Joseph and Mary, who are of that tribe, and thus, Jesus is called the Son of David. This is one of the many prophecies in the Old Testament about Jesus.

² Jacob called his sons and said to them: “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob, listen to Israel, your father. ⁸ “You, Judah, shall your brothers praise—your hand on the neck of your enemies; the sons of your father shall bow down to you. ⁹ Judah, like a lion’s whelp, you have grown up on prey, my son. He crouches like a lion recumbent, the king of beasts—who would dare rouse him? ¹⁰ The scepter shall never depart from Judah, or the mace from between his legs, while tribute is brought to him, and he receives the peoples’ homage.”

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 72:1-2, 3-4, 7-8, 17

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) ³ The mountains shall yield peace for the people, and the hills justice. ⁴ He shall defend the afflicted among the people, save the children of the poor. (R) ⁷ Justice shall flower in his days, and profound peace, till the moon be no more. ⁸ May he rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. (R) ¹⁷ May his name be blessed forever; as long as the sun his name shall remain. In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed; all the nations shall proclaim his happiness. (R)

Gospel | Matthew 1:1-17

The Gospel of Matthew begins with this long genealogy of Joseph, the husband of Mary. This shows the Jewish readers that Jesus truly belongs to the tribe and lineage of David, from whom the Messiah was prophesied to come. Even during the Jewish exile in Babylon, God continued to look after His people, and the promises made about the coming Messiah were eventually fulfilled. Many times, this line had been threatened with extinction, but God ensured that it was preserved for the coming of Christ.

Gospel Acclamation

O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love: come to teach us the path of knowledge!

¹ The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. ² Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. ³ Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, ⁴ Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, ⁵ Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, ⁶ Jesse the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. ⁷ Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph.  ⁸ Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. ⁹ Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. ¹⁰ Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah. ¹¹ Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile. ¹² After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³ Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴ Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵ Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶ Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. ¹⁷ Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Christ, fourteen generations.

Reflect:

“St. Joseph was an ordinary sort of man on whom God relied to do great things. He did exactly what the Lord wanted him to do, in each and every event that went to make up his life.” (St. Josemaria Escriva)

Read the Bible in one year! Read SONG OF SONGS 5 - 8 today.

Michael Jordan has long retired from professional basketball, but he remains to be one, if not the most, well-known NBA player. When he was drafted in 1984, he had a vision of being the best basketball player in the league. A five-time MVP and six-time champion, his work ethic was legendary.

He was always the first to arrive and the last to leave the gym during practice. He treated practice games as intensely as actual games. His summers were spent honing his skills and developing new addition to his basketball arsenal. He always arrived for training already fit for the start of a new season. Needless to say, Jordan was committed to his vision to be the best.

Talking about commitment to a vision, listen to what Matthew says about God and His commitment to His vision of salvation: “Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.” What Matthew is telling us is this: it took God three sets of fourteen generation to carry out His plan of salvation. The long period of time is not about God’s failure; it is about His patience with frail humanity. It is about Him offering again and again His vision of salvation. That is commitment to vision.

But more than commitment to the vision, God was committed to the process that would realize His salvific vision. The genealogy reminds us that salvation is not an event; it is a process. And success is determined not so much by commitment to a vision as to a process. The problem is, most of us are committed to a vision but hardly to the process. Whether it be in everyday life or in our spiritual life, it is our commitment to the process that will carry us through and realize our vision. 

Fr. Joel Jason

reflection questions

Want to test your commitment to a process? How about completing the nine-day Simbang Gabi this Christmas season?

Breathe on me, breath of God. Carry me through daily. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ___________________________________