Morning Voice

January 1, 2021 Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Readings:  NM 6:22-27 ;  Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 ;  GAL 4:4-7 ;  LK 2:16-21 . A Nigerian proverb says, “A child who has no mother will not have scars to show on his back.” And a Kikuyu proverb adds, “It is not the mother's will to have a bad offspring.” "Hail, Holy Mother, who gave birth to the King, who rules heaven and earth forever." In monarchic traditions, the mother of a king holds a special place in the kingdom and is venerated with special respect. God the Most High, coming to share our humanity, chose to be born of a woman. From that moment, this humble woman holds a particular position in God's plan of salvation and consequently, in our relationship with God. Jesus, the Son of God is as well the son of Mary, the humble woman of Nazareth. God was incarnated in her wombs and she gave birth to him, the author of all life. It sounds quite funny that some people have a particular talent for loving Jesus and ac...

December 27, 2020 The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Readings:  GN 15:1-6; 21:1-3  or  SIR 3:2-6, 12-14 ;  PS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 ;  COL 3:12-21  or;  HEB 11:8, 11-12, 17-19 ;  LK 2:22-40 . A Kiganda proverb says, “A united family eats from the same plate.” And a Traditional proverb adds, “A healthy family is a sacred territory.” The Son of God, to become man, chooses to be born in the most beautiful human reality, the family. Family is the cell of life. Family is the fount of love. Family is all. At the scene of the Nativity, it is said that, after the Angel departed from the shepherds, these went in haste to assured of the great news brought to them. And what did they find, three people: Joseph, as a father (or stepfather), Mary, as a mother, and Jesus, the newborn child. This precision is very relevant and the more relevant for us today. We read from this narration of the Nativity that family is made of husband, wife, and children. Go...

December 25, 2020 The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) - B Readings:  Is 52:7-10 ;  Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6 ;  Heb 1:1-6 ;  Jn 1:1-18 . A Swahili proverb says, “When you go among one-eyed people, put out your own eye.” And an Ivorian proverb adds, “A man does not run among thorns for no reason; either he is chasing a snake or a snake is chasing him.” "A child is born for us, and a son is given to us; his scepter of power rests upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Messenger of great counsel." (Is 9:5) We are celebrating today the great mystery of the incarnation. We are recalling the day when God humbled himself to share in our humanity. What we say in our opening prayer and the antiphon of today's holy Eucharist can easily resume everything about Christmas. God wonderfully created the dignity of human nature and still more wonderfully restored it. So, we pray that we may share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity. God...

December 20, 2020 Fourth Sunday of Advent - B. Readings:   2 SM 7:1-5, 8B-12, 14A, 16 ;  PS 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29 ;  ROM 16:25-27 ;  LK 1:26-38 . A Latin proverb says, “No matter her past, when a chambermaid marries a lord, she becomes a lady.” And a Nigerian proverb adds, “A child does not die because the mother's breasts are dry.” Mary is the dawning of the fullness of time. She is our Lady of Advent. She is the most beautiful and prominent personage of the Advent, and one could say the main character of this season. Mary is the one who, through her humble “Fiat”, makes our human nature cooperate into God’s plan. She is the representative of all who awaits the coming of their Lord and Savior. We cannot speak of the Advent of Jesus without mention Mary. In this 4th and last Sunday of our Advent pilgrimage, the word of God, most especially the Gospel, sets a particular emphasis on the ‘Woman of the Advent’, the expectant woman, the one God chooses to be his Mothe...

December 13, 2020   Third Sunday of Advent - B. Readings:  IS 61:1-2A, 10-11 ;  LK 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54 ;  1 THES 5:16-24 ;  JN 1:6-8, 19-28 . An Arabic proverb says, “A good man is one who rejoices in the well-being of others.” And an Ivorian proverb adds, “He is a wise man who has no worries about the things he doesn’t have but he rejoices for those things that he has.” The Christian life is a call to happiness through holiness. Cannot be holy, he who does not know how to rejoice or finds no reason in his life to rejoice about. The Lord wants us, his children, to be joyful and so fulfill our unique and real vocation, holiness. Though we may pass through times of sorrows and trials, the final aim of our life, our destination and goal is joy, that is the life with God, the beatitudes: “Rejoice and be glad.” (Mt 5:12) At this third step of our Advent pilgrimage, the liturgy reminds us of this need to rejoice. That is a call to live our daily existence in j...

December 8, 2020 Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Reading:  GN 3:9-15, 20 ;  PS 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4 ;  EPH 1:3-6, 11-12 ;  LK 1:26-38 . A Turkish proverb says, “Happy is he whose own faults prevent him from castigating the faults of others.” And a Samoan proverb adds, “The fault was committed in the bush, but it is now talked about on the highway.” Eve, in the Old Testament, and Mary, in the New Testament, are two prominent Bible Characters we all hear about. Eve incarnates fault and the sinfulness of disobedience and Mary, righteousness and obedience. The first, Eve, is conceived in sin, and we could say, through her, sin came into the world and we became all sinners. Eve is described as the gate through which evil entered mankind. The second, Mary, is conceived without sin, so that, through her will be born the one who will set the sinful humanity free from sin. Today's solemnity allows us, not only to reflect on the reali...

December 6, 2020 Second Sunday of Advent - B. READINGS:   IS 40:1-5, 9-11 ;  PS 85:9-10-11-12, 13-14 ;  2 PT 3:8-14 ;  MK 1:1-8 . A Bantu proverb says, “The road doesn't tell the traveler what lies ahead.” And a Nigerian proverb adds, “A traveler to distant places should make no enemies.” To travel is to move forward. No one travels backward. The Advent journey is a walk towards newness and the perfection of life. The Christian life, but also human life in general, is a journey. We are pilgrims on this earth. Our life lasts just the time of a journey. When one says journey or travelers, we think of realities such as the road, the means of transportation, the conditions of the journey. He who dreams of a pleasant trip must first put conditions to make it pleasant. Thus, the French dictum, “He who wishes to travel far take care of his mount.” Last Sunday, opening the Advent pilgrimage, we said we are an Advent people, which means people on the wait, called to kee...

November 29, 2020 First Sunday of Advent - B  Readings:   IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7 ;  PS 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 ;  1 COR 1:3-9 ;  MK 13:33-37 . A Masai proverb says, “Life has seasons.” And an Ashanti proverb adds, “It takes a season for a snake to change into its new skin.” In the life of man, there are seasons or moments which have a very special connotation. When these moments arrive, the whole of life takes on another meaning and at times a different color and flavor. We cannot live these periods without them making their mark on us. The Advent Season, in the liturgical year, the year of the Church is one of those moments. It has a very special character and is felt by the message it conveys and for its great theological and spiritual significance. Through the Eucharistic celebration of today, we open a new liturgical year, the Year B. Advent, the first season of this year carries the message of preparation and awakening for greater dawn. The word Adven...

November 22, 2020 The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe - A. READINGS: EZ 34:11-12, 15-17; PS 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6; 1 COR15:20-26, 28; MT 25:31-46. A Zambian proverb says, “The king lives way up to where the stench of the poor cannot reach him.” And an Albanian proverb adds, “Crowning a clown won’t make him a king.” “How worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and divinity, and wisdom and strength and honor. To him belong glory and power for ever and ever.” (Rev 5: 12; 1: 6) When we hear the word ‘King’, what comes first in the mind of everyone is honor, power, glory, wisdom. In monarchic traditions, the Monarch or the King is the highest personality of a country, the one who has words of life or death on everyone’s life. What a king says makes office of law. According to the Britannica Dictionary, the king is a supreme ruler, a sovereign over a nation or a territory, of higher rank than any other secular ruler except an emperor, to whom a king may ...

November 15, 2020 Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time - A. READINGS: PRV 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; PS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5; 1THES 5:1-6; MT 25:14-30. A Senegalese proverb says, “It is only the eagle that can give an account of the whisper of the cloud.” And a Japanese proverb adds, “Even a fool has one talent.” Discussing one day with a friend, he asked me about judgment and damnation, how can we understand the mercy of God in front of the reality of hell? My answer to him was: ‘It is not God who judges and condemns us, but our actions and choices. Therefore, we should take the risk to dare the good always and show love to anyone we meet if we dream of heaven. For, hell is the fruit of our choice.’ The Catechism of the Catholic Church comes in great support to this answer when it states: “Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven...