Morning Voice

February 2, 2021 Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Readings:  Mal 3:1-4 ;  Ps 24:7, 8, 9, 10 ;  Lk 2:22-40 . An Irish proverb says, “Cleaning the house will not pay the rent.” And an Agni proverb adds, “He who doesn't clean his mouth before breakfast always complains that the food is sour.” God’s presence is found and contemplated in the place of his dwelling. The Temple, in the Jewish culture, is the place of all the great encounters for, there dwells the Most-High in all his glory. The Temple is also the seat of holiness. Therefore, all that is offered or presented in the Temple becomes holy. The feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple of Jerusalem is before all an obedience to the Law of purification. The Law states that “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord.” (Luke 2:23) That was in answer to the Law in Leviticus 12:2-3. So, Jesus, today, is consecrated to God in obedience to the Mosaic Law. It is for him to belong f...

January 31, 2021 Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time - B. Readings:  Dt 18:15-20 ;  Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9 ;  1 Cor 7:32-35 ;  Mk 1:21-28 . A Jewish proverb says, “The complete fool is half prophet.” And a Swahili proverb adds, “If you are astonished at Moses' deeds, you will be more astonished at Pharaoh's.” “I will raise up for them a prophet…” To every period of time its prophets. To every epoch the persons it needs. God always raises people for each season and period of life. From Adam, at the first epoch of the creation to Abraham, Moses, Eli, David, Jesus, the Apostles, and us today, the people are peoples of their epoch and their time and raised by God for a corresponding mission. We live today in a world and in societies, where we could say, we have the people corresponding to our time and needs. Someone went further saying, every people and country has the leaders it deserves. So too, we have and we are the people of our time. Nevertheless, this time is also...

January 24, 2021 Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - B. Sunday of the Word of God Readings:  Jon 3:1-5, 10 ;  Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 ;  1 Cor 7:29-31 ;  Mk 1:14-20 . A Sicilian proverb says, “Repentance washes away sin.” And a Jewish proverb adds, “Repentance prolongs a man’s life.” Repentance is a continual activity. Therefore, every day is the most convenient and favorable time to turn away from sin and return to the Lord. The ordinary time, besides its calling as ordinary, is the most convenient period of our life to follow the Lord. Because it is in the ordinary of our life that we are called to battle against sin and to live in accord with the will of God. Today's liturgy, 3rd Sunday in the ordinary time of the year B is a special call for repentance. The first reading opens with the prophetic mission of Jonah at Nineveh. The prophet received this message from the Lord, “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you.” ...

January 17, 2021 FEAST OF SANTO NIÑO. READINGS: Is 9:1-6; Ps  97 (98):1-6 ; Eph 1:3-6,15-18;  Mk 10:13–16. An Amerindian proverb says, “The ones that matter most are the children. they are the true human beings.” And a Japanese proverb adds, “Parents and children teach one another.” The Son of God humbled himself to share in our humanity and he did so, through the figures of a child, a holy innocent, and defenseless infant. The solemnity of the Santo Niño, (Holy Infant), Principal Patron of the Philippines takes us back to Christmas time. We live and journey anew, for a day, with the little baby in the hands and under the care of his parents, principally, Mary his Mother. Rightly, authors and exegetes agree that the feast of the Santo Niño is a "Balik Pasko". Nevertheless, it comes as a great challenge to us all on our relationship with children and how do we welcome and educate them. The feast of the Santo Niño teaches us that infancy or childhood is a st...

January 10, 2021 The Baptism of the Lord - B. Readings:  Is 42:1-4, 6-7  or  Is 55:1-11 ;  Ps 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10 ;  Acts 10:34-38  or  1 Jn 5:1-9 ;  Mk 1:7-11 . A Hungarian proverb says, “With the traps of sin, the devil removes the baptismal water from somebody.” And an Irish proverb adds, “Your own deeds will long be baptized on you.” About the Holy Baptism, here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: ‘Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word.’” CCC. 1213. In the Economy of Salvation, Baptism is the sacrament of spiritual regeneration. It makes of us children of God. For...

January 3, 2021 The Epiphany of the Lord Readings:  Is 60:1-6 ;  Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13 ;  Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6 ;  Mt 2:1-12 . A Congolese proverb says, “It is only with time that the nut ends revealing the tree it contains.” And a Bajan proverb adds, “What a sober heart conceals, a drunken tongue reveals.” "Behold, the Lord, the Mighty One, has come; and kingship is in his grasp, and power and dominion." (Cf. Mal 3: 1; 1 Chr 29: 12) Today is another step in the mystery of the Emmanuel, the mystery of the Incarnation of the Lord. God today is manifested to the whole humanity represented by three Magi. These three wise men stand as the West, the South, and North coming to the East to pay homage to a new-born king. Under the characters of those the tradition named Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar; it is the whole creation that recognizes her Savior in the Son of God. The word Epiphany is from the Greek “ἐπιφάνεια”, epipháneia, meaning manifestation or appeara...