During my 30-day Ignatian retreat, my spiritual director asked me if I ever brought my anger issue into my prayer. For almost two decades at that time, I was constantly wrestling with the demon of anger. There is a problem with holding anger in one’s heart: Holding on to anger is like having it in the palm of your hands, like a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone; you are the first to get burned. The teacher who put me down and embarrassed me in front of everyone did not even know the extent of the psychological trauma I suffered. All those years, I have not forgiven him.

The story of the man born blind in the Gospel this Sunday takes us back to the mentality among the Jews of that time; that such blindness is the result of the sins committed by the man or his parents. Jesus corrected that belief by saying that the blindness of the man was not because he sinned or his parents sinned, but so that God's power - comes to light in His ministry. Jesus proceeded to mix a little earth with saliva and put it on the eyes of the blind man. This action of Jesus alludes to the creation story in Gen. 2:7, LORD God formed the man (Adam) out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Adam is a popular Hebrew name that means the son of the crimson earth. By healing the man born blind, Jesus worked a new creation.

The people of Israel have come a long way after their exodus from Egypt. They wandered in the desert of Sinai, and at Horeb, they complained and blamed Moses, reminiscing their better days in Egypt. The Israelites were like the Samaritan woman in the Gospel; they found themselves in great difficulty and discouragement. Their physical thirst is an expression of a deeper thirst, spiritual. Exteriorly they seemed to follow the Lord’s leading, but interiorly, their hearts drifted away from Him, even dreaming of a better situation in Egypt. They murmured: Does the Lord want us to die here of thirst? Is He in our midst or not? Moses knows that Yahweh is in their midst; it’s the people who are not with God; because their hearts are away from Him. Moses implores God to intervene. Yahweh reveals His presence by giving them the miraculous water flowing from the rock.

Peter, James, and John experienced God’s manifestation differently when “a bright cloud cast a shadow over them” and heard the voice confirming the only begotten Son. Like the many Old Testament manifestations of a thick and luminous cloud, this phenomenon signifies God’s presence. During Israel’s exodus: The LORD preceded them, in the daytime using a column of clouds to show them the way (Ex. 13:21). When God gave the Ten Commandments, the mist of God’s glory overshadowed Mt. Sinai as Moses received it (Ex. 24:15-18). The clouds filled up the tabernacle or tent, a clear sign of God’s presence (Ex. 40:34). And when the first temple built by King Solomon was dedicated, a cloud overshadowed it (1Kg. 8:11).

The Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to bring salvation to humanity: And you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (Mt. 1:27). Jesus saves His people from the power of Satan, from sin and its ultimate consequence, death. In Jesus’ ministry of healing and expelling unclean spirits, He would forgive sins and reconcile the sinner to the Father. His death on the cross is the salvific sacrifice, a ransom for man’s sins, brought reconciliation and peace with the Father.

The theme of the readings today is the commandment to “love our enemies” - a demand that contradicts the secular wisdom of the world and appears extremely difficult to fulfill. Indeed, without help from God, it would be hard; we need faith to embrace this commandment. To many, it is easier to tolerate or disregard one’s enemies than to maintain a relationship with them. How do we love our enemies? What Jesus wants to teach us here demands not our strength and goodness but the love and holiness of GOD. Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, Am Holy. When God says: You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart, He is giving us a guideline on how to pursue holiness when the emotion of anger comes up. 

Mt 5:17-37
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus continues to calm the fears of the religious leaders that He is out to abolish the laws. But He reminds them that the LAW must not remain engraved in stone tablets but must live in the hearts of men. The LAW must be observed not only according to the intent of the letter; but by its SPIRIT. The demands to live by the SPIRIT as to simply imposing the letter of the LAW takes higher importance. Because the former requires an honest, selfless, and patient pursuit of the truths of God in prayer, asking the help of the Holy Spirit for inner freedom, creativity, and intelligence.

Mt 5:13-16

Coming from the Season of Christmas, we celebrated the coming of the glorious LIGHT in the world of darkness, Jesus CHRIST. Jesus came to enlighten us, enliven us with His Spirit, to lead us by His light to the fullness of life in the Father.

Mt 5:13-16

Coming from the Season of Christmas, we celebrated the coming of the glorious LIGHT in the world of darkness, Jesus CHRIST. Jesus came to enlighten us, enliven us with His Spirit, to lead us by His light to the fullness of life in the Father.

Mt 5:12a

In the days of the prophet Zephaniah around 700 BC, the Lord promised to take care of the “remnants of Israel,” the humble and the lowly who seek refuge in Him. It’s not surprising that Matthew premises the Beatitudes with this opening: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven because this theme is deeply rooted in the Scriptures. God has repeatedly shown special favor to the anawim - the poor, the lowly, and the humble, the little ones. The preferential option for the poor is how the contemporary landscape calls this service.

The reading from Isaiah is paired with the Gospel because Matthew sees the prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled in Jesus’ revelation of Himself in the region of Galilee. During this time, the kingdom of Israel was divided into two (2), Northern Israel and Southern Judah. Both, unfortunately, were in a state of decadence and destruction. So, when the Assyrians, the dominant empire of the time, expanded to their southern borders, they invaded the northern tribes of Israel, the land of Zebulun and Naphtali was the first to be destroyed; and experienced darkness. These two tribes of Galilee were once - allotted to the two Sons of Jacob and part of the twelve tribes of Israel.

John the Evangelist uses the theme of the Lamb of God in his Gospel and the book of Revelation. - Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins. - The symbolism of the LAMB as an innocent sacrifice originated in the Old Testament. In the Temple liturgy, the priest sacrifices an innocent lamb as a holocaust or burnt offering. The burnt lamb offering stresses the victim character of the offering - innocent, harmless, and endearing sacrifice to depict the Savior, the Lamb of God. The prophets use these unique characteristics of the lamb to refer to the Messiah, the Christ.

Mt 2:1-12

The Feast of the Nativity of our Lord re-enforces the truth of His real identity; that He is the true God and true man, the incarnate Son of God. The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. He is the light of the world, who gives light to all nations. His light invites us into the radiance of the saving promise of God. The Second Vatican Council calls this radiance: Lumen Gentium, Jesus Christ as the “Light of All Nation.”

Happy New Year! Jesus. Like all other years, this year I offer to You, Jesus – at all times and all people, everything belongs to you, Lord. You are the Alpha and the Omega who defies chronology. You are the beginning and the end - YOU are, period! Yesterday, today, and forever. Let us face the New Year 2023 with confidence and trust in God and with a firm resolve to listen more about what God wants and expects of us. In the midst of all the noise and haste, let us take time to listen and be obedient to His Divine Will and Plan.