Gospel Reflection

December 20, 2012

Thursday – Advent – Year of Faith

Fifth Day – Misa de Gallo

by Rev. Fr. William M. Parde (Rector, Holy Rosary Minor Seminary, Naga City)

8:00PM Anticipated Misa de Gallo Mass at Sto. Nino de Paz Chapel, Greenbelt, Makati

Reading 1 Is 7:10-14

The LORD spoke to Ahaz: Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, "I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!" Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

R. (see 7c and 10b) Let the Lord enter; He is the King of Glory.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Let the Lord enter; He is the King of Glory.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Let the Lord enter; He is the King of Glory.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Let the Lord enter; He is the King of Glory.

Gospel Lk 1:26-38

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end."

But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God."

Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

HOMILY

Galing po kami ng probinsiya, syempre tinitignan po natin ang galaw ng mga tao sa Metro Manila, especially here in Makati. Nakita namin, napakabilis ng buhay. People keep on running and running and running, and perhaps they want to accomplish everything. 

 

 

Pero ang natutunan po namin, activity is not an accomplishment. Kahit na marami po tayong ginagawa, marami naman sa mga ginagawa mo ang hindi mo naman talaga kailangan. Halimbawa, huwag po kayong magagalit po ano, 'yong shopping po ano, it may temporarily relieve you of stress, pero pagkatapos noon, napapagod din kayo. Or when you want to compete with others in the office, when you want to be promoted, when you want to become the president of your company, napakahirap din, nakakapagod din, stressful. Kaya sinasabi natin, activity is not always an accomplishment.

Naalala ko po ang sinabi ng superior general ng mga Jesuits. Ngayon daw panahon, mayroong tinatawag na superficiality. 

Lahat mababaw lang ang mga nakikita ng mga tao.

Unang una, ang superficiality ay makikita in terms of relationships. Napakadali nating alisin ang mga taong ayaw natin sa ating buhay. Sometimes, we are tempted to manipulate people. Most of the time, we do not want to reach out. Kung galit ka, huwag na, marami pa namang kaibigan diyan eh. Kung ayaw mo na, di huwag. So 'yong forgiveness, patience, self-control, 'yong being generous, etc., nawawala na 'yon sa mga relationships. Tingnan nyo ngayon natalo pa 'yong simbahan sa RH Bill. Ang sunod po noon, divorce, abortion, same-sex marriage, sunod-sunod na po 'yan. Therefore, people do not care so much about relationships. Ang superficiliaty ay nakikita kung paano natin pinahahalagahan ang bawat isa.

Pangalawa, there is superficiliaty in our thoughts, sa ating mga iniisip. Anu-ano ba ang mga nasa isip mo na nandiyan sa iyong puso? Maybe ang sinasabi sa atin, we need to compete with ourselves, that we should break our own records, rather than compete with other people. Kasi pag ikaw ay nakipagkumpitensiya sa ibang tao, you will always find other people better than you, wealthier than you, prettier than you, more handsome than you, etc.

Ano ang mga bagay na gumagalaw sa iyong isipan at this point? Do you just want to earn money and to buy things? Most of the time, we have plenty to live on, but nothing to live for. Marami ka ngang pera, pero pag-uwi mo sa bahay, pagod ka, malungkot ka, wala kang maisip na gawin, maraming gumagalaw sa iyong isip.

Pangatlo, sinasabi din pong ang superficiality ay nakikita sa ating mga dreams. Do you have a plan for your life? Do you have a plan for your being a Christian or being a Catholic? Minsan, ang plano mo lang ay magkaroon ng malaking bahay, magkaroon ng malaking bank account, magkaroon ng bagong condo unit kung saan diyan. Pero alam nyo po, kung ganyan ang mga dreams n'yo, lahat nang 'yan maiiwan n'yo rin eh. Ang makikinabang niyan, 'yong mga manugang ninyo. Pag patay na kayo, ibebenta nila lahat 'yan, wala rin, lahat nang nakinabang ay 'yong mga naiwan. Kasi po ang dream ay mababaw, walang nagagawa sa iyong pagkatao.

Do you dream to be identified with Jesus? Do you dream to serve in the church? Do you dream of trying to transform yourself into someone worthy to be called a Catholic? Ano ba ang mga pangarap mo sa buhay? 

'Yon namang iba, walang pangarap, paikot-ikot lang ang buhay, wala naman talagang patutunguhan. Sabi nga sa Bible, 'without vision, people die'. Pabalik-balik lang ang ating buhay. Kung minsan nga, hindi mo alam kung ano ang gusto mo sa buhay. Pagpunta mo sa restaurant, kasama mo ang kaibigan mo, 'sige na mag-order ka na lang ng kahit ano'. Kahit ano, pwede na. Mag-aasawa ka, tinatanong ka kung ano ang gusto mo sa lalaki, sasabihin mo, 'kahit ano'. So nakapag-asawa ka tuloy nang kahit ano, hindi mo na maisasauli 'yon.

Do you really know what you want in life?

Tayong mga Pilipino - siguro pang-probinsiya lang ang example na ito - di po ba kapag tayo ay nagwawalis, palagi po tayong nakatingin sa sahig. We do not, at all, look at the ceiling, that we don't notice that the ceiling is already gathering cobwebs. Ang sinasabi sa atin - mayroon ka bang mga pangarap? Ano ba ang mga pangarap mo? Do you plan for yourself? What is sad is, perhaps after five years or after ten years, you still have the same excuses, the same sins, the same ambitions, the same problems, walang nangyayari sa buhay, paikot-ikot.

Finally, ang superficiality daw ay nakikita in terms of our convictions. Ano ba ang mga pinaniniwalaan mo? Totoo ba talagang naniniwala ka sa Diyos? Most of the time, our convictions affect how we conduct our daily lives. Depende 'yan sa ating mga pinaniniwalaan. And if you are so opinionated, wala nang papasok na bagong idea sa buhay mo, kasi nakasarado na. You believe that you possess all the truths, you think that you have the answers to all the questions, and you think that you have the solutions to all problems. So, wala nang makakapasok. Mababaw.

Pero napakaganda ng Gospel ngayon - the Annunciation. It is allowing God to enter into our lives. Mary allowed God to enter her life. In our busyness, the life that we have every day - friends to call, deadlines to meet, projects to accomplish - ang dami nating iniisip - do we have space for God, like Mary? Meron bang puwang ang Diyos sa iyong buhay? Do you find time to pray to God every day, even for five minutes? Konti lamang na puwang o lugar para sa Diyos sa ating pang-araw-araw na buhay. 

Tingnan po natin si Maria sa araw na ito. Bakit ba siya nagkaroon ng ganoong napakalaking privilege - she became the mother of God, and then she was glorified in heaven. Bakit? Kasi, she was obedient to God. We may never be able to imitate Mother Mary in her innocence, kasi alam natin na mayroon na tayong mga nagawang kasalanan. But certainly, we can imitate her obedience to God. Alam po natin 'yan.

Bakit ang dami po nating problema araw-araw? Because we have not learned to obey God. We have to pray to know the will of God for us. Father, ano po ba ang will of God every day? Ay napakasimple lang. Hindi bababa ang Diyos para sabihin ang gusto Niya araw-araw. The will of God is doing what is pleasing to God every day. Make it your goal to make people happy at nang makagawa ka ng kabutihan araw-araw.

Today, as we continue to celebrate this mass, this Advent season, let us ask the Lord to allow us to create a space for Him in our lives. Ang mahalaga po ay mayroong puwang ang Diyos sa buhay mo. And once you allow God to give that space in your life, then everything will fall into place. Tamang tama ang lahat. Makikita mong magaan na magaan na tumatakbo ang iyong buhay, hindi 'yong sunod-sunod 'yong problema. You know that you can draw strength, because God is in your life.