Morning Voice

December 15, 2024. Third Sunday of Advent - Gaudete Sunday – C. Readings: Zep 3:14-18a; Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6; Phil 4:4-7; Lk3:10-18. “Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel!” (Zep 3:14) “Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again:  rejoice!” (Phil 4:4) A Spanish proverb says: “Every season brings its joy.” Another Spanish proverb adds: “Unshared joy is an unlighted candle.” Advent is a time of preparation and commemoration of the three coming of the Lord; the already, the daily, and the yet to come at the end of time. This journey of the Advent requires great hope from us. Thus, the first Advent candle symbolizes. Our Advent expectation calls us also to be instruments of peace; peace with ourselves, peace with others, and peace in our surroundings. Therefore, our second Advent candle, because, the one who is coming is the Prince of Peace. We are today in the Gaudete Sunday, or Sunday of Joy. At his coming, not only will the Lord...

December 8, 2024. Second Sunday of Advent – C. Readings: Bar 5:1-9; Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6; Phil 1:4-6,8-11; Lk 3:1-6. “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low…” Luke 3:4s An Ivorian wise man said: “Peace is not a mere word, but a behavior.” A Native American Lakota proverb adds: “True peace between nations will only happen when there is true peace within people's souls.” Peace is a central theme of the Advent. The one who came two thousand years ago, the one who comes into our daily lives, and the one who will come again in glory is the Prince of Peace. He came to set man free from slavery to sin and from every enslavement and dominion. Advent, we insistently said last Sunday, is a time of preparation for the coming of the Lord. But in that insistence, we noted that it was the time or season of the three comings, the historical, the present, and the Parousia. So, the coming of the...

December 1, 2024. First Sunday of Advent – C. Readings: Jer 33:14-16; Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14; 1 Thes3:12—4:2; Lk 21:25-28, 34-36. “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars… And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Lk 21:25.27 A Ghanaian proverb says: “When a man is coming toward you, you need not to say, "Come here."” A Spanish proverb adds: “Coming events cast their shadow before.” The Lord came, the Lord comes always, and the Lord is coming. We enter today in a very significant time in the Christian life and the life of the Church, the Advent. The season of Advent focuses our attention on three comings of the Lord: His first coming, which took place two millennia ago; His continual coming in our everyday lives; and, lastly, His final and definitive coming in glory. The word Advent, from the Latin, Adventus, means coming, a calling to hope. In this Advent Season, while considering one coming of Jesus, we ...

November 24, 2024. The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe – B. Readings: Dn 7:13-14; Ps 93:1, 1-2, 5; Rv 1:5-8; Jn18:33b-37. "Who is he, this King of glory?" Psalm 24, singing the great Advent of the Lord, asks us twice to reflect on the Lord's kingship. In verses 8 and 10, it questions the Lord's Kingship. We read that he is King of Glory. From there springs the theme of today's meditation on the word of God. Jesus Christ is the King of Kings, the King of Glory. A Portuguese proverb says: “As the king lives, so live his vassals.” An Ivorian proverb adds: “To love a king is not bad, but a king who loves you is better.” We are celebrating today, the last Sunday of the Ordinary Time B. It is also known as Christ the King Sunday. Our hearts and attentions are called to revolve on Chris today, particularly on the throne of his reign, the Cross. Jesus reigns as a King. His Kingship is manifested when he dies hanging on the Cross. There...

November 17, 2024. Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: Dn 12:1-3; Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11; Heb 10:11-14, 18;Mk 13:24-32. “…It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time.” Daniel 12:1 A Scottish proverb says: “Take time while time is, for time will go away.” A Kurdish proverb adds: “Time is like a dagger; if you don’t cut with it, it cuts you. Go ahead and cut. Be quick before it cuts you.” We live in time. We die in time. Time is our greatest asset. Time is also our best enemy. In the Scriptures, the most beautiful writing about time could be found in Qoheleth. The wise man provides us with the poetry of time. We read: "There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven: A time for giving birth, a time for dying; a time for planting, a time for uprooting what has been planted..." Eccl 3:1ss Time and season, that is what the liturgy of this 33rd Sunday is all about. It is a reminder that we are n...

November 10, 2024. Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: 1 Kgs 17:10-16; Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10; Heb 9:24-28;Mk 12:38-44 or 12:41-44. “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury..." Mark 12:43 A British proverb says: “God looks to clean hands, not to full ones.” A Persian proverb adds: “In this world, generous people have no money and those with money are not generous.” Not to fall into a sinful generalization, but many situations and happenings tell us that poor people, people who are deprived of everything in terms of materials, are very generous. And when they want to give, they give with their heart. The Gospel, but also the first reading of this 32nd Sunday are a calling on generosity, a calling on self-giving seeking nothing in return for oneself. Regardless of our status, rich or poor, we always have something to offer, something to give for the needs of others. We have love to offer. We have our h...

November 3, 2024. Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: Dt 6:2-6; Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51; Heb 7:23-28; Mk12:28b-34. "There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31 An English proverb says: “He that plants trees loves others besides himself.” A Sicilian proverb adds: “Who loves God with all his heart, lives happy and dies happy.” According to the New Testament, the greatest commandment is two-part: First, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Second, love your neighbor as yourself. Let's first leave aside today's readings and go to a beautiful work of intellectual art, the Paulinian hymn of love. There, the Apostle of the Gentiles sings in 1 Cor 13:1-13 14: "Though I command languages both human and angelic -- if I speak without love, I am no more than a gong booming or a cymbal clashing..." And the Apostle ends his poetic litany of love with this solemn proclamation: "As it is, these remain: fait...

October 27, 2024. Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: Jer 31:7-9; Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6; Heb 5:1-6; Mk10:46-52. “What do you want me to do for you?” A Swahili proverb says: “What the heart desires is medicine to it.” A Romanian proverb adds: “We soon believe what we desire.” Every one of us has his or her personal needs. There are things we all thirst for, and for those thirsts, we can brave all difficulties, undertake all challenges, and allow nothing to stop us until we get what we want. One truth we can not deny is that we all are children of Adam, and so we all thirst for three things: Possessions, Power, and Pleasures. Some people make it worse until it becomes evil when they want possession at all costs, power at all costs, and pleasure at all costs, even if that should cost the life or liberty of others. Faith nourishes and sustains our desire, desire of God, desire to see, and desire of life. Without faith, we travel in unsatisfaction and towards unce...

October 20, 2024. Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: Is 53:10-11; Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22; Heb4:14-16; Mk 10:35-45 or 10:42-45. “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mk 10:45 An Irish proverb says: “A good servant makes a good master.” A Yemeni proverb adds: “The master of the people is their servant.” Son though he was, the Lord chooses to be a Servant and live and die as a Servant. We are talking about the great kenosis, the abasement of Jesus, the Son of God who became Son of Man, and Servant of God and Men, suffered and died on the Cross for men's salvation. Two expressions will run the whole of our meditation today, Son and Servant. Sons have rights, servants have duties and obligations. In the Bible, the terms "son" and "servant" can have different meanings, depending on the context. In terms of inheritance, a son is an heir to his father's possessions, ...

October 13, 2024. Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: Wis 7:7-11; Ps 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17; Heb4:12-13; Mk 10:17-30 or 10:17-27. “You are lacking in one thing…” Mark 10:21 A Portuguese proverb says: “If a rich man ate a snake, they would say it was because of his wisdom.” A Dutch proverb adds: “Wisdom is a good purchase, though we pay dear for it.” Wisdom, in one simple word, is the capacity of discernment and the ability to make the right choice. I asked Uncle Google, our uncle who knows all things, and he gave me this beautiful answer: "Wisdom is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise." He went further to add that it is the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships, an insight or good sense, a judgment, and a generally accepted belief. Today's readings, especially the Gospel and the first reading, invite us to invest in wisdom in our decisions and choices of life. As Christians, this...

October 6, 2024. Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: Gn 2:18-24; Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6; Heb 2:9-11; Mk10:2-16 or 10:2-12. “If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is brought to perfection in us.” 1 Jn 4:12 A Romanian proverb says: “Love is blind, but marriage finds a cure.” A German proverb adds: “Marriage is the opposite of a fever attack; it begins very hot and ends very cold.” Marriage is a noble divine institution. It is the surgent of the society, of life, and so, of any other calling. Through the marital union of husbands and wives, a new life originated opening to a new vocation. Without doubt, after the Holy Eucharist, the Matrimonial Union is the nobless of all Sacraments. It even has greater value in terms of impact on social life than the Sacramental Order of the Presbytery. In the Diocese of Lucena, while celebrating the 74th Foundation Anniversary, this year is dedicated to vocation. In the prayer for the year of vocations, we rea...

September 29, 2024. Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: Nm 11:25-29; Ps 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14; Jas 5:1-6; Mk9:38-43, 45, 47-48. “Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.” (Mark 9:41) An Estonian proverb says: “Who is good will be rewarded.” A Chinese proverb adds: “Good will be rewarded with good and evil with evil; it is only a matter of time.” There is a very famous psychological theory that is used in education, mostly as a teaching method. It is about rewards and punishment. It is also well known as operant conditioning. Operant conditioning, sometimes called instrumental conditioning or Skinnerian conditioning, is a learning method that uses rewards and punishment to modify behavior. Through operant conditioning, behavior that is rewarded is likely to be repeated, while behavior that is punished is prone to happen less. Simply put, it is about provoking the apprentice t...

August 25, 2024. Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b; Ps 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19,20-21; Eph 5:21-32; Jn 6:60-69. “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:68 An Albanian proverb says: “Each husband gets the infidelity he deserves.” A Thai proverb adds: “When you follow the old man, the dog will not bite you.” When saying the Lord’s Prayer, one thing we ask for is that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And we firmly voice our fidelity to his will, that is, our faith in him. Nevertheless, one of the most complicated things to keep is that faith. When we go through hardships and tribulations or pass through confusing times, we tend to forget our faith and who our God is. Many people, once life turns bitter, swap their faith with other beliefs, turning away from the Church and running after miracle makers and fortune tellers. I read a very comic, but nice story of someone who came for confess...

August 18, 2024. Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: Prv 9:1-6; Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7; Eph 5:15-20; Jn6:51-58. "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." Jn 6:51 A Somalian proverb says: “A man who has eaten something becomes shy.” A French proverb adds: “Bread and wine start a banquet.” Life is like a banquet to which we are all convened. God calls us to taste and see his goodness. No one, however, can rightly access that banquet without the minimum of faith. Faith is that which opens up to the understanding of God’s gracious love. With faith, we realize that God’s love is beyond our capacities and human aptitudes. And genuine faith leads to wisdom. God is a providential Father, we said three weeks ago. God feeds the needs of all those who turn to him in faith. And God generously gives himself as bread for our journey of life. Witho...