The Night Was Long, But Love Stayed Awake

   

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

13 April 2025

 

First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24

Second Reading: Philippians 2:6-11

Gospel: Luke 23:1-49

 

Reflection

By: Theresa B. Manio

 

There was a time in my life when the nights felt impossibly long—like time stood still, and I was stuck inside a silence that echoed too loudly. I remember lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling a kind of ache that words couldn’t hold. During the day, everything seemed normal. I was functioning, productive, even smiling. But when the world went quiet, the shadows came back. I felt like I was living a double life—guilt creeping in for pretending I was okay when, deep down, I wasn’t.

PTSD had wrapped itself around me like a heavy fog. I couldn’t find a way out. I hurt in ways no one could see. Sometimes, I hurt myself—just trying to feel something, or maybe to match the chaos inside. I didn’t understand why I was going through it. I felt broken. Ashamed. Alone.

And then I read again the story of Jesus’ own darkest night. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is betrayed, abandoned by His closest friends, mocked, beaten, and condemned for a crime He didn’t commit. In the garden, He falls to the ground and prays, overwhelmed to the point of sweating blood. But He stays. He doesn’t run. He doesn’t numb the pain. He doesn’t give in to despair. He simply whispers, “Not my will, but Yours be done,” and walks into the suffering with open eyes and a wide-open heart.

My pain might not compare to His—but in His story, I saw mine. Not dismissed, not minimized—understood.

For a long time, I wondered why God allowed everything that happened to me. Why didn’t He stop the pain or fix me right away? But as I sat with this Gospel, I started to realize: Sometimes, God doesn’t take the suffering away. Sometimes, He joins us in it. Sometimes, He stays up with us through the long nights, just to let us know we’re not alone.

I was 20 when I attended a retreat that changed everything. I remember finally speaking my truth in confession—my wounds, my sins, my fears—and I’ll never forget what the priest gently said: “Jesus was with you. He sees your suffering. He was there. He just couldn’t make it stop, because He can’t control people’s actions.”

That moment broke something open in me. I hadn’t realized it before, but Jesus was with me. In every tear. In every silent scream. Every night I thought I wouldn't survive. He never turned away. He stayed.

And now—on the other side of that long, dark night—I see something I didn’t recognize before. The wounds didn’t destroy me. They deepened me. They gave me a heart that can recognize pain in others and sit with them in it. Because I’ve been there. Because I know what it’s like. And because Jesus stayed with me, I now have the strength to stay with someone else.

That’s what the cross does. It doesn’t erase our pain. But it transforms it. It turns our deepest wounds into bridges of compassion. It turns our brokenness into love.

I don’t have all the answers. But I know this: No matter how long the night is—Love stays awake. Love keeps watch. Love whispers, “You are not alone.”

If you’re reading this and you're hurting, please hold on. You are seen. You are loved. And you are not alone in your pain. Jesus is with you—and so are many others who’ve walked through the fire and are still here, reaching back to walk with you. Look at Jesus on the cross. You’re still here. And that means hope is, too.

Prayer

Jesus, stay with me in the silence, in the heaviness, in the nights that feel too long. Remind me that even in my deepest pain, I am never alone because You stayed awake for love. I will wait with You in the darkness, trusting that just as You rose, Your light will rise in me too. Amen.

Pagtawid: Ang Awa at ang Pagkabuhay ng ating Panginoon

    

Ikalawang Linggo ng Pasko ng Pagkabuhay / Linggo ng Banal na Awa

07 Abril 2024

 

Unang Pagbasa: Gawa 4:32-35

Salmong Tugunan: 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24

Ikalawang Pagbasa: 1 Jn 5:1-6

Mabuting Balita: Jn 20:19-31

 

Repleksyon

Ni: Bro. Emerson C. Maala

Bahagi na ng tradisyon ng pagdiriwang ng mga mahal na araw na may mga gumaganap na Apostoles ng ating Panginoong Hesus. Ito'y isang paraan din ng ebanghelisyason upang maipakilala ang labindalawang apostoles sa mga tao.

Sa isang karanasan dito sa bayan ng Taytay, sa probinsiya ng Palawan, ang mga gumaganap na mga apostoles ay hindi lamang makikita sa tatlong araw na pagdiriwang ng pagpapakasakit at pagkabuhay ng Panginoon, bagkus sila ay nagbabahay-bahay upang mag-imbita sa magaganap na pagdiriwang at gayundin ay maipanalangin ang Tahanan at ang Pamilya. Sa aking pakikipagkwentuhan sa kanila, masaya nilang ibinabahagi ang kanilang mga naging karanasan. "Alam niyo brother, unang beses ko na gumanap bilang apostoles. Bagama't nakakapagod dahil sa init at layo ng nilalakad dahil ilang bundok  ang tinawid namin, masaya dahil tuwang tuwa yung isang sitio na pinuntahan namin. Akala nila, hindi namin sila pupuntahan. May Awa talaga ang Diyos. Sinamahan kami sa paglalakbay na ito." 

Pagtawid at Awa ng Diyos.

Sa patuloy nating pagdiriwang ng muling pagkabuhay ng ating Panginoong Hesukristo, at ang ikalawang Linggo ng Pagkabuhay ay tinatawag din na Divine Mercy Sunday, inaanyayahan tayo nito sa patuloy nating pagtawid sa buhay kasama ng ating Panginoon.

Pagtawid. Mula sa salitang tawid na ang ibig sabihin ay pagpunta o pagtungo mula sa isang lugar o sitwasyon patungo sa isa pang lugar o sitwasyon. Ito ang karanasan ni Hesus sa kanyang pagpapakasakit, pagkamatay at pagkabuhay. Tinawid ni Hesus ang kamatayan patungo sa Kanyang buhay na walang hanggan. Bakit? Dahil sa Awa. Awa ng Diyos Ama kaya Niya ibinigay sa atin ang Kanyang Bugtong na Anak. At gayundin, nang dahil sa Awa, tinawid naman ni Hesus ang hirap na kanyang dinanas upang sa gayon, tayo ay maligtas mula sa kadiliman ng kasalanan. Awa na patuloy niyang ipinagkakaloob sa atin sa kabila din ng mga marami nating pagkukulang.

Marami sa atin ang may karanasan ng Pagtawid. Maaaring, pagtawid ng dagat. Pagtawid ng kalsada. Pagtawid sa himpapawid. At gayundin, sa marami din nating pagtawid sa karanasan ng ating buhay. Gayunpaman, sa bawat pagtawid natin, hindi nawawala ang mga pagasubok. Mga bagay na nagbibigay takot at nagpapahina sa ating loob upang makatawid. 

Sa mabuting balita, matinding takot ang naging karanasan ng mga alagad na kanilang hinarap upang makatawid sa kanilang pananampalataya. Nakasarado ang mga pintuan at bintana dahil bilang mga taga-sunod ni Hesus ay maaaring mangyari din sa kanila ang sinapit ng ating Panginoong Hesus. Ngunit hindi naging matagumpay ang takot na ito. Dahil sa tulong ni Hesus, itinawid Niya ang mga apostol mula sa takot, patungo sa patuloy na pananampalataya na nagdudulot ng kagalakan at pag-aalab ng mga puso. 

Gaya din ng sabi ni San Juan sa kanyang sulat, nagtatagumpay tayo sa pamamagitan ng pananampalataya. Sa pamamagitan ng panampalataya, sumisibol ang puso na handang magtaya, kahit ng buhay at kamatayan para sa Diyos at kapwa. 

Bunga nito, ang mga apostol ay patuloy na nagpatotoo sa muling pagkabuhay ni Hesus. Buong tapang na ipinahayag na si Hesus ay muling nabuhay at gayundin ay naging daluyan ng Awa ng Panginoon, na magpasahanggang ngayon ay patuloy nating tinatanggap.

Katulad ni Hesus na tumawid mula sa kamatayan patungo sa buhay na walang hanggan at ng mga apostol na tumawid mula takot patungo sa pagsaksi sa muling pagkabuhay ni Hesus, tayo rin ay inaanyayahang tumawid mula sa lumbay patungo sa pag-aalab ng pananampalataya, gayundin sa pagtawid mula sa mga kasalanan patungo sa grasya at Mabathalang Awa ng Diyos. Dahil ang Diyos ay patuloy na nagbibigay sa atin ng kanyang Awa. Amen.

Panalangin:

Ama naming maaawin, patuloy Mo kaming kalingain. May mga takot din kami sa buhay na humahadlang sa aming pananampalataya sa Iyo. Patuloy mo kaming bigyan ng Iyong Awa, dahil hindi kami karapat-dapat sa ginawang pagpapakasakit ni Hesus sa Krus. Nawa sa pamamagitan nito, ay patuloy na mag-alab sa aming mga puso ang aming pananampalataya sa Iyo, sa pamamagitan ng Iyong anak na aming Panginoong Hesukristo, kasamang Espiritu Santo, magpasawalang hanggan. Amen.

Jesus Never Fails

Second Sunday of Advent
09 December 2018

First reading                                                                  Baruch 5:1-9
The Lord says this: Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem, and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God. Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from God; put on your head the diadem of the glory of the Everlasting; for God will show your splendor everywhere under heaven. For God will give you evermore the name, “Righteous Peace, Godly Glory.”
Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height; look toward the east, and see your children gathered from west and east at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that God has remembered them. For they went out from you on foot, led away by their enemies; but God will bring them back to you, carried in glory, as on a royal throne. For God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low and the valleys filled up, to make level ground, so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God. The woods and every fragrant tree have shaded Israel at God’s command. For God will lead Israel with joy, in the light of his glory, with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.

Second reading                                                    Philippians 1:3-6, 8-11

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.

For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Gospel                                                                     Luke 3:1-6

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.

He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

“The voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

Reflection

By Fely Santiago

“The one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it”

I’d like to share the lyrics of a song that has become my favorite because it truly affirms that Jesus never fails. He who began the good work in us, will be faithful to complete it. And we just have to believe in His words and promises. Just believe that He has great plans for us no matter what we may be going through – sickness, suffering, poverty, failures, mistakes, mess. Believe that God is great above everything. We just have to wait and be patient, persevere and never give up. The best is yet to come. God will complete the work that He started upon us.

“You are loving in all Your ways
Gracious through all my days
Faithful in all you say
Jesus You never fail

Mountains bow at Your feet
Oceans part when You speak
Beauty forms when You breathe
Jesus You never fail

I believe in Your word
I believe in Your promise
I believe You'll reveal
Your plans that I can't yet see

You're stronger than any storm
Sovereign above it all
Reigning forevermore
Jesus You never fail

I believe in Your ways
I believe in Your goodness
I believe You'll complete
The work You began in me

In trial or triumph
In sickness of strength
In end and beginning
You will never fail

In drought or abundance
In loss or in gain
In seasons of waiting

You will never fail”

(From the Feast Worship)

I have experienced rock bottom in 2007 when I was buried in the quagmire of debts. And to add to that, we lost our jobs one after the other. But God is faithful. What we thought to be a tragedy, turned into a blessing that transformed our lives and led us to our life's purpose. We are wounded healers helping others change the course of their financial life and now living our dreams while helping many families in their journey to financial independence. God never fails!

Prayer

Jesus, You will never, ever fail us. Increase our faith and trust in You to see what we cannot see. You have great plans for all of us and we know it will be the best. Give us Your wisdom and understanding so whatever we do will bring You greater glory. With Mary, we make this prayer. Amen.

Stubborn Love

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
12 September 2010


We are God’s people, the sheep of his flock: come, let us worship him, alleluia.

First reading Exodus 32:7-11,13-14
The Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Go down now, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have apostatised. They have been quick to leave the way I marked out for them; they have made themselves a calf of molten metal and have worshipped it and offered it sacrifice. “Here is your God, Israel,” they have cried “who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘I can see how headstrong these people are! Leave me, now, my wrath shall blaze out against them and devour them; of you, however, I will make a great nation.’
But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘why should your wrath blaze out against this people of yours whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with arm outstretched and mighty hand? Remember Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, your servants to whom by your own self you swore and made this promise: “I will make your offspring as many as the stars of heaven, and all this land which I promised I will give to your descendants, and it shall be their heritage for ever.”’
So the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

Psalm: Psalm 50:3-4,12-13,17,19

Second reading 1 Timothy 1:12-17
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, and who judged me faithful enough to call me into his service even though I used to be a blasphemer and did all I could to injure and discredit the faith. Mercy, however, was shown me, because until I became a believer I had been acting in ignorance; and the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus. Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of them; and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life. To the eternal King, the undying, invisible and only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel Luke 14:25-33
The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:
‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” he would say “I have found my sheep that was lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance.
‘Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would not, if she lost one, light a lamp and sweep out the house and search thoroughly till she found it? And then, when she had found it, call together her friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” she would say “I have found the drachma I lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.’
He also said, ‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.
‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.
‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”
‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’

Reflection
By Pam Manzano

Around January last year, I was with my ex-fiancé and we were living under one roof. Unfortunately, we encountered a problem that left me hanging. I decided to move out from the house and live with one of my girl-friends and her family. I lived with my friend for about two months or maybe more.

I already have a year-old son during that time and he was living with my relatives. I was in Caloocan, my Piel in Laguna.

I don’t have plans of returning home. I was badly hurt and out of my self. Anger was controlling me; telling me that I need to get even with my ex-fiancé. I neglected my responsibilities and duties as a mother to my son and a daughter to my mom. No matter how hard my friend tried to comfort and put me in the right direction, it was I who constantly refused.

I was so decided to live with myself and not to return home. I have always thought that if I return home, my family would blame me for my hard-headedness and for everything bad that had happened to me since then. I was so childish that what I needed that time was to be cajoled out of my non-sense lament. I was so directed towards my own desire to get even, to make him pay.

It was until the last week of April that I got a call from my mom. I was expecting her to be so angry at me, after I ran away from home and forgot my kid. Who wouldn’t expect that anyway? I was so stupid for I feared answering my mobile. It was her second call that I answered and much to my surprise, she sounded so concerned, calmed, and loving. So far from the angry mama I was expecting to talk to.

The impact of her voice, her call, her constant love that I felt at the time I heard her “hello” melted my heart instantly. I craved for her touch, for my mom’s warm hug. Her soft pleading for me to come home made me realize that other than letting myself be a slave of anger and disappointment, I have other things in the world to be thankful for: and my family is one of them.

Today’s Gospel talks about the prodigal son who went back home after he had spent everything his father has given him. His realization that his father’s servants have more than what he has drove him back. And like a lost sheep, his father welcomed him with a feast celebrating his return.

Most of the time, we act like the prodigal son who demands our Father to give everything we want. If what He gives is not exactly what we want, we rebel from His love thinking we can carry on everything by ourselves. Usually it is until such a later time that we realize we are wrong in what we’ve done and we have two choices: either we humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness or continue living the miserable life God did not intend for us. Are we like the prodigal son who went home and humbly asked for forgiveness?

The story might be a cliché for all of us who grew up in a Christian family. But when have we sincerely decided to come home to God and forget the worldly things that hinder us to see and experience His unfailing love? Let us not forget that without God, we are nothing.

God never fails. This Sunday’s Gospel is a reminder for us that no matter how bad we might have been God still loves us and is ready to welcome us back into His unending grace and love. Just like how my mother lovingly welcomed me, our Father in heaven together with the angels and saints would surely love to see us, the prodigal children, back home.

Almighty Father, we Your children seek Your mercy and asks for forgiveness. Welcome us back to Your love, oh Lord, that we may experience the true joy of Your loving kindness. This we pray in Jesus name, Amen.

Humility is not denying the truth. Humility is the acceptance of truth.

Next on God-speak
Tool or Master?

Repentance and Forgiveness

Ash Wednesday
17 February 2010


Come, today, and listen to his voice: do not harden your hearts.

First reading Joel 2:12-18
‘Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –
come back to me with all your heart,
fasting, weeping, mourning.’
Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn,
turn to the Lord your God again,
for he is all tenderness and compassion,
slow to anger, rich in graciousness,
and ready to relent.
Who knows if he will not turn again, will not relent,
will not leave a blessing as he passes,
oblation and libation
for the Lord your God?
Sound the trumpet in Zion!
Order a fast,
proclaim a solemn assembly,
call the people together,
summon the community,
assemble the elders,
gather the children,
even the infants at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his bedroom
and the bride her alcove.
Between vestibule and altar let the priests,
the ministers of the Lord, lament.
Let them say,
‘Spare your people, the Lord!
Do not make your heritage a thing of shame,
a byword for the nations.
Why should it be said among the nations,
“Where is their God?”’
Then the Lord, jealous on behalf of his land,
took pity on his people.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 50:3-6,12-14,17

Second reading 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
We are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God. As his fellow workers, we beg you once again not to neglect the grace of God that you have received. For he says: At the favourable time, I have listened to you; on the day of salvation I came to your help. Well, now is the favourable time; this is the day of salvation.

Gospel Matthew 6:1-6,16-18
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Be careful not to parade your good deeds before men to attract their notice; by doing this you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you; this is what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win men’s admiration. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you give alms, your left hand must not know what your right is doing; your almsgiving must be secret, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
‘And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them; I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you pray, go to your private room and, when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
‘When you fast do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they pull long faces to let men know they are fasting. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that no one will know you are fasting except your Father who sees all that is done in secret; and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.’

Reflection
By Benj Santiago

Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent, continually reminds me of the undying love and mercy of our Lord God! It is a call to repentance, sincere prayers, fasting, sacrifice, abstinence, and forgiveness.

It is exhilarating to have community praise and worship. My spirit is lifted up and it feels great. Private prayers in the quiet of my room are also equally rewarding. I feel His forgiving hands touch my soul. Many blessings in my life and in the life of other people I prayed for in private had been granted. And how do we pray? “But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6)

As to repentance and forgiveness of my sins, I know that even before I ask for forgiveness He has already forgiven me. “But even now, says the Lord, repent sincerely and return to me with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Let your broken heart show your sorrow: tearing your clothes is not enough. Come back to the Lord Your God. He is kind and full of mercy; He is patient and keeps His promise. He is always ready to forgive and not punish.” (Joel 2:12-13). We only have to remember this , “Sincerity and truth are what You require; fill my mind with Your wisdom.” (Psalm 51:6)

What is the best sacrifice we can offer? “My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God. You will not reject a humble and repentant heart. “ (Psalm 51:17)

And finally, what is our reward? Hear what God says: ”When time came for me to show you favor, I heard you, I helped you.” Listen! This is the hour to receive God’s favor; today is the day to be saved!” (2 Corinthians 6:2)


Lord God, thank You for giving us the wisdom to pray with sincerity and truth. We are truly repentant sinners and we believe in Your mercy and kindness. You are our loving Father who is always ready to forgive. Who is always there to provide for what we need and save us from evil. Continue to bless us with courage and strength that we may do the same to our fellowmen. Amen.

Next week on God-speak
Guilty

3D Perspective

2nd Sunday of Advent
06 December 2009


Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come.


First reading Baruch 5:1-9
Jerusalem, take off your dress of sorrow and distress,
put on the beauty of the glory of God for ever,
wrap the cloak of the integrity of God around you,
put the diadem of the glory of the Eternal on your head:
since God means to show your splendour to every nation under heaven,
since the name God gives you for ever will be,
‘Peace through integrity, and honour through devotedness.’
Arise, Jerusalem, stand on the heights
and turn your eyes to the east:
see your sons reassembled from west and east
at the command of the Holy One, jubilant that God has remembered them.
Though they left you on foot,
with enemies for an escort,
now God brings them back to you
like royal princes carried back in glory.
For God has decreed the flattening
of each high mountain, of the everlasting hills,
the filling of the valleys to make the ground level
so that Israel can walk in safety under the glory of God.
And the forests and every fragrant tree will provide shade
for Israel at the command of God;
for God will guide Israel in joy by the light of his glory
with his mercy and integrity for escort.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 125:1-7

Second reading Philippians 1:4-6,8-11
Every time I pray for all of you, I pray with joy, remembering how you have helped to spread the Good News from the day you first heard it right up to the present. I am quite certain that the One who began this good work in you will see that it is finished when the Day of Christ Jesus comes; and God knows how much I miss you all, loving you as Christ Jesus loves you. My prayer is that your love for each other may increase more and more and never stop improving your knowledge and deepening your perception so that you can always recognise what is best. This will help you to become pure and blameless, and prepare you for the Day of Christ, when you will reach the perfect goodness which Jesus Christ produces in us for the glory and praise of God.

Gospel Luke 3:1-6
In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s reign, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the lands of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias tetrach of Abilene, during the pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas the word of God came to John son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. He went through the whole Jordan district proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice cries in the wilderness:
Prepare a way for the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley will be filled in,
every mountain and hill be laid low,
winding ways will be straightened
and rough roads made smooth.
And all mankind shall see the salvation of God.

Reflection
By Jeanne Therese Hilario Andres

On the second Sunday of Advent, the start of our new liturgical year, perhaps it’s good to stop and take a 3D perspective of God’s work in our lives. After all, God’s love and faithfulness to us through time and space is best seen in 3D.

Looking back, we see how “The Lord has done great things for us” and thus, “we are filled with joy.” Can you see God’s hand in everything that has taken place in your life till this very moment? In good times as well as in bad, He has been there for you, whether you have been aware of His presence or not. And now you are here, wiser, stronger, nearer to the person God wants you to be.

Now look forward: Since God has been so faithful to you in the past, will He not continue to be faithful till the end? Will not the One who began a good work in you continue to complete it? He has already set in motion for you a future full of hope. He will let you grow in love and knowledge of Him, reminding you of what truly matters.

Look around and see where God has placed you. He has put you where you will bloom and bear fruit, where you can touch others with His good news. See the people God has surrounded you with, how He gathers His children to love and serve Him as one body. And though the Enemy will lie to you and try to convince you that you are alone, that you are fighting a desperate battle by yourself, look around and see the truth: you are part of God’s family; you need never feel isolated, abandoned or alone.

And finally, look up and see God’s saving hand. He has fought and won the victory for us, before we even joined the fray. And as we look up, our faces turned towards the Lord, unmindful of the unrelenting chaos around us, so can we keep our eyes fixed on what is truly important. By simply remaining focused on the Lord in the midst of the turmoil of daily life, our eyes on Heaven as we do ordinary tasks, we begin to prepare the hearts of those around us to let Him enter in, to let Him love them with His saving love.


Prayer

Oh Lord, You have begun a good and marvelous work in me. I believe that You will bring it to completion, so that by Your work in my life I can prepare a path for You, straight into the hearts of those around me, that they too may come to know and receive Your salvation. Amen.

Next week on God-speak
Rejoice in God