Morning Voice

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.

November 27, 2022. First Sunday of Advent – A. Readings: Is 2:1-5; Ps 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9; Rom13:11-14; Mt 24:37-44.  “Brothers and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep…” Rom 13:11 A Spanish proverb says: “Everything in its season and turnips in Advent.” And an Ashanti proverb adds: “When a man is coming toward you, you need not say, "Come here." Just get ready for him.” The Advent season has one main message: be ready, and make time for the Lord for he is coming. It is a call that applies not only for a season of the year but for one's whole life. For, the coming of the Lord is something we should set in our everyday agenda and timetable. It is something sure, that will happen. The only hic is that no one knows when that will take place. Thus, the Church year after year reminds us of the need to be alert through the special time of Advent. The word itself, from Latin Adventus, means “coming” or "arrival"

November 20, 2022. The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe - C. Readings: 2 Sm 5:1-3; Ps 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5; Col 1:12-20; Lk23:35-43.  “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 forever and ever." Revelation 5:12.1.6 "This is the King of the Jews." Lk 23:37 A Portuguese proverb says: “As the king lives, so live his vassals.” And a Spanish proverb adds: “As is the king, so are his people.” While celebrating the Solemnity of Christ the King, the readings and the whole liturgy, starting with the Entrance Antiphon orient our thoughts and meditation on the reality of the Cross, the place where Jesus' true identity was revealed and where his kingship was made manifest. Jesus our Lord is King, but a slain king. A king crowned with thorns and enthroned on a Cross. About the Lord's kingship, the Church says: “Though already present in his Church, Chr

November 13, 2022. Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time – C. Readings: Mal 3:19-20a; Ps 98:5-6, 7-8, 9; 2 Thes 3:7-12; Lk21:5-19. “All that you see here - the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” Lk 21:6 A Puritan proverb says: “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” And a Russian proverb adds: “However much would the string wind, the end will be reached anyway.” We are today one week before the end of the liturgical year, the year of the Church. Next Sunday, with the solemnity of Christ the King, we will officially close the liturgical year C and open the year A with the Advent Season. It is a beautiful circle of time reminding us that an end opens to a new beginning and a beginning leads towards an end. It is also a circle of seasons that warns us about the circle of life. Life is a succession of seasons and times. We should, therefore, live each season and time with great awareness and consciousness about our i

November 6, 2022. Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time – C. Readings: 2 Mc 7:1-2, 9-14; Ps17:1, 5-6, 8, 15; 2 Thes 2:16-3:5; Lk 20:27-38. “It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him; but for you, there will be no resurrection to life.” 2 Mc 7:14 An Amerindian proverb says: “There is no death, only a change of worlds.” And a Jewish proverb adds: “If you start thinking of death, you are no longer sure of life.” Speaking of the Christian and death we speak of faith and death, or more especially, of our Christian belief in the resurrection. Many realities go beyond our human understanding and challenge us. Among them is the Resurrection of the Dead. As Christians, we profess it in our Credo. "I believe in the resurrection of the dead and in life everlasting..." But what does it mean for us, and how do we face the reality of death when it comes? The Church teaches us that, "Because of Christ, Christian death has a