OUR PARISH PRIEST

GOD BLESS THE NEW YEAR It made me so happy watching kids making their rounds to their relatives and godparents for Christmas greetings – all attired in their new clothes! It reminded me of my own childhood experiences. We have a tradition of wearing our new clothes on Christmas day. But we also have another tradition when we acquire something new. Our parents tell us: wear your new shoes to church, bring your new bag to church, use your new watch to Sunday Mass. Why? Obviously, to thank the Lord! But there’s something else we intend to do. We want to ask God’s blessings on that which is new in our lives. With God’s blessing, we feel more secure, at peace and grateful. Today there is something new we bring to the altar of God. And it’s not just a thing to possess. We have a New Year – a new moment, a new opportunity, new life. And we are here, of all places, to ask God to bless it, as he has blessed many of our new years in the past. Do you

EVERY FAMILY HAS A CHALLENGE TO FACE SOLEMN FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY Once, a person visited me after a violent encounter with his family. He came with huge bags of personal belongings. I nervously thought that he might decide to stay with me. True enough, he begged me to let him stay. He did not want to return home again. Today many people want to get out of their homes. Young people want an end to the fights and quarrels of their parents. Men want to escape boisterous wives after a tiring workday. Women want an end to their experience of physical and emotional violence. Old people want to feel welcome and cared for. After Christmas, we focus on the initial experiences of Jesus, the God-made-man and the people who received him into their lives. Jesus’ first experience of human history took place within the warm environment of the loving, protective, assuring family with Joseph and Mary. This Holy Family is the ideal family that serves as model for any h

THE HUNGRY GOD CHRISTMAS 2010 Are you hungry? Yes, our body has a rhythm of hunger and satisfaction and a while after we have eaten our fill, we will feel hungry once again. Are you hungry? It is all right to be hungry. Hunger is a built-in human dynamism that reminds us we need something important for our survival. We work, we spend effort, and thus we need to recover lost energy. This Christmas, there are lots of food on the table, even for the simplest among us, we try to prepare something extra, or even to cross to the other house to join their simple feast. And yet, though people eat often at parties and gatherings, after some time, anger begins to set in. Does God get hungry? How can he get hungry? God is perfectly powerful and he is eternally satisfied with himself in heaven. Yes he works harder than all of us in keeping this world in order, but his work is not physical but spiritual. Many times, we think that God does not feel hunger. Be

THE HEROIC STRUGGLE OF A SAINT Catholics love saints. We believe in the so-called communion of saints which means not only the unity of believers struggling to be saints. We also believe in the link we have with those saints who have gone ahead of us. Thus we have the veneration, not adoration, of saints. We respect them and learn from them as well as ask them to be our friends in our daily struggles. Maybe you have your favorite saint. Mine is St. Joseph, the husband of Mary and the foster-father of Jesus. I keep a variety of pictures or images of St. Joseph and there is one common feature in all his depictions. He seems to be a man full of peace, full of tranquility. Whether he is shown keeping watch at the side of Mary and the Baby Jesus in the manger, or working for a living in his carpentry shop, or lovingly carrying the Baby Jesus in his arms, or at his deathbed surrounded by Jesus and Mary, Joseph always exudes assurance, confidence and serenity.

ANG PARI: KASANGKAPAN NG KALIGAYAHAN NG DIYOS HOMILY OF FR. RAMIL FOR FR. ANGEL SANCHEZ’ THANKSGIVING MASS dec 12, 2010, gatchalian, paranaque city, 10am Iba’t ibang antas ng kaligayahan May mga taong mababaw ang kaligayahan. Basta may pagkain, masaya na. basta may inumin, kuntento na. Tulad ng mga bata sa simpleng mga pamilya, bigyan mo lang ng bente pag namamasko, tiyak bida ka na. Tulad ng mga nabunot natin sa kris kringle, ibili mo lang ng pinakasimple at pinakamurang regalo, magpapasalamat na. Ganyan ang mga taong mababaw ang kaligayahan. Pero may mga tao din na mahirap paligayahin: sila yung mga mahal ang ngiti. Sila yung class ang taste. Nakakatakot regaluhan o bigyan ng anuman dahil hindi lang presyo ang titingnan kundi titingnan din kung may quality ang iyong ibinigay. Iba’t iba ang antas ng kaligayahan ng mga tao. Merong madaling paligayahin. Merong mahirap pasayahin. Gaudete Sunday at Bagong Pari Napakagandang okasyon po ngay

THE SECRET OF REAL JOY Gaudete Sunday It is quite easy to be sad these days. It is also easy to be angry. When one is angry, is sadness not far behind? Almost yearly before Advent, people get angry at many things – rising costs of commodities, oil price hike, abuse in government. The news shows only people with deep grudges and regrets about the society. Notice though that when tragedies strike, like the usual storms, landslides and floods to which we have grown accustomed, we forget our gripes and fix our attention on the miserable victims. As we begin to worry for the welfare of the children, the elderly and the sick, our hearts release its anger and give way to compassion and concern for others. Our anger melts away and love prevails! Joy returns! Joy, this is what we desire for our lives. But we will not be really joyful if our eyes are fixated on our own selves. If we live in complaints, regrets and arguments, the more we condemn our selves to perpetua

A JOHN THE BAPTIST FOR EVERYONE Our Advent guide this Sunday is St. John the Baptist. And there are two pictures of St. John the Baptist that are familiar to our biblical and popular imagination. The first one shows John as the popular baptizer of people. He even baptized Jesus on the Jordan River. This is what we celebrate in many fiestas around the country when people drench each other with water to signify John’s vocation. But the second picture of John the Baptist is of a preacher and let me qualify, an angry preacher! Yes, listen to his words: you brood of vipers – referring the to the Pharisees and scribes. He ruthlessly exposed their sins and shortcomings. He told them that like a useless, fruitless tree, they will be cut down. But John was not angry just to threaten people or demean them. He was not a judgmental person branding negatively the faults he finds in others. Rather, he has a purpose, an aim in speaking shockingly to his audience. Joh