Happy New Year!
Welcome to the New Liturgical Year of the Church.
It’s a new beginning; a new start. Last night, before our Salesian Community
prayed the vespers, we did a traditional opening by having the rite of blessing
of the advent wreath. We inaugurated a new season for the Church. The rite
ended with the lighting of the 1st Candle of the Advent Wreath.
It’s a symbol of hope – in the midst of darkness and
evil; in the midst of heartbreaking human experiences of tragedy and loss, God
is there. God continues to shine!
We just concluded the Year of Faith. But for us in
the Philippines, we continue the challenges of the New Evangelization. We
continue to deepen and strengthen our faith. The Catholic Bishops Conference of
the Philippines (CBCP) directs us to have a bigger and wider perspective – we
are to set our eyes towards our 500 years of Christianity in 2021.
The Era of New Evangelization that the CBCP wants us
to prepare gives us the theme for 2014 as “The Year of the Laity.” The Lay
Faithful are encourage to have a greater appreciation of their baptism being
sons and daughters of God. It exhorts them to a greater realization that they
are co-responsible agents of evangelization.
The Advent Season does not only indicate a new
start. It is also an invitation for a renewed commitment in the faith. It is a
call to an awakening of a new Christian spirit. We should not hide our Catholic
identity but come out as witnesses of faith.
Our Gospel (Mt. 24: 37-44) challenges us to have a
more “vigilant disposition.” It commands us to “stay awake!” There are two
reasons for such a demand:
One: Life is short. Time is temporary. “For you do
not know on which day your Lord will come.” On this thought, two experiences
this week struck me: One, the brother of my former student – Bimbo Caparas died
in a very sudden manner. Basketball has always been part of Bimbo’s life. He
has both the build and the stature (he stands 6’2). However, three Sundays ago
while preparing for a game, he did not know it would be his last. As he was
tying his shoelace, he suddenly fell unconscious on the ground. His friends
brought him to the nearest hospital. But they were so shock when the doctor
pronounced him “dead on arrival.”
The other experience is about the cousin of our
Salesian Cooperator who was shot dead. I celebrated a funeral mass for Renante Bacus,
a businessman who owns a hardware store in Naga. The other Tuesday, an
unidentified man just went inside his hardware at past 8 AM then shot him at
the face. He died on the spot with three bullets in his head. His death was so
shocking for his wife and family members who looked up to him as a model
“kuya.” Neighbors describe him as “daling maduolan, hilumon ug smiling”
(approachable, silent and smiling).
Two: Our life demands that we make a contribution to
society. We feel we want to leave a legacy for the future. This impels us to be
vigilant and awake so as to share our contribution making this world a better
place.
Advent is a time of preparation. The spirit of this
season is summarized in the prayer “Maranatha” – Come, Lord Jesus!” Our spiritual
preparation can be made practical in two ways:
1. Conversion.
St. Paul’s exhortation strikes at the core (Rom
13:11-14): “It
is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now
than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us
then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us
conduct ourselves properly as in the
day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and lust, not in rivalry
and jealousy.
During the Recollection of the 4th Year
High School students of Lawaan National High School, I sat for confession. Most
of the students lined up. As I was listening to them, I felt their sincerity
and their desire to turn back from their sinful ways and return to God. I see
it as a sign of hope.
2. Prayer
This season invites us to spend time with God. It’s
a beautiful opportunity to focus on reviewing our relationship with Jesus by
being committed in this 4 weeks of Advent preparation. Few days from now, we
shall start the 9-day novena-prayers through the Misa de Gallo. Our interior
preparation makes the memory of Christ’s birth more meaningful.
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