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  KAPWA MAHALAGA ANG SIMPLE AT ANG MATALINO Mt. 2: 1-12       Dalawang grupo ang nakakita sa bagong silang na Hari, sa Mesiyas ng Israel at ng daigdig. Dalawang grupong hindi pantay, at hindi pareho, sa unang tingin.   Ang unang grupo ay ang tropang pastol. May lugar sa Israel na tinatawag na Bukid ng mga Pastol, kung saan daw nakita ng mga pastol ang anghel   na nagbalita ng pagsilang ng Panginoon. Simple ang mga pastol, at minsan daw ay basagulero pa. Subalit nang makita ang Sanggol na Hesus, nakita nila ang mukha ng Diyos at nagbago sila.   Ang ikalawang grupo ay ang tropang Pantas. Edukado, marurunong, at kagalang-galang kaya minsan tinatawag din silang Tatlong Hari. Tulad ng mga pastol na iniwan ang kawan, iniwan din nila ang kanilang mga bayan para maglakbay at maghanap. Kahit walang anghel, ang mahiwagang tala ang sinundan at pinag-aralan nila. Nang makita ang Batang Hesus, nanalig silang nakaharap na nila ang Diy...

  THE SIMPLE AND THE WISE, BOTH IMPORTANT Mt 2: 1-12     Two groups of people were on record as having seen the newborn King, the Messiah awaited by Israel. The two groups could not be more unequal and different at first sight.   The first group was the troupe of the shepherds. In the Holy Land today, there is a place called the Shepherds’ Field, where it is thought the shepherds were guarding their flock when the angel appeared. The shepherds were simple people, oftentimes associated with base actions ranging from mischief to thievery. But when they saw the Baby Jesus, they believed they saw the face of God and their lives changed.   The second group was that of the Wise Men from the East. These were learned men, educated and inquisitive, full of wisdom. They were also respectable, and oftentimes depicted and referred to as the Three Kings. Like the shepherds who abandoned their flocks, they left their faraway homes and ventured into unknown terri...

  PINAGPALA NGA! LK 2: 16-21       Madalas kong wakasan ang text o sulat sa pamamagitan ng: Pagpalain ka nawa ng Diyos! Hindi ko orihinal na ideya ito kundi hinango ko kay St. Mother Teresa ng Calcutta. Sa kanyang pagsusulat, laging panghuli ang pagbating: “God bless you!” Nang tanungin siya tungkol dito, sinabi niya: Kailangan ng lahat ng pagbabasbas! At sino nga ba ang hindi nangangailangan ng pagpapala?   Bawat taon, napapansin natin ang unang pagbasa sa Aklat ng mga Bilang: Nagbibilin ang Diyos sa paring si Aaron na basbasan ang mga tao, punuin sila ng kanyang awa, padaluyin sa kanila ang pagmamahal, at ipangako na makikita nila balang araw ang kanyang mukha. Ito ang pinakamataas, pinakataluktok na pagpapala – ang makita ang mukha ng Diyos. Sa Lumang Tipan, walang nakakita ng mukha ng Diyos at walang nag-akalang makikita nila ito at hindi mamamatay!   Kaypalad ng mga pastol; unang nakapagmasid sa mukha ng Anak ng Diyos, kasunod lamang kay ...

  FEELING BLESSED! LK2: 16-21   I often close my text messages and my correspondences with the words: God bless you! It was not an original idea. It was inspired by St Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She used to end all her handwritten letters by writing: “God bless you!” And when someone asked her why, she replied: “Everybody loves a blessing!” Indeed, don’t we all deserve to be blessed by someone?   Each year, we must have noticed this special first reading from the Book of Numbers: God instructs the priest Aaron to bless the people, to shower them his mercy, to channel to them his love, to promise that they will see his face one day. That would be the ultimate, the highest blessing of all – to see the face of God. But in the Old Testament, no one had seen this face and no one ever thought he could endure to see God’s face and live!   To their credit, the poor shepherds were the first to see the face of the Son of God, after Mary and Joseph...

  NAKATITIG ANG DIYOS SA ATIN! LK 2: 1-14       Isipin nga natin ang gulat ng mga pastol! Nagbabantay lang sila ng kawan, lumalaban sa hila ng antok at sa lamig ng hangin. Nang biglang isang anghel, at maraming pang darating, ang nagpakita at nagsabi: “Nakatingin ang Diyos sa inyo mula sa langit!” Ano kaya ang nadama nila noon? Nakatingin ang Diyos sa atin, mga dukha at miserable, hindi kilala at hindi mahalaga, mahihina at makasalanan!   Naranasan mo na bang titigan ng iba mula sa malayo? Yung nakatingin siya sa iyo na di mo napapansin? Sabi ng mga manunulat espirituwal, naliliwanagan daw tayo kapag tinititigan tayo, kapag minamasdan tayo na may pag-ibig. Ngayon sa Pasko, masasabi nating hindi lang nakatingin ang Panginoon sa mga pastol, sa mga banal na sina Maria at Jose. Nakatingin ang Diyos sa bawat isa sa atin, kahit hindi natin ito namamalayan.   Pambihira at makapangyarihan ang tingin ng Diyos. Noong una pa man, tining...

  GOD IS GAZING AT YOU! LK. 2; 1-14       Just imagine the surprise of the shepherds! They were watching their flocks, trying to keep awake in the dead of night, and to keep warm in the freezing winter season. Then an angel, later so many of them, appears to them and says: “God is gazing at you from heaven!” How did it feel to hear those words? God was looking at us, miserable and poor, nobody and unknown, weak and sinful!   Have you ever experienced being watched by someone from afar? That experience when someone was looking at you without you having an idea? Spiritual writers say that a person becomes enlightened when someone looks at him, gazes at him with love. Today at Christmas time we can truly say, the Lord is not only looking at the shepherds, not only at holy Mary and Joseph. God is looking at each one of us with love, even if we are not aware of it.   God’s look is tremendous and powerful. At creation he looked at ...

  PAGHIHINTAY BILANG PAGTALIMA MT. 1:18-24       Ang sabi ng mga modernong mag-asawa ngayon: “Buntis kami!,” na kumikilala sa pantay na pananagutan ng ina at ama sa pagsilang ng bata. Subalit kay Jose at Maria, surpresa talaga ang anunsyo ng kanilang pagbubuntis. Nanginig si Mary bago makapagsalita, at buti na lang nang maunaawaan niya ang lahat, sa huli, nasabi niyang “Ang puso ko’y nagpupuri.” Kay Jose, malaking kapighatian – pakiramdam niya pinagtaksilan at niloko siya. Buti na lang at matapos humingi ng liwanag, nang matulog siya ay dinalaw siya ng isang magandang panaginip.   Di tulad ni Maria, walang nasabi si Jose; hindi siya nagsasalita habang tulog! Nang magising siyang nahimasmasan, basta sinunod niya ang anghel at tinanggap si Maria bilang asawa. Tinanggap at minahal din niya ang Bata, at naging handang tumayo bilang ama nito sa lupa.   Kaydaling sumunod kapag may batas, gabay ng magulang o salita ng lider. Pero, d...

  WAITING AS OBEDIENCE MT. 1:18-24       Modern couples today proudly announce: “We are pregnant!,” thankfully recognizing the responsibilities of both the mom and dad in anticipating the coming birth of their child. In the case of Mary and Joseph, the announcement came as a surprise to both. Mary tremblingly blurted out her confusion, but later when she understood the angel’s words, we see her singing joyfully her Magnificat! With Joseph, it was a big consternation – a feeling of betrayal and desolation. Good that before he slept that night, he probably prayed for light, which came to him later in a dream.   Unlike Mary, Joseph did not say anything; no sleep-talking here! Waking up from a refreshing dream, he merely took the angel at his word and happily took Mary as wife. He took the child of Mary as his own, proud to be his father on earth.   How easy it is to obey if we know the rules, if there is parental guidance, or cl...

                    Habang papalapit ang Pasko, mula December 17 hanggang December 24, may natatanging panalangin na tinatawag na “O Antiphons.” Ang antiphon o antipona ay isang maikling panalangin na ginagamit bilang tugon sa pagdarasal ng simbahan. Ang “O Antiphons” ay tinawag sa ganitong pangalan dahil nagsisimula sila sa isang madiin na “O.” Ang pinatutungkulan ng pagbati ay ang Panginoong Hesukristo na darating, at ang kasunod ng salitang “O” ay mga titulo ng Panginoon mula sa kasulatan ng Propeta ng Lumang Tipan. Dito ipinakikita na ang sinabi ng Propeta ay nagkakaroon ng katuparan sa katauhan ng Panginoong Hesukristo na siyang tunay na nagmamay-ari ng mga titulo o parangal na ito. Sa Ingles, narito ang mga O Antiphons na tinatawag, kasunod ang katumbas nito sa Tagalog. December 17 O Wisdom of our God Most High… O Karunungan…   December 18 O Lord/ Leader of the House of Israel… O Pinuno…  ...

  REBECCA ANGELES-DEL ROSARIO (USA)      DRA NATY GRANADA AND FAMILY (PASIG) GERRY AND JOSIE CASTILLO (SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA)   ATO DEL ROSARIO (miniature Niño from Spain)   ARLENE DEL ROSARIO (QUEZON CITY) DANNY AND YOLLY HERNANDEZ (BULACAN) TUDING PAGALING (TAGUIG CITY) OURPARISHPRIEST BLOGSPOT

  ANG PAGDUDUDA NI JUAN Mt. 11: 2-11       Sumikat talaga si Juan Bautista noong panahon niya! Tanyag na lider relihyoso na may sariling mga tagasunod. Makapangyarihan kung mangaral. Maraming nahakot magsisisi at magbalik-loob. Ang taluktok ng karanasan niya ay nang makaharap niya ang Kordero ng Diyos, si Hesus mismo, na nakiusap sa kanyang magpabinyag sa Jordan.   Ngayon, ibang Juan ang nasa mabuting balita. Sa halip na nakatayo sa gitna ng madla, nag-iisa sa kulungan. Sa halip na malakas na pangangaral, tahimik sa kadiliman. Nang dalawin ng mga alagad niya, inihayag niya ang kanyang mga pag-aalinlangan. Punta kayo kay Hesus, sabi niya, at itanong kung siya ba talaga ng Mesiyas na hinihintay natin.   Ang mundo ngayon ay nababalot sa walang katiyakan. Sa buong mundo, duda ang mga tao sa mga pamahalaan, institusyon, at maging sa simbahan. Duda sa kinabukasan dahil sa nagaganap na gutom, giyera at guhong mga pangako sa publiko ...

  DOUBTING JOHN Mt. 11: 2-11       John the Baptist was a sensation in his time! He was a popular religious figure, with followers of his own. His powerful preaching resounded in the hearts of the people. Because of him, many were drawn to repentance and conversion to God. The highlight of his ministry happened one day, when the Lamb of God he preached about humbly approached him to be baptized.   In today’s gospel however, we see a different John. Instead of standing in the midst of a crowd, he is alone in a prison. Instead of thunderous preaching, he is reduced to silence and obscurity. Visited by some of his followers, he expressed his doubts. He asked them to go to Jesus and inquire if he really were the Messiah Israel seeks.   Today the world is enveloped in a great uncertainty. There is doubt on a global scale as people refuse to believe the lies that governments, institutions, and even churches say. There is doubt abou...