St John in his gospel mentions Mary, the mother of Jesus two times: at the marriage feast at Cana, the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus and at the crucifixion, the end of it. That could be a way of telling us that Mary did not only play the passive role of being the physical mother of Jesus; that she was also actively involved with Jesus in the work of our redemption. In today's gospel, we hear of the marriage feast at Cana. Mary, the mother of Jesus was invited, as well as Jesus himself and his disciples. As the wedding feast went on, the wine ran out. Mary went out of her way to intercede with Jesus and Jesus performed what John tells us was his very first miracle.

If this was Jesus' very first miracle, how then did Mary know that Jesus could do it? Good mothers know their children. They know the hidden talents and potentialities of their children. There are many young men and women who have gone on to accomplish great things in life because their mothers believed in them and encouraged them.

A more fascinating question arising from the story is this: Did Mary know all those thirty years she lived with Jesus that she was living with a wonder-worker and yet never she ask him to multiply her bread, turn the water on the dining table into wine, or double her money to make ends meet? How come she never asked Jesus to use his miraculous power to help her out but she was quick to ask him to use it and help others? Think of it. If you have a child who has a miraculous power to double money for other kids at school, won't you ask him to double yours at home too? After all, one would argue, charity begins at home. But for Mary and for Jesus the needs of others come first.

Take the case of Jesus. He knew he had this power to perform miracles. After his forty days fast in the desert he was hungry and the devil suggested it to him to turn some stones into bread and eat, but he did not do it. Yet he went out and multiplied bread for crowds of his followers. What are they telling us, Mary and Jesus, through their actions? They are telling us that God's gifts to individuals are not meant primarily for their or their families' benefit but for the service of others. That is what St Paul also tells us in the second reading when he enumerates the many different gifts of the Holy Spirit to different persons and adds that "to each person is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good," (1 Corinthians 12:6) not for personal profit.

Today, then, is a good day to ask ourselves: "What gifts has God given me? Am I using these gifts mainly for my own personal profit or for the service of others in the community?" We sometimes wonder why there are no more manifestations of the Holy Spirit like we read in the Bible. Maybe the reason is that we have grown more selfish. If we began using the little gifts we have for the common good -- like the gift of praying, singing, teaching, caring, sharing, encouraging, supporting, motivating, writing, etc. -- then these gifts will probably begin to grow and soon we will begin to see miracles. Concern for others is the beginning of miracles.

One of the latter day saints who worked astonishing miracles was St Francis of Assisi. He was able to do so much because he gave himself completely to the service of God and the good of others. Let us, therefore, conclude with the famous prayer of St Francis:

THE STORY is told about a pilot who announced: "One of the four engines of our plane just conked out. But don't worry. We still have three engines, and we have one bishop and three priests on board to pray for us." A very nervous woman was overheard saying, "I would rather have four engines working than one bishop and three priests praying!"

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, i.e. the Revelation of God's glory in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. In today's Gospel (Mt. 21, 1-12) the Magi from the East found the house where Jesus was born because they were guided by the star, and also because they made the difficult trip. In other words, in our journey to God, our engines must be working and we too must be praying.

The Magi, when they found Jesus, did Him homage and offered Him their gifts. Some of us know God, but leave it at that, and never go on to adoring Him and serving Him. It is as if His presence in our lives never made a difference at all! If you really believe in God, then live it, and show it.

Note that the Magi departed to their country by another way. They did not return to their old way. Their encounter with God made them changed persons. How many of us, with all of our religious experiences and spiritual blessings, still continue to live in the darkness rather than in the light? We who are recipients of revelation must in turn become agents of revelation.

Let us do homage to God not only on Christmas Day or on New Year's Day, or on Good Friday, but on every single day of the year. May the spirit of Christmas - that of sharing, living, generosity, peace, joy and hope - continue to abide with us and among us all throughout the new year. Yes, let us live and love, one day at a time.

There a lot of things beyond our knowledge and control. Let us not become like Herod who resorted to deceit and manipulation. People who do so never find God because of their pride. And remember, people who continue to lie, cheat, manipulate, kill, and steal will also suffer the same fate as Herod's. Warning: Stop playing God, and stop hurting people!

We don't know what's up ahead in 2010. Who were we to know that there was going to be an "Ondoy" when we started in 2009? Or a Maguindanao massacre, or a Mayon volcano eruption, for that matter. But instead of fear, let us do our best, and to God we leave the rest! Fear is useless, what is needed is trust!

One big thing we all must watch and prepare for is the May 2010 elections. Let us make sure we don't allow thieves and criminals to go inside our nation, indeed inside our very homes. We've had enough of them, and we don't need more. Let us work and pray for a harvest of good leaders in our land. We are a rich country, but we are very poor when it comes to leaders.

One of the hardest things I did this Christmas season was to break the sad news to two teenaged girls that their mother, a caregiver in London, had died, and that they won't see her again. I cannot forget the disbelief, the grief in their young faces, the utter helplessness over the situation and the uncertainty of the future ahead of them. Fatherless, and now motherless, they have to journey alone and unprepared for what is up ahead. Please remember that as you thank God for your blessings in life; don't forget to reach out to those around you who have nothing or no one, or have little in life.

Don't forget too that the first day of the year is dedicated to Mary, Mother of God. Mary, our Mother, will be with us every single day of the year. Let us entrust unto her Motherly care all our hopes and fears, works and prayers, confident that we have a Mother who is always near, and so we need not fear.

Happy New Year! Fresh start. New beginnings! Remember, as someone said, what the new year brings us will depend a great deal on what we bring to the new year. Praying that 2010 will be a better year for all of us, in all aspects, in Jesus' name. Amen!

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To borrow Everett Melton Garrett's wish for the coming year, I wish you: "enough happiness to keep you sweet; enough trials to keep you strong; enough sorrow to keep you human; enough hope to keep you happy; enough failure to keep you humble; enough success to keep you eager; enough friends to give you comfort; enough faith and courage in yourself, your businesses and your country to banish your depression; enough money to meet your needs, and enough determination to make each day a better day than yesterday."

A moment with the Lord:

Lord, thank you for 2010. May every day this new year find us working and praying, loving and hoping. Amen. (By Fr. Jerry Orbos)

From "Joy to the World" to "Joy in My Heart"

What then Must We Do?

That is why the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, which we celebrate today, becomes a very important one. It reminds us that Mary's sinlessness is not something that Mary achieved by her own power. It is a gift of God, given to her right from the very moment of her conception. It is in the genes, as they say. In the same vein, those of us who happen to be holy, who sin less than the average sinner, should regard our holiness as basically a gift of God and not an achievement. Our attitude should then be characterised by two basic attitudes, thankfulness to God, and humility before those who are naturally and spiritually less gifted than we are.

The dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854. It affirms the belief that the Blessed Virgin Mary was free from sin right from the very beginning of her life. That means that by the grace of God, she was shielded from original sin which all humankind inherit at the very moment they begin to live, i.e. at the moment they are conceived in their mother's womb. That means that Mary was not burdened with a defective human nature with which you and I come into the world. She came into the world with a perfect human nature like that of Eve and Adam before they sinned and fell from grace. God gave her this perfect human nature not as a reward for anything she did, not on account of any merit on her part, but in view of the singular role she was to play in life, namely, that of being the mother of God's Son. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception tells us something about who Mary is. But maybe it tells us more about who God is and who we are in light of God's providential love.

Belief in the Immaculate Conception of Mary is belief in a provident God, i.e., a God who provides for the future, who prepares His children for their assigned task in life even before they are born, a God who foresees and equips us with all the natural and supernatural qualities we need to play our assigned role in the drama of human salvation. God anoints them already in the womb those men and women whom He created to be His prophets. As He told Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:5). God does not just throw us into this world wide wilderness and then leave us to fight it out among ourselves. The theory of evolution with its doctrine of the survival of the fittest may describe human nature in its fallen state, in the state of original sin, it does not describe life for the people of God redeemed by grace from the unbridled effects of the Fall.

As we rejoice with Mary, God's most favoured one ("full of grace") on the feast of her conception, let us thank God for His love and mercy which embraces us right from the moment of our own conception. As Scripture says, "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" (1Corinthians 4:7). Everything is gift, everything good in us is God's grace. For we all, children of God, are also favoured ones and heirs of God's grace. Yet Mary remains the most favoured one, the mother of all favoured ones, the one that enjoys the fullness of grace. (Munachi)

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Advent Sunday 2....

Receiving Christ with Joy