PAN DE LA SEMANA

4 th Sunday of Advent – B December 21, 2014 DESIRE OF THE EVERLASTING HILLS I borrow the title of Thomas Cahill’s lovely prose and well-written “history” of Jesus of Nazareth. I like the title, first and foremost, for he speaks about Jesus having definitely made a difference in the long history of humankind. Even if recorded history, apart from the Bible, has precious little about him and details about his life and lineage, his coming or irrupting into human history definitely made a dent, for many, not just a few. We are among the many today whose lives were impacted by the one who was promised three thousand years ago by Nathan, the prophet: “I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm … Your house and your kingdom shall endure before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.” We are a people in waiting. We are a people, too, of the promise. We are filled with longing, wra...

8 th Day of Simbang Gabi / Misa de Gallo December 23, 2009 Readings: Mal 3:1-4, 23-24 / Lk 1:57-66 We are almost at the end of our nine-day novena in preparation for Christmas. Our last minute preparations are reaching fever pitch, and excitement hangs heavy in the air, even as Mayon volcano’s ashes hang heavy in Albay, where the heavier air of uncertainty looms larger. Everywhere else, most specially in Metro Manila, the traffic flow in most cases has come to a halt, and tempers are rising, much faster than the nippy cool morning air goes lower Two days before Christmas, it does not seem appropriate to speak of suffering, of purification, of cleansing. But I am sorry… we must preach in season and out of season, and the very first reading of today’s liturgy culled from Malachi, although it speaks about the certainty of the coming of Him “whom we seek,” poses a question and asks all of us now awaiting him, whe...

7 th Day of Simbang Gabi/Misa de Gallo December 22, 2009 Readings: 1 Sm 1:24-28 / Lk 1:46-56 Hannah is not unlike any other mother in this world. She is her own son’s best admirer, benefactor, and protector. Every mother has it by instinct to worry about, and work for her son’s welfare and best interest. Any mother would go to any lengths just to be able secure a safe and sound, and prosperous future for the fruit of her womb. Hannah knew where to go and whom to approach. She brought her son Samuel to the temple, near where the prophet was, near where the gatekeeper of heaven’s favors stood – near where Eli stood. But she did not go there alone. She tagged her son Samuel along. She came to the temple laden with offerings, with gifts that a poor woman could ill afford – a three year old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. But she went there with more than just offerings. She went ...

6th Day of Simbang Gabi / Misa de Gallo Monday of the 4th Week of Advent – Year C December 21, 2009 Readings: Sg 2:8-14 / Lk 1:39-45 Love is pure energy. It flames. It burns. It energizes even as it consumes. It purifies even as it cauterizes. Such is the tenor of one of the Bible’s more intriguing books – the Song of Solomon! It sounds almost like soft porn. It is actually a paean to God’s love couched in words, symbols, and images that would speak to anyone whose heart has ever beaten like mad in the exhilarating experience of first love. There is palpable excitement in the language – a deep sense of wide-eyed anticipation and runaway expectation … “Hark, my lover – here he comes springing across the mountains, leaping across the hills!” The poetry and the pulsating rhythm are both unmistakable. The image and rhythm build to a climax … they almost make the image of the gamboling gazelle come out alive in the page we are reading. I can’t help as I write, but hum in my head Carey Land...

4th Sunday of Advent(C) 5th Day of Simbang Gabi / Misa de Gallo December 20, 2009 Readings: Mi 5:1-4a / Hebrews 10:5-10 / Lk 1:39-45 The word “bayani” (hero in Tagalog) has become a by-word in the Philippines of late. We got two this year, from no less than internationally renowned entities. CNN hailed my youthful “kababayan” (province-mate) Efren Penaflorida as hero of the year. Muelmar Magallanes was hailed as hero of the year by Time International magazine after saving the lives of 30 others but lost his own during the worst floodings the Phillippines have had in decades. We had a number of unsung and unknown heroes during the height of the twin typhoons that ravaged a big portion of Northern Philippines. Whilst people pleaded for help, about to be overtaken by rampaging floods, young Filipinos who were techno-savvy were busy providing equally unknown individuals orchestrating help for them – help that the government was ill prepared to give … to thousands who needed it, all at the...

3rd Day of Simbang Gabi(C)/ Misa de Gallo / Dawn Masses December 18, 2009 Readings: Jer 23: 5-8 / Mt 1:18-25 In keeping with the upbeat mood of the days immediately preceding Christmas, (and Simbang Gabi mood in the Philippines – and elsewhere!) the readings today again wax hopeful. They are full of promises of things to come. Such promises all revolved around the figure of the coming Messiah, couched in symbols that initially were vague, but clear enough for us in retrospect, as we navigate through the account that we now call salvation history. The promised One – what Isaiah earlier this week referred to as the “Just One” – was to come from the house of Judah. He is called by Jeremiah today as “a righteous shoot” who “will reign and govern wisely,” who will “do what is right and just.” The end result, according to Jeremiah would be that “Judah shall be saved” and “Israel shall dwell in security.” The images may have faded a little bit for our postmodern ears and sensibilities, but th...

Dawn Mass / Misa de Gallo Reflection (2nd Day) 2nd Day of Simbang Gabi(K) December 17, 2009 Readings: Gn 49:2, 8-10 / Mt 1: 1-17 The first reading today has to do with what exactly we are doing at this very moment. We assemble … in big numbers … in glee … in excitement. For that is what Simbang Gabi is, year in and year out … a time to gather, a time together with family and friends, and a time for “puto bumbong” fun, and – there is no denying it … a swell time for text messaging galore! For many young people, it is also a time to date without having to spend money … a time for some legitimate-looking chaste intimacy, near enough the church to make one feel one has gone to church, but far enough from the sanctuary to be left alone in semi-intimate encounter, and still go home with stories about how cool the priest presider is, or how boring, or how old-fashioned as the case may be. It is a fact that church-goers increase dramatically during Simbang Gabi. But whatever your reason for b...