Be Watchful

A five-year old boy walks into his parents’ room to kiss them good night. His dad has just finished reading his bible. He asked: “Dad, what are you reading?” His dad replied: “Son, I’m reading the book of Revelation, the last book of the bible.” “And what’s it about” came another curious question. Dad looks at him and explains: “It’s about God’s final battle against evil!” Excitedly, the boy sat beside his dad and inquired: “And who won?” The father stooped down to his boy’s eye level and informed him: “God won!”

We are entering a new season and a new year in the Church: the Season of Advent! We begin a new countdown of Jesus’ historical birth – his first visit on Christmas. But we know the story; we know the outcome – God won. We are saved! We’re simply awaiting the final results.

While waiting, we need these three Christian dispositions:

1.   We wait patiently

Many times, waiting becomes tiresome. There are really times waiting becomes necessary: one waits for traffic to subside; in the airport, you wait for a sister to arrive with a delayed flight; parents wait for their children to grow up; a mother waits for a son to give up his addiction. During the wait, we run out of patience. We even get angry and loose our peace to the point of exasperation and frustration.

In the First Reading (Is 63), the prophet expressed the community lament of the exiled Jews in Babylon. They voice out their regret for being hard headed, for failing to listen to God and wandered away. Yet they are still hopeful because God is their father. They implore God to re-work them and make them new as a potter makes the clay beautiful in his hands.

2.   We wait lovingly

We wait actively by doing good continually. Its not a lazy waiting. Early Christians really thought that Jesus will immediately return during their lifetime. For this reason, some have abandoned their land and their business in order to lazily wait for the Parousia. St. Paul had to write the Thessalonians to counter this slothful attitude by warning them and giving the rule: “those who would not work should not eat.”

While we await the return of the Lord, we continue to work and do our duties. We continue our task of witnessing and striving to make this world a better place. Parents ought to continue their mission of guiding and caring for their children. Leaders dedicate their time in service and selflessness.

When the body of Archbishop Teofilo Camomot was exhumed from his grave in Carcar, Cebu eyewitnesses claimed that his remains decayed except two parts of his body: his hands and his heart. After many decades, he has became a pile of dust. But amazingly his hands and his heart did not rot long after he was buried. It is God’s way of telling us that in the end, what matters most is our love. What matters most is not our competence but our character.

3.   We wait faithfully

Advent challenges us to be faithful. We need to be watchful for the arrival of the master of the house who is in a journey. As servants, we need to do the task entrusted to us. We should be like the gatekeeper continually alert lest the master finds us sleeping.

Through prayer, we remind ourselves of our purpose and God’s plan for us in this world. We live responsible and dedicated lives lest we get distracted by the temptations and pleasures of this passing world. We focus our minds that things are fleeting lest we be overtaken by a consumerist and profit-driven mindset.

As we begin the season of Advent, our readings remind us of the good news that God has won the battle for us. We simply need to wait patiently, lovingly and faithfully. This is how we can be watchful.

Using Our Talents

A dying husband on his death bed makes a request to his wife: “my dear, when I die and you bury me… please do not put R.I.P. on top of my grave.” Surprised, the wife replies: “why not? What would you want us to put instead?” With a solemn voice the husband suggests: “simply put S.Y.S” “And what would that suppose to mean? she inquires. The husband says: “See You Soon!”

St. Paul in the 2^nd Reading (1 Thes 5:1-6) reminds us that the “day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” Therefore, we need to be prepared; to be awake and sober.

Our Sunday Readings have two lessons to teach us:

1.    We need to Prepare. Right now, there are three big events I am preparing for: the Christmas Concert on December 9; the Misa de Gallo and the Loudes Fiesta 2018. We are aware that without preparation many things will not be in order and the event will not be meaningful.

How then should we prepare for the most important day of our life? Surely that is the day of our death! It is the day when we shall meet God face to face; the day we encounter Him. Hence we should look our best. Because I believe after death – the best is yet to come.

It may happen that we may deliberately stay away from Him. I saw in facebook a coffin being carried in church by 6 men. Under it was a caption in Bisaya: “Bisag unsaon nimo’g palayo sa Dios ug sa Simbahan, sa katapusan ibalik ra ka gihapon sa Simbahan.” (No matter how you distance from God and the Church, in the end you will still be returned to the Church). Its something to thinks about.

2.    We need to take responsibility. The gospel reminds us that God is the master and the owner of whatever we have. He gives us talents, gifts and abilities for our use. But he expects us to use them responsibly in order to honor and glorify him.

American writer, Mark Twain said: “there are two most important days in our life: the day when we were born, and the day you discovered why.” One afternoon, I was surprise to see a new name for Ganciang Street – Gabriel Elorde Street. I was more surprise to learn that the promulgation from the City Government was still way back 1985.

Who was Gabriel “Flash” Elorde? He is considered the greatest Filipino boxer of all time. In Asia, he is first to be inducted into the prestigious New York Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993. Looking back at his life, he actually discovered boxing by accident because of an ex-boxer friend, Lucio Laborte. After teaching him how to box, he made history by becoming a champion.

But he is a real champion in and outside the ring. In one of his visits to the clinic after being diagnosed with cancer of the lungs, he met a boy with the same sickness. Feeling compassion, he gave his gold necklace crucifix to the hapless lad who was so grateful of him. Writer Ronnie Nathanielz described Gabriel Elorde as “a champion who feared no man, but humble to all men.” He was indeed a giver. He did not just give punches; he also gave away his heart.

Our talents are God-given. Whatever talent we may have – we use it! God does not wants us to bury them under the ground. It is how we honor and give glory to God. Moreover, It will also serve as our entrance ticket for the banquet of life – the banquet of heaven!

Staying Awake

A tour group was visiting the 102 floors of the Empire State Building. On their way up the elevator, a woman asked the tourist guide: “if this elevator breaks down, where do we go? Are we going up or down?” The guide replied with a smile: “that really depends on how you are living!”

Our Sunday Gospel (Mt 25:1-13) is a lesson on readiness. Jesus narrates the parable of the ten bridesmaids: five were wise, the other five were foolish. The wise once had foresight and brought extra oil; the foolish ones did not prepare for the delay. Only the ones with lamps burning entered the wedding banquet.

This parable is a metaphor of our life. Through this story, Jesus wants to teach us two valuable lessons:

1.    Be ready. Be prepared. 
What the gospel really wants to emphasize is our preparation for the future 2^nd Coming of Jesus. The Greeks call it the “Parousia.” If his first coming was humble and small, the 2^nd coming will be mighty and loud! He will come as king. He will arrive as the final Judge of everyone and everything. He will show his power and glory. The other more immediate preparation is the hour of our death. Thankfully we do not know when will be our end. If we did, it would have been scary. It would absolutely take away our peace.

          I was able to assist a parishioner in his last moments. After suffering a mild stroke, his last request to his family was not to be revived. When asked for the reason, he explained that for him “it was mission accomplished.” He had brought up his children well; he had served the parish; he had done what was needed to do. Moreover, he declared: “I want to see the God whom I have served!” Indeed, it is an inspiring disposition of readiness.

2.    Be wise. Jesus commends that we need “to keep our lamps burning.”

In our journey in life we will need spiritual fuel to keep on moving forward. Without this oil, we cannot persevere. Hence we need four essential elements to keep us always aflame. We need B.E.E.R. in our life.

        Bible: we need to read scriptures to know God’s will. Scriptures will give direction to our life. Jesus himself said: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

      Eucharist: we need the sacraments to keep us always spiritually healthy. These are the ordinary means that Jesus provides to nourish our life in the spirit. Through confession, God forgives us and continually gives us hope of a new beginning; the eucharist is food for our earthly pilgrimage.

         Examples: it is not enough just to know God’s will. We also need to act on them. We should be doers of God’s Word. Aided by grace, we need to perform acts of goodness and mercy done with the right intention of giving glory to God; not just for show. Through our examples, we can create ripples of influence that can make a difference in others’ lives.

     Rosary: in other words, we need prayer. Prayer is our personal relationship with God. Through our devotion to our Blessed Mother and our closeness to the saints will remind us that we are not alone in this journey of life. Our prayer provides us of our necessary connection that gives us power in our daily battle.

          Going back to the question: “are we going up or down?” Jesus, the guide of our life’s journey, will respond: that really depends on how you are living! Be ready. Be wise and add BEER in your life!

Loving God

A parish priest was giving a conference to a group of parents. In his talk he emphasized the importance of love in action especially in the family because “there can be no love without sacrifice.” After his conference, he distributed crosses to each couple a crucifix with the instruction: “Place this crucifix in your room where you quarrel most of the time. Looking at Jesus, it may help you remember his challenge to love one another.”

A wife came forward with the request: “Father, may I have five instead of one? I need to put a crucifix in every room of our house!”

In today’s gospel (Mt 22:34-40), Jesus reminds of the importance of love. We need to love God and love our neighbor. For Jesus, love is the greatest. Love is the most essential thing. Love is everything! He shows us that our loving has two dimensions:

1.    We need to love God above all. It’s the vertical dimension. It shows our connectedness to God. He should be first and foremost in our lives. For this reason Jesus stresses that we love God with all our heart, all our mind and all our soul. We show this by living God-centered lives. He becomes the center of our striving and our relationships.

2.    We need to love one another. This is the horizontal dimension. In the early Church the story is told about John, the beloved disciple of Jesus who spent the twilight years of his life in Ephesus. Every Sunday he would be carried in the midst of the congregation assembled for worship because though enfeebled with age, he continued preaching. Not being able anymore to deliver any long discourse, without fail he would repeat a five-word sermon over and over again: “My children, love one another.” When a disciple asked him why he kept on repeating the same message, John replied: “Because its from the Lord; and it’s the most important!”

In his younger years, John acted rashly, recklessly, impetuously and aggressively. He had an untamed temper; had an elitist attitude and highly ambitious. But he aged gracefully that in his later years he was called the apostle of love.

He began to understand the need for humility being a witness of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. Jesus’ selfless sacrifice must have impacted John greatly because from thereon his life was characterized by his willingness to serve others and suffer for the sake of the gospel. He must have realized that the only way to honor the Jesus that he knew and loved was to make him known to as many people he could. His experience of God’s love naturally flowed in his compassion for others.

Indeed as there is truth in the saying: “where love and charity is, God is there.” God reigns.

Promises are Not Enough

Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine died last September 27 at 91 years old. He brought a lifestyle of promiscuity in the mainstream; glamorized sin; helped in the destruction of marriage and family; supported the culture of contraception and abortion. At his death, one fan wrote: “RIP Hef. The only death in history no one will say: he’s in a better place now.”

But what if at the point of his death, he regretted everything he did and asked sorry? I guess he will have chance. We can only hope. In the end it is a matter of choice.

In today’s Gospel (Mt 21:28-32), Jesus tells the parable of two sons. The first refused but later changed his mind and worked in the vineyard. The second promised to go but never went. The point of the gospel is: good intentions are not enough. That is why the saying goes: “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

We can learn three lessons from our Sunday Readings:

1.    Life is a matter of choice. To obey or disobey; to serve or not to serve – its up to you. Recently, we celebrated the feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. These are the cream of all God’s angels; the very best. But once upon a time, there was an angel brightest of them all – Lucifer. He was the perfect angel created by God. He had wisdom, beauty and extraordinary capacity. He radiated light and glory. Alas, he wanted more! He became jealous of God and he was consumed with pride. He chose to serve no more! He became a rebel angel along with his minions he had influenced. He had fallen from grace!

If we follow God’s logic: God rejects the proud and gives his grace to the humble. St. Paul in the 2^nd Reading invites us to “have the mind of Christ” (Phil 2:5) – he emptied himself and became obedient to God. Jesus made the choice to embrace his Father’s will.

2.    It is never too late to repent. The door for a change of heart is always open. Repentance is God’s grace. For those who are humble, salvation is always an open invitation. St. Augustine once said: “God who created you without your consent will not save you without your cooperation.”

We might be surprise to see him in heaven if he opened his heart to grace. However, I saw a cartoon illustrating Hef being welcome by the angel receptionist in heaven. But they guy retorted: “Heaven? Are you kidding. I just left heaven!”

In her vision, St. Faustina claimed that at the point of death every soul will be visited by the merciful Christ who will ask three times: “Do you love me?” Only souls who refused his love three times will depart into the darkness.

3.    We need to do God’s will every single day. Obedience and humility are virtues – good habits. They are not practiced just once because they are behaviors you repeatedly do. Hence habits are small decisions you make and small actions you perform daily. It becomes part of you. Ultimately it become you!

St. Therese practiced little virtues and little sacrifices as a Carmelite Nun. She described herself as a “little flower” because compared to great saints, she felt small. When annoyed by a sister’s carelessness, she practiced patience; when her personal things would be missing, she chose not to complain. She would be extra kind to a sister she disliked.  It was her way of self emptying in imitation of Christ.

All is Grace

A Nursing Home was celebrating its Thanksgiving Day. Before dinner, the Director invited the Senior Citizens to express their thanks as they gathered around the table. One by one they voiced out their thanks: one for good health, the other for the gift of family and still another for selfless care-givers.

One old little lady got the attention of everyone when she declared: “Lord, thank you for my two good teeth; one on the upper jaw and one on my lower jaw that match perfectly so I can still chew my food. Everything is grace from you even my last remaining teeth!”

The Gospel (Mt 20:1-16) reminds us that all is grace. Jesus’ parable points out God’s generosity. God is magnanimous – big hearted! For this reason, the prophet Isaiah in the First Reading (Is 55:6-9) proclaims that God’s ways is higher than our ways; His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

I would like stress three Reflections:

1.    God is immensely different. God has a greater vision. He sees the bigger picture. He has immense understanding. For this reason, he tells us: Seek first the Kingdom of God.

2.    God is extraordinarily generous. This parable reminds me of the prophet Jonah. God sent him to preach to the city of Nineveh. But he refused. He escapes from his calling because he felt God will be merciful to the Ninevites who are Israel’s fiercest enemy. True enough, when he preached to them, they repented to Jonah’s disappointment. But we cannot control the way God blesses others – even those we consider “not deserving.”

3.    We should be grateful to Him because all is God’s grace. Magnanimity is God’s character. Hence, the challenge is for us to pass on God’s goodness and generosity to others. God encouraged the Israelites to be generous by reminding them of their roots. Once upon a time they were slaves in Egypt and at the mercy of their captors. Since we have the capacity to share, be generous intentionally. Indeed generosity is also a privilege.

Forgiveness

Yitzak Rabin was Israel’s 5^th Prime Minister. On November 4, 1995 he was assassinated after attending a Peace Rally. Two bullets hit his chest. He was rushed to the hospital but died on the operating table due to loss of blood. Nurses found a blood-stained paper on his chest pocket containing the lyrics of the famous Israeli song of peace.

All his life, Rabin was a soldier and military leader. He was a brilliant planner and strategist. He hated and fought the Arabs all his life. Slowly, he became military Chief of Staff and Prime Minister. But on his 2^nd term as Prime Minister, he realized that hatred and fighting were vain. He got tired of fighting. Hatred only continued the cycle of violence and blood-shed. He saw that the only way to peace was forgiveness!

In 1993, he negotiated with the famous Palestinian Liberation Organization Leader, Yasser Arafat. The year after, in 1994, they made the historic hand-shake. Both leaders began the process of peace. But not everybody was happy. Eventually it brought about his assassination.

The Gospel brings out the lesson on forgiveness. Peter asks Jesus: how many times will he forgive an erring brother, seven times? But Jesus demands: not seven times… but seventy times seven times. This means: many times. Always. Endless!

There are three reasons why forgiveness is important:

1.    Forgiveness is Powerful. By keeping anger, hatred and resentment in your heart, you enemy has power over you. You allow your enemy to control you. But forgiveness sets you free. Forgiveness is power because it can change your life; it can change the world. Jesus broke the cycle of hate and built a civilization of forgiveness and love.

2.    Forgiveness is Healthy. We know Tom Cruise as a very successful actor. He has the looks, money and fame. We think he’s got everything. Yet he also had a sad story to tell. He grew up in poverty with an abusive father dominating the family. Because his mother had three jobs and was too busy providing for her family, he was dyslexic (not able to read). Yet Tom did not let these limitations define his life. He moved on. It is told that when his dad was dying, he asked forgiveness for his past. But he had already forgiven him a long time ago. He chose the way to freedom; he chose the way to peace. Forgiveness allows us to move on without anger or contempt. A writer said: if you have revenge in your heart, you are actually digging two grave – for your enemy and for yourself!

3.    Forgiveness is Divine. We often hear it said: “to err is human; to forgive is divine. Forgiveness makes us noble. It makes us share God’s extraordinary quality – it makes us godly.

Jesus challenges us to become channels and instruments of his mercy and compassion by practicing unconditional forgiveness.

Glimpse of Glory

Once, I officiated a couple’s marriage. The bride was very beautiful; the groom, however, was not up to my standard. I though the girl was a bit short changed by the marriage deal.

During the picture-taking, I congratulated them both. When I came upon the bride I told: “your groom is a very lucky man!” But she countered: “I am much luckier. I’m so much blest because he truly loves me!”

Her replied made me think deeper. I had now a different perspective of them; I saw them in a different light. I had a transfiguration experience. Every time we see things differently; when we are able to view things in a new way and in a different perspective, we experience the transfiguration.

The Sunday Gospel narrates about the Transfiguration of Jesus. Let us consider three things as we return to this episode in Jesus’ life:

First, it was a privilege moment: the three disciples, Peter, James, and John were given a rare chance. They had a glimpse of Jesus’ glory. They experienced heaven; they saw the greatness and immensity of God. It was a pre-view of the divinity of Christ. It was an awesome moment. While others rejected Jesus, this experience made them love Jesus more!

Second, it was a peak experience. They saw Jesus in a different light: no longer as an ordinary Rabbi or a skilled carpenter-turned preacher. They discovered that behind his ordinary trappings, he was hiding an extraordinary persona. He was the Son of God! The Father’s voice was an epiphany of Jesus’ extraordinary character.

Third, this episode taught the disciples that there is a price in following Jesus. Fulfilling God’s will is extremely difficult. Jesus had to learn to be obedient. He had to undergo self-denial, learn to suffer and embrace his cross. Modern society puts value on instant rewards. We have now overnight shipping, instant downloads or one-click ordering. If we have a problem, we want a quick fix. We are short in temper and patience. When we want something, we want it now! But Jesus teaches us to be patient, to delay our gratification for a greater good. We cannot attain success overnight. We have to undergo the daily grind, the slowly process of self denial. Jesus inspires us to undergo our own transfiguration experience.

Pains of a Prophet

Last May 23, 2015 Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was assassinated during the 1980-92 civil war in El Salvador, has been beatified. The ceremony was attended by almost 300,000 people who came from all over Latin America and abroad. He was shot dead by a sniper as he celebrated Mass in a hospital chapel near his cathedral on March 24, 1980 some 35 years ago.

Cardinal Angelo Amato, the Vatican Envoy who presided the beatification rites said: “his preference for the poor was not ideological but evangelical. He pleaded for forgiveness and reconciliation.”

In those years of the civil war in El Salvador 80,000 people died and 12,000 disappeared. As Archbishop of his country, he took a stand during El Salvador’s darkest moment. When the US-backed Salvadorean army was using death squads and torture to stop leftist revolutionaries from seizing power, he was not afraid to speak out in his weekly sermons. He was the conscience of the government.

The day before he was shot, he said in his last homily: “the law of God which says thou shall not kill must come before any human order to kill. It is high time you recovered your conscience.” He was calling on the National Guard and the police to stop violence: “I implore you, I beg you, I order you in the name of God: stop the repression!”

That was the sermon that cost him his life. The day after, while celebrating mass, he was hit through the heart by a single bullet. The words of a prophet, many times, are hard to accept. The easiest way is to silence him by death.

The Gospel today (Mk 6:1-6) presents Jesus as a man of God, a prophet from God. But he is not welcome by his own people. He is rejected! We see a great contrast here: last Sunday we heard miracle done. Today none. Miracles are absent. We realize, faith produces miracles.

But Jesus has a very timely and compelling message for us today: make a stand, be prophets!

Mr. Webster defines a prophet as “one who utters divinely inspired revelation.. effective spokesman for a cause.. one who delivers a message from God.”

To be followers of Jesus, we need to make a stand. We need to become prophets. This entails 3 things:

1.    We will be ignored. Nobody listens. We will find close ears, unwelcoming hearts. The 1^st Reading speaks of “obstinate people.”  The real challenge is to speak not with words but by our example, our witness, our lives. Our personal witness is hard to ignore especially if it is a joyful witness done out of great love.

To be a prophet means we are heralds of the “good news.” Our news is liberating, life-giving. It is the source of peace, joy and  hope.

2.    We will experience hardship. We will have sufferings, pains and persecutions. In the 2^nd Reading, St. Paul experienced all these: insults, hardships, persecutions, constraints. He beg the Lord: “Please Lord, take them away! Remove them! But God surprisingly said: “No. My grace is enough for you!” In other words: Kaya mo yan! Ayawg talaw. Padayon sa pagpakigbisog!

That is exactly what God is telling you now: don’t be afraid. Move forward. My grace is enough for you!

St. John Bosco used to say: “you don’t have to look for special penances or mortification. Just bear the sufferings and annoyances of life with christian resignation.”

3.    But we need to persist. Christ will sustain us. Our faith will lift us up. Mysteriously, in our weakness, God will make us strong. The beautiful song “When we Believe” gives us this encouragement:

“There can be miracles / When you believe

Though hope is  frail / its hard to kill.”

Somebody said: “the only way to transform the world is personal witness. One conscience at a time.” But the cost may be your life.

Salt and Light

I read the news that Eric Lawson has died of lung cancer at 72 years old. He was the famous actor who portrayed the rugged Marlboro man in cigarette ads during the late 1970s. Because of him, the Marlboro brand became well-known throughout the world. In fact, it became the most powerful brand image of the century and stands worldwide as the ultimate American cowboy and masculine trademark that helped establish Marlboro as the best-selling cigarette in the world.

He was perfect for the ads with his ruggedly handsome features, filmed in stunning, picturesque setting in the West. He represented a true American icon and became the most iconic figures in both advertising and popular culture.

A smoker since he was 14, he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2006. Later, he also became a perfect role model who made a difference in the lives of the people he kept from smoking simply by pointing out what it did to him, said John Seffrin, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society.

Appearing in anti-smoking commercials, he also joined TV forums and discussions on the dangers and negative effects of smoking. He realized that as an actor, he had great influence on people’s lives. He can be an influence of good or evil.

In today’s Gospel (Mt. 5:13-16), Jesus reminds us that we are salt and light of the world. We are presented with 3 Challenges by God’s Word this Sunday:

1.   We have the responsibility to Shine.

We have the responsibility to give light. This is our identity as Christians. This is who we are! We cannot but give light. If we fail in doing so, we are “good for nothing.” We are not being who we are!

After super typhoon Yolanda hit Bantayan Island, I went home to visit my hometown. I brought with me volunteers and relief goods to be distributed from many generous people. I saw how devastated the island was. Most houses were without roofs, no signal and all power lines were down.

I requested Fr. Bobby Paraguya, the parish priest of San Vicente Ferrer in Kampinganon if we could stay for the night in his convent. We were not only accommodated well, he also went out of his way to make our stay pleasant. He even put on the parish generator. While most of the island was dark, we had light from the generator until 10 PM. The generator has the ability to give light. That’s what we are. We generate light!

2.   We have the power to give the world a different flavor.

Once, I was invited to a birthday dinner. I was asked to bless the food at the start of the meal. Then everybody joined in the singing of “Happy Birthday” to the birthday celebrant. Then somebody said: “Blow the candles!” But there were no candles to blow! There was no birthday cake because the person assigned forgot about it.

If you go to Goldilocks or Leona’s, you can choose different kinds of cake, different flavors: ube, chocolate, mango, strawberry..

Now, each of us metaphorically, needs to bake our own cake to offer to the world. You choose the flavor you want. Its your contribution to the world. That’s how we become salt of the earth.

3.   Finally, in all these, we need to purify our motives in shining or giving flavor to the world.

We shine or we give the world a different flavor not just for the sake of doing it; its not even for ourselves. The deepest reason is given by Jesus in today’s Gospel. We do it for God’s greater glory. 

As we shine and show our good deeds, God is glorified. it gives people the opportunity to say: “Praise the Lord!” Thus we need to purify our motives every time we do good. 

A Consecrated Life

Alexandrina da Costa was born on March 30, 1904 in Balasar, Portugal. When she was about 14 years of, three men wanted to abuse her sexually. To preserve her purity, she jumped from the window falling 13 feet to the ground. After this incident she suffered an irreversible paralysis. At 19, she was bedridden and completely paralyzed.

At first, she asked Jesus and Mary for a cure. She even made several promises if God would grant her request – she would be a missionary, give everything, dress in mourning all her life or cut off her hair – but no miracle came.

Slowly, God helped her to see that suffering was her vocation; that she had a special call to be the Lord’s victim. She was to suffer for the conversion of sinners. This was her mission for the salvation of the world. And having realized this, she began to long for a life of union with Jesus. This union could only be realized by bearing her pain and illness for love of Him!

She offered her life of paralysis as a “victim soul.” Worst, her pain intensified. It became almost unendurable. Every night she would be in fever; she couldn’t sleep. Even prayer was a struggle. Every slightest movement caused her pain.

Despite the pain, she would clasp her rosary and repeat in prayer: “this is for you.. for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for the offenses against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” The more painful her situation, the more prayerful she became; the more courageous to be a victim.

For three and a half years, she would experience each Friday the pains of Christ on the cross for three hours of agonizing pain. For the last 13 years, she was imbued with the mystical phenomenon of being nourished only with the Eucharist. On October 13, 1955 at 51 years old, she breath her last. Her final words were: “I’m happy because I’m going to heaven.” Alexandrina dedicated her life to God.

Today, we celebrate the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. Luke Chapter 2 narrates the events showing Joseph and Mary as pious and responsible Jewish couple following their Traditions. Forty days after Jesus’ Birth, he was taken to the Temple to be consecrated to the service of God. This was required for every Firstborn male because God “owns” it in remembrance of the Passover. His parents had to pay “5 shekels of silver” (Numb 18:16) to ransom him back. Luke, however, omits any mention of the ransom payment because he wants to signify that the whole life of Jesus was consecrated to God.

His parents also had to offer two young pigeons as thanksgiving offering for the gift of a child. Finally, the character of Simeon was presented as one who recognized Jesus as the Savior of the world. This man spent his time studying scripture and praying.

We can learn 3 lessons from this feast:

1.     As Christians, we have been consecrated to God

To the Parents: your task is to consecrate your homes and your children to God. See to it that your homes are blest and your children are baptized. By having your home blest, it signifies that you are consecrating your family to God. Your family truly “belongs” to God. It means that you are welcoming God to reign in your home.

Though baptism is a common ritual in many homes, let it not just be a cultural experience. Make it a spiritual and God-filled event. By having your children baptized, you are giving them a legacy of faith. When they grow-up, tell them what it means. Make them conscious of the day of their baptism for it was the time when they have become a “child of God.”

I checked my baptismal records and learned that I was baptized 22 days after my birth on June 21, 1968! Remind your children, too, of the date of their baptism and allow them to own their promises and personalize their consecration. In this way, God will truly reign in their lives.

2.     Let us be sensitive to God’s coming to our lives

Jesus comes to us in many ways, most of it in ordinary circumstances. Let’s learn to recognize Him. Simeon recognized Jesus as a child. Alexandrina recognized Jesus in her sufferings. For us, in the Eucharist. Let us be sensitive to God presence so that our every heartbeat will be for God.

3.     Like Jesus, we are to give glory to God and be a light for others.

The purpose of Jesus’ life was to give glory to God. This is the challenge for us in each Eucharist we participate: we unite ourselves to Jesus to give glory to God. Furthermore, one symbol used during our baptism is the candle. The candle gives light. Like the candle, our vocation is to shine and brighten people’s lives.

Let us ask from Jesus the grace of personalizing our consecration; be more sensitive to God’s coming to us and strive to always give glory to God and shine for Him!