REFLECTIONS TODAY The Prologue of John’s Gospel says, “A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light” (1:6-7). John, the son of Zechariah, is so associated with his baptizing ministry in the Jordan River that he is known as the Baptist. But in the Fourth...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In contrast to the other evangelists who situate the story of Jesus in history, John starts from “the beginning,” in the sphere of God, when only God was there. But the Word was with God in the beginning, and creation was done through the Word. The evangelist then leaves the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY I had the chance to meet my two grandmothers from my father’s side and my mother’s. While I did not live with them, I somehow came to know them during those special occasions of being with them. What struck me in both of them was their sense of wisdom, of having learned so...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The presentation of Jesus in the Temple shows the obedience and fidelity of his parents Joseph and Mary to the Torah that requires the purification of a mother within 40 days after childbirth and the presentation or redemption of the firstborn son. Their obedience to the Law...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Feast of the Holy Innocents makes us aware of the continuing dangers that infants and children are facing in today’s world. While they are the most harmless of creatures, babies and small children are the object of crime and violence. The Son of God becomes a human being...
REFLECTIONS TODAY LUKE 2:22-40 When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord... Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus is very clear with his disciples that following him will not be easy; on the contrary, they will meet opposition and persecution. This is what he, the Master, will experience. Yet, he promises them every help, especially that of the Holy Spirit who will be their...
REFLECTIONS TODAY LUKE 2:1-14 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Like its parallel, the Magnificat, Zechariah’s prayer of blessing (Benedictus) proclaims what God the Lord has done for his people, Israel. It is a summary of God’s saving interventions towards Israel, culminating in the giving of a “mighty Savior, born of the house of his...
REFLECTIONS TODAY We can all write our own Magnificat . It would be interesting to read how in various ways God intervenes in the lives of each one of us. To magnify God or to proclaim God’s greatness seems easy. Sadly, as we go through life achieving great things, reaping successes, and becoming...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Gospel highlights the blessedness of Mary and Elizabeth, two channels of God’s graces. In the Bible, God is said to “visit” his people often. God is like a king who loves his people and visits them every so often to see how they are and to reassure them that he...
REFLECTIONS TODAY LUKE 1:26-38 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was...
