Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter, Motu proprio "Aperuit illis", published on 30 September, establishes that "the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God". The timing of the document is significant: 30 September is the Feast of Saint Jerome, the man who translated most of the Bible into Latin, and who famously said: "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ". The title of the document, “Aperuit illis”, is equally important. They are its opening words, taken from St Luke’s Gospel, where the Evangelist describes how the Risen Jesus appeared to His disciples, and how “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

Recalling the importance given by the Second Vatican Council to rediscovering Sacred Scripture for the life of the Church, Pope Francis says he wrote this Apostolic Letter in response to requests from the faithful around the world to celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God.

In the baptism of Jesus, John was heard saying look “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” The following scene, as John was with two of his disciples, Jesus passed by and John again alluded to Him, “Behold the Lamb of God.”

Hearing John saying this for the second time about Jesus, something clicked in the minds of his two disciples. It was as if John was pointing and leading them to Jesus, and they started following Jesus, they started their journey as disciples of Jesus. Jesus noticed them and asked, the first words that Jesus uttered in the Gospel of John, “What are you looking for? The same question that probably each disciple, and would be disciple, should confront. Thinking that he was simply like one of the teachers of the Law, and not the awaited Messiah they said, Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying? The calling of the first two disciples then happened, Jesus' answer to their question was both an invitation and a promise, “come and you will see.” The disciples of John “stayed” with Jesus the entire day until four in the afternoon. And they experienced a “veni, vidi, me vicit” moment (I came, I saw, I was conquered).

Epiphany means "manifestation," or public display. The feast is usually celebrated January 6. In the US, it is celebrated on the Sunday nearest to January 6. It originates from a story unique to Matthew (2:1-12). Magi from the East come to offer homage to the newborn King, presenting him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

This part of Matthew's infancy narrative differs from Luke's account of the birth of Jesus. In Luke there are no Magi, star, nor gifts. Luke has Jesus being born in a stable after Mary and Joseph's long travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Matthew seems to have the family living in a house in Bethlehem, where the Magi find them.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. In the Gospel (Mt. 2:1315, 1923), St. Joseph is the main protagonist, making the all important decision for the safety and survival of the Holy Family. Joseph listened to God, obeyed God in total trust and humility.

Joseph the head of the Family was a man of prayer He constantly consulted God, listened and quietly carried out God's plan for the Baby Jesus and the Blessed Virgin. Joseph knew the great task that laid ahead of Jesus, his Son. He knew this the moment he accepted to be the foster father of Jesus. He also knew that everything should be executed perfectly or accordingly as planned.

This is the greatness of St. Joseph : His willingness to obey and faithfully carry out God’s plan in the most humble, simple, and loving way. Being at the forefront of God's plan that was unraveling before him, he was able to step back, and both follow and obey His holy Will. St. Joseph walked the talk of the saying; they who say little, are those who love much."

Blessed Christmas to each of you!

We are the shepherds! We have a responsibility.

We are a few days removed from the actual birth of Jesus. The angels have appeared to the outsiders of that time, the shepherds, and have told them about a wondrous birth of an infant and who he was and what he was destined to do. Therefore, they all decide to go see this miracle themselves. They go in haste.

Because of the experience of what they see, they become the first evangelists: "they made known the message that had been told them about this child." That is why I call them the first evangelists.

In Mt. 1:18-24, we hear of the unconditional obedience of two important characters in the Christmas story, the parents of Jesus, Joseph and Mary. The advent of the baby Jesus started from their simple “Yes” to God’s plan, and yes to His divine will for the salvation of humanity.

The Christmas story revealed one important character of God, His faith with His creatures. The divine plan, the coming of the Son, was conditioned by the obedience of Mary and Joseph. This affirmed God’s belief of human goodness, that human beings are His confident partners in the History of Salvation.

The genealogy of Jesus (Mt. 1, 1-17) which revealed the fallen nature of man, Jesus’ ancestry is lined with people who are sinners and saints. But out of this ancestry came the “Savior” of the world. Despite humanity’s fallen state, God had faith in His people, in that something good can come out of seemingly hopeless situation.

3rd Advent: The Coming of Jesus In Mt. 11: 2-11, John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus with this question: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” John the Baptist accepting his fate, was ready to relinquish his mission… to prepare the way of the Lord.

Today is Gaudete Sunday, the Sunday of joy and hope. The liturgical color for today is rose and not violent, to signify lightness and brightness.

1. Tell John what you hear and see - Advent is the time for penance, accompanied with rejoicing and hope, for God has fulfilled His promise of the Messiah. Hearing from Jesus' mouth about the fulfillment of the prophesy attached to the Messiah, was the 1st Christmas for the disciples of John.

In the Gospel (Mt. 3:1-12), John the Baptist suggests two things we can live by this Advent Season. The first, Repentance - “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” The second, Good fruit - “Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.” Real conversion starts with true repentance, that is, the change of heart and mind. The fruit of real conversion is faithfulness to God that produces good fruits, and other faithful followers of God.

When one experiences the mercy and love of God, he/she makes a fundamental option to follow God and live a life that honors God. Meaning, living a life worthy of the mercy and love shown by His Son, Jesus Christ. A life of gratitude, reverence to God's holy will, and practicing the faith, values, and virtues of a disciple of Jesus Christ. A man exposed early to street crimes, after a series of bad decisions and actions was convicted and spent years in jail. When finally released, he needed just a humble and contrite heart, a true repentance. In confession, the guy broke down, filled with sorrow and remorse, "Today you will be with me in paradise." Humbly begging forgiveness from the Lord, through his Pastor, assured of God’s unconditional love, he was given the absolution for all his sins, finally he cried with tears of joy. Often, the most beautiful and genuine smiles are those to whom much is forgiven. Now, they love much to compensate for the many years that they have loved less.

"Be Prepared," this is the Boy Scout motto. This first Sunday of Advent, Mt. 24: 37- 44 tells us the two options Jesus says that we can take in life: to live in comfort and sin, or to be prepared and be righteous. In Christian life, complacency can be our biggest weakness, the Gospel tells us, "be prepared," for you do not know on which day your Lord will come.

Today is the First Sunday of Advent. It is the first day of preparation for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is the acceptable time of salvation, and the time to prepare to welcome the Baby Jesus into our hearts and our lives. It is the time for peace and reconciliation. It is also the time for giving and sharing the greatest gift of God, the Baby Jesus.

Zacchaeus was a Jew, thus also considered the Son of Abraham. But because he was a tax collector collaborating with the Roman Empire, he is considered a traitor and a violator of the covenant. He abused his position, for this he was despised by his people. But Zacchaeus heard about a man named Jesus, who was proclaiming the mercy and love of God. In Jesus, He found a chance to come back to the Lord. When he heard He was coming, he ran ahead to have a glimpse of Jesus. It took a glimpse to discover God’s mercy, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” The conversion of Zacchaeus is a miracle of God’s mercy. God the Father works joyfully to accept the sinner who meets and welcomes Jesus.

Realizing his misdeeds, he resolved to amend and promised restitution for those he cheated. St. Ambrose said, “Evil does not consist of having wealth, but in not putting it to good use; for just as riches are obstacle for rich people, they are also means for virtues for good people.”

“He who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Lk. 18:14)

How does one approach God justified? Jesus tells us that in order to be justified before God, one must approach with humility and mindful of one’s sinfulness. God’s heart is with those who acknowledge their sinfulness and ask for His forgiveness and compassion. That is why, in the parable, between the two, the tax collector went home justified. Spiritual writers say that prayer justifies; “for repentant prayer or supplicant repentance, raising up the soul to God and re-uniting it to His goodness, without doubt obtains pardon in virtue of the Holy Love which gives it this sacred movement.” (St. Francis de Sales, Treatise on the Love of God, 2, 20).

“Pray always without becoming weary.” (Lk. 18:5)

Jesus tells us to pray without ceasing. Praying unceasingly is not a practice in futility but a witness of a trusting and living faith. God is infinitely much better than the wicked judge who succumbed to the persistency of the widow only because he fears being bothered constantly by the widow. God is not bothered by our persistency, because He sees a living faith behind it, faith that believes that God listens to our prayer. “He prays without ceasing he who prays with good works and works with prayerful spirit. Only thus can we pray without ceasing as we have been commanded.” (CCC 2742-2745)

“He fell at Jesus feet and thank Him...” Lk. 17:16

Jesus asked them to show themselves to the priest who will declare them clean, they put their trust in Jesus and were going to see the priest when one of them went back to give thanks to God before going to the priest. Of the ten, only one was truly healed through faith, that is, saved, v. 19 “Your faith has saved you.”

It's actually an invitation to pray and to show gratitude to God: “What better prayer can we think in our mind, or utter with our tongue, or express with our pen than, “Thanks be to God.”? Nothing can be said more briefly than this, or heard more joyfully, or used more faithfully.” (St. Augustine, Epistolae, 41, 1)