The Christian life is about loving, forgiving, doing good, and praying for all especially those who hate and are out for us. There is no better way to put it than how Jesus articulated it in today’s gospel: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you.
In life, trust in God is our true happiness or blessedness. Indeed, our lives are full of ups and downs, hence, it is blissful to find peace, joy and tranquillity in God. This is the greatest challenge to our Christian belief and practice. Our profound peace and happiness lie in our whole and complete trust in God.
We are the light and glory of God (Christ) in the world of darkness. Today, we celebrate the feast of Christ, the light of the world, and the glory of Israel. Indeed, Christ is our light. We celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord forty days after we celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas.
A healthy body of Christ is an effective and efficacious functioning Church that works in harmony, teamwork, and a peaceful spirit, uplifting each other in service of God and others. It is a Trinitarian model of individuality in diversity for the salvation of all.
In life, so many things troubled us and make life uncomfortable for us, yet the abiding presence of Christ strengthens us on our journey through life. It is our faith in God and Christ that makes us go through daily life situations with a sense of tranquillity and peace.
The Easter celebration of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is a call to a new life with Christ Jesus: our Lord and Saviour who has risen from the dead. It occurs always at the season of spring when new life blossom and flourish in all of nature around us. “Easter” literally means “the feast of fresh flowers.” Easter is the greatest and the most important feast in the Church for four reasons:
It is a new life that calls us from darkness to light, evil to good, hatred to love, guilt to innocence, sad to joy, despair to hope, fears to faith, worries to peace, pride to humility and victims to victors.
Indeed, Lent is the longest spiritual retreat every Christian can or should embark on to prepare and enter joyfully into the Easter joy of the Resurrected Lord. Lenten season is a moment of grace and mercy. We are inviting three actions of forgiveness, conversion and reconciliation with God, others and ourselves, with the attitudes of praying, fasting and almsgiving.
It is beautiful to see the characteristics of sinfulness and unworthiness in the life and person of all those called by God. A true vocation comes with a deep sense of unworthiness to respond to the calling of God. The joyful truth is that God does not choose the perfect but perfect those he has chosen for his service.
There is no time more appropriate to consecrate ourselves to the patronage of Mary, Mother of God, more than the beginning of a new start of the year. Usually, the New Year start is always one that is apprehensive, tense and worrisome for all with a mixed feeling of hopes and fears for the future. These feelings are normal, natural and human. Yet, they invite us to have recourse to God and his divine plan and promise for us.
There is no doubt that Christmas is a festive celebration of peace on earth to men and women of goodwill. This is the most beautiful declaration of the angels to the humble shepherds on the night of Christmas. When heaven and the earth were united at the birth of the Saviour and the Prince of Peace. The angels sang beautifully to the whole wide world: Glory to God on High and peace on earth to men (women) of goodwill.