Morning Voice

January 1, 2023. The Octave Day of Christmas. Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Readings: Nm 6:22-27; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8; Gal 4:4-7; Lk2:16-21. “Hail, Holy Mother, who gave birth to the King who rules heaven and earth forever.” An Italian proverb says: “He who has his own mother never cries.” And an Eritrean proverb adds: “A home without a mother is a desert.” Virgin, and yet, a Mother. That is what Mary is. Though she was Virgin, God made her the Mother of His Only Begotten Son, so, the Mother of God. We are speaking of a mystery that made God one of us and our brother in humanity, the mystery of the Incarnation. We are also speaking of the special grace God made to the humble young lady of Nazareth to become the main piece of His project of salvation. Today, January 1st, we are celebrating a great mystery, Mary as the Mother of God or the THEOTOKOS. THEOTOKOS derives from the Greek terms: Theos / 'God'; and tiktein / 'to give birth...

December 30, 2022. Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. (When a Sunday does not occur between December 25 and January 1, this feast is celebrated on December 30 with only one reading before the Gospel . ) Readings: Sir 3:2-6, 12-14; or Col 3:12-21; Ps 128:1-2, 3,4-5; Mt 2:13-15, 19-23. “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” Mt 2:20 An Albanian proverb says: “Home is the father's kingdom, the children's paradise, the mother's world.” And a Traditional proverb adds: “A healthy family is a sacred territory.” Family is where everything starts, love, life, growth, and virtues. It is the basic cell of life. God coming to save mankind chose to incarnate himself in a family and share its life. From that very moment, the human family became the crib of holiness. The Catechism says: "The hidden life at Nazareth allows everyone to enter into fellowship with Jesus by the most ...

December 25, 2022. The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas). Mass during the Day Readings: Is52:7-10; Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6; Heb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-18. “A holy day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations, and adore the Lord. For today a great light has come upon the earth.” (Cf. Acclamation) A Scottish proverb says: “All things hath a beginning, God excepted.” And a Native American Hopi proverb adds: “Take a breath of the new dawn and make it a part of you.” The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ rings a new daw, a new canticle of glory, and brings about a new day for our humanity. It is the new dawn of human salvation. God today has entered humanity and embraced human nature for our salvation. The name of Jesus itself brings about this hope for us: "God saves." The angelic choir, resounding the glory that fits God alone announces to us that God has become one of us and one with us to save us. Today is the fulfillment of the Incarnation. The little child in the crib is the So...

December 25, 2022. The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) – A. Vigil Mass Readings: Is 62:1-5; Ps 89:4-5, 16-17, 27, 29; Acts13:16-17, 22-25; Mt 1:1-25. “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham...” (Mt 1:1) A Traditional proverb says: “Man, know thyself ... and thou shalt know the gods.” And a French proverb adds: “There are two great pleasures in gambling: that of winning and that of losing.” The incarnation of the Son of God in our human nature is one of the most singular and altogether amazing events that has ever taken place in humanity. The world has known and gone through many significant events and situations but none of them can ever equal the story of God becoming a man. Ancient Greek mythology has events that many treat as quite similar. We could mention the birth of Hercules, Quirinus, Augustus... but all these humano-divine creatures, once they became gods have lost their humanity or lost their divinity by becoming a man. I ...

Dec. 16: Homily: Behold, the Lord will come. Friday of the Third Week in Advent Readings: Is 56:1-3a, 6-8; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 7-8; Jn 5:33-36.  A polish proverb says: “Guest coming into the house - God coming into the house.” The coming of the Lord is an event we celebrate every year. Nevertheless, when approaches Christmas, our expectation grows higher. For, we feel the more its proximity. The liturgy exhorts us for quite more intense preparation, external as well as internal. From today, we are nine days away from the Nativity of the Lord. Starting our traditional novena – Simbang Gabi or Misa de Gallo, the readings are emphasizing our need to make ready our hearts to welcome Him. The one who two thousand and twenty-two years ago was born in the small Burg of Bethlehem, in a poor and lonely Belen, is now coming to be born anew in our hearts. The entrance antiphon and the opening prayer of today’s Eucharistic celebration give the tune of this Novena: “Behold, the Lord wil...

December 18, 2022. Fourth Sunday of Advent – A. Readings: Is 7:10-14; Ps 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; Rom 1:1-7; Mt1:18-24. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."” Matthew 1:23 A Scottish proverb asks: “If God be with us, who will be against us?” And an Afghan proverb adds: “If you sit with us, you will get like us; if you sit beside a cooking pot, you will get black.” One of the central prophecies of Advent is that of Emmanuel, that is, "God with us." It is a central prophecy of Advent because it gives the meaning of what we are preparing ourselves to live at Christmas. God, the Most High comes to be with his creatures, and to be one of them and one with them. Christmas reminds us that God is always with us in our journey of life, sharing our hopes and joys, struggles and uncertainties, and strengthening us in our weaknesses. But then rises a question: if God is with us, are we ourselves wit...

December 11, 2022. Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete) – A. Readings: Is 35:1-6a, 10; Ps 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10; Jas 5:7-10;Mt 11:2-11. “The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.” Is 35:1 A Dutch proverb says: “It’s a poor heart that never rejoices.” And an Ivorian proverb adds: “The chicken that sits along the road to eat shall never enjoy a good meal.” Advent is a time of a joyful expectation. It is not a season of sorrow or tears like Lent. Advent is not a penitential season, but rather a preparation for greater joy that is the coming of the Lord. All that is done with optimism and positivity always reaches completion. Even expectations, when fed on joy are never deceived. Joy is something we should all develop, especially as Christians, Joy must be part of our life. For, the Joy of Christ, the Joy of the Gospel always invades our beings and gives meaning to our existence. ...

December 8, 2022. Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Readings: Gn 3:9-15, 20; Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4; Eph 1:3-6,11-12; Lk 1:26-38. “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28) A Chinese proverb says: “He who stays near vermilion gets stained red; he who stays near ink gets stained black.” And a Pakistani proverb adds: “One who is free to sin, sins less; the very power weakens the seeds of sin.” Today the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. "Macula" is Latin for “stain.” This day the Church celebrates the conception of our Blessed Mother without the stain of sin. What we profess here is that Mary, the blessed mother of our Lord and Savior, because of what God wanted her to be his Mother, was preserved by birth, from all marks or stains of sin. We refer here to the "original sin", the sin we all inherited from Adam and Eve. Mary was preserved from the original dis...

December 4, 2022. Second Sunday of Advent - A. Readings: Is 11:1-10; Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17; Rom 15:4-9;Mt 3:1-12. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Mt 3:1 A Tibetan proverb says: “To change the world we must first change ourselves.” And an Iranian proverb adds: “Necessity can change a lion into a fox.” Advent is a time when each one is called to join actions to his words. That is what it means to be a prophet. For, Advent is a prophetic time for repentance, a sincere and qualitative change in one's life. And our Advent pilgrimage gets all its meaning when we let the calling of the Advent Prophet, John the Baptist, find a root in our hearts and bear fruits. Without repentance, the Advent journey is a waste of time. If last Sunday we were urged to be vigilant, today the accent is on repentance, the second Advent attitude. Vigilance to prepare a way for the Lord who is coming. And repentance to let him find a place in our hearts and lives when he comes. ...