4th Sunday of Advent - C (December 19, 2021)

 

“Blessed”

Luke 1: 39-45

 

Mary “believed what was spoken” to her by the angel at the Annunciation.  The angel told her that “the Holy Spirit will come upon” her, “the power of the Most High will overshadow” her, and that she “will bear a son.”

 

Mary believed that God is with her.  Consequently, her greeting alone brought the Savior’s presence to Elizabeth and her son, John.

 

Likewise, Mary has brought God to us, who continues to be with us.  How blessed we are!    

 

How conscious am I that I can, like Mary, bring God into the world?

 

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3rd Sunday of Advent - C (December 12, 2021)

John Preached Good News to People

Luke 3: 10-18

 

John the Baptist called people to prepare the way for the Lord.  They asked him, “What should we do?”

 

John’s instruction seems to call for basic decency.  Those who have share with those who have less.  And people are to act according to what they are supposed to be. 

 

John did not tell tax collectors and soldiers to quit.  This has an important implication since tax collectors and soldiers at that time served illegitimate rulers.  Besides, they had the reputation of corruption. 

 

How do I live John the Baptist’s invitation today?

 

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2nd Sunday of Advent - C (December 5, 2021)

The Word of God Came to John

Luke 3: 1-6

 

St. Luke begins this passage with a list of important people.  It was to none of them, but to John did “the word of God” come.

 

And through John, one who was not important by human standards, “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” 

 

Let us be thankful to God for the gift of God’s word.  May we embrace the same mission that was given to John, to share God’s salvation with all people.  

 

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1st Sunday of Advent - C (November 28, 2021)

 

The Son of Man is Coming

Luke 21: 25-28, 34-36

 

Life is a journey. 

 

We have two options. 

 

We can drift through life aimlessly and “become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life.”  

 

Or we can live life with a purpose.  We know that God is with us, the Emmanuel.   Jesus is the origin and the destination of our life journey.  And he is with us, accompanying us on our journey.  

 

(Dawn on Long Island Sound, New York)

 

Christ, the King - B (November 21, 2021)

 

What Kingdom?

John 18: 33b-37

 

When Pilate asks Jesus “Then you are a king?”, Pilate has in his mind one kind of being kings and one kingdom – the Roman Empire that had conquered other peoples and nations by military power and force.  That was why Pilate could not understand Jesus.

 

Similarly, we might want to ask ourselves, “If Jesus is my king, then what kind of kingdom do I belong to?  And in my life, what type of a kingdom that I project to others?”

 

In today’s preface (the prayer before the Holy), we proclaim the kingdom of Jesus being “an eternal and universal kingdom, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace.”

 

May we live each day as citizens of such a kingdom. 

 

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33rd Sunday - B (November 14, 2021)

 

“… will not pass away”

Mark 13: 24-32

 

It’s autumn now.  Another year is soon to coming to an end.

At this time of the year, each of us should ask, “What matters in my life?”  and “Is it something that lasts forever?”

 

It’s also the season of Thanksgiving.  Let us thank God for what really matters – eternal life.

Let us thank God for God’s gift of love in Jesus and in the people in whom we experience God’s love.

 

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32nd Sunday - B (October 7, 2021)

 

To Love Is To Give All

Mark 12: 38 – 44

 

Last week, Jesus reaffirmed the priority of the two commandments of love.  And to love as Jesus teaches is to love with all that we are and have. 

 

Today, we witness the poor widow’s sacrificing love – in giving “her livelihood.” 

 

Moreover, Jesus is now already in Jerusalem.  In a few days, Jesus himself would give the ultimate gift of love – the gift of his very life on the cross (we also hear this in today’s 2^nd reading). 

 

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  (John 15:13).

 

See how Jesus loves us! 

 

In the US, this week is Vocation Awareness Week.  Let’s pray that we may see our vocations as God’s gift of love to help us love as Jesus loves.  And may young people embrace God’s vocation for them as such.  

 

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