*FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY! *

In an old Chinese story, a teacher who was talking about the beauty of family life asked his students, "What is the most satisfying thing in life?" "A happy marriage," some replied. Others said, "Good health." There were many more answers, but after everyone failed to give the correct one, the teacher said, "The most satisfying thing in life is to see a child confidently walk down the road on his own after you have shown him the right way to go."

Once again the Church reminds us of the importance of the family by celebrating the Feast of the Holy Family on the very first Sunday after Christmas. The Holy Family of Jesus, Joseph and Mary, living together in Nazareth is often called the model and example of all Christian families, however, when you think about the Holy Family as a model for our life, perhaps there is something in that idea we may find a little hard to swallow. For the Holy Family is so Holy, the child is so absolutely special, the relationship between Mary and Joseph so different from what we normally expect of a married couple, that it seems almost impossible to relate the circumstances of our daily family life to the lives of these three people in Nazareth. It was in such a family that Jesus learned the "right way to go" — a family which, though it had its moments of joy, was nonetheless not spared from problems and sufferings. To cite a few examples.

*Rejection*: When the hour for the delivery of Jesus came, He was born in a manger because there was "no room in the inn." What, irony! The Son of the Creator of the universe did not even have a decent place to be born in!

*Victim of power play*: Shortly after the birth of Jesus, a new family crisis occurred. King Herod regarded Jesus as a threat to his political security. For did not the Magi say that they were looking for the King of the Jews? Herod thus ordered the massacre of all male children in Bethlehem two years old and under. What some people are willing to go through to stay in power, even at the expense of the innocent!

*Political refugees:* Joseph must have been unaware of this development. But not God. In a dream, an angel told Joseph to take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. In contemporary terms, such people are called "political refugees." Joseph, using his carpentry skills, supported his family as a foreign worker.

*Lost and found:* When Jesus was twelve, the family went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Passover as it was custom. On the way home, perhaps because Joseph and Mary left separately, each thought that the other had Jesus. It was only when they saw each other in the camp that evening that they discovered Jesus was not with either of them. Another suffering: They were parents of a lost child, an experience shared by many parents separated by divorce or its equivalent, man–made or natural calamities or war.

From these instances, we can easily see that the Holy Family was not exempted from problems and sufferings. But praying and putting their trust in God, they confronted them head on. Problems and sufferings, accepted and doing something about them in faith, strengthened their love for each other and consequently their family ties.

Blest as the Holy Family was by God, it did not dispense with the ordinary human qualities that each member of the family must work hard to acquire love and concern for one another, respect for each one's dignity and freedom and trust for one another.

The fact that God allowed His Son Jesus to be born and to grow up in a family shows the importance of the family in His plan of salvation. In the family, Jesus was not only nourished but also nurtured. There, seeing the example of His parents, He learned what to have an intimate loving relationship with each other and with God was. There He learned what love and support for one another can do in times of difficulties. There He learned about compassion for those with less in life. In short and in the words of St. Paul, they "put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another.... And over all these (they) put on love, ".

Nowadays, the family, the nucleus, and the bedrock of society are under severe attacks from all sides. From within, one reason why families break up is pride — husbands and wives are too proud to accept each other's weaknesses and faults. The consequences of broken families to each other and the other members of the family are too grim to imagine. And who suffer the most? The children, of course!

If only all families anchor their marriage in God, as did the Holy Family, then many of the problems besetting families today may be prevented. If only married couples allow the values of love and concern for one another, respect for each one's dignity, and freedom and trust for one another reign supreme in their marriage, then when problems arise, they can face them together in faith thus bringing them closer to each other. Then, for them, the family really becomes the place where they will find God and their sanctification.

May the Holy Family be the model of all families!

 *CHRISTMAS VIGIL MASS HOMILY! *

Today we have gathered here after a long preparation of four Sundays of Advent to celebrate Christmas, the birthday of our Saviour and master. We Christians believe in the miracle of Jesus' virgin birth, and we also believe that this miracle baby was God incarnate — God becoming human. The newborn Saviour was fully human and fully divine — a mystery that only heaven will fully reveal.

One of the best religion writers Louis Cassels of United Press International was wide read his column of "Religion in America" from 1955-1974. For several years he struggled to find an effective way to communicate the doctrine of the incarnation which he believed to be "the heart of the Christian faith that God has revealed himself in history in the person of Jesus Christ."

In December 1959, Cassels wrote "The Parable of the Birds," which became so popular that it featured in many magazines year after year, and it is still told countless times on every Christmas season.

In his Parable of the Birds, Louis Cassels tells of a man who refuses to go with his family to the Midnight Mass because he cannot understand the incarnation. Left alone at home, he finds a flock of birds in his backyard. Caught in the storm, the little creatures are desperate for shelter. He tries to usher the birds into the barn by sprinkling breadcrumbs along the way. When this fails, he tries to show them in by walking around them, waving his arms in the air. But the birds still do not understand. Finally, he realizes the problem: the birds find him a stranger and a terrifying creature. They do not trust him. He murmurs, “If only I could be a bird for a moment, perhaps I could save them. “At that moment, he hears the church bells ring the good news of Christmas. He sinks to his knees, saying: “Now I see why God has to become one of us.” Why does he have to become a man?

By becoming man, God has, in a certain way, united Himself with every human person. He has revealed to us the truth about who He is – He is Love. He has revealed to us also that every human being has dignity, including the unborn child, the poor, the outcast, the suffering, and the dying. By becoming man, God came to earth to deliver us from sin and death. He came to make all things new to bring about the new creation. He took on our human nature so that we might become partakers of His divine nature, that we become sharers in the life of the Blessed Trinity. “The people who live in darkness have seen a great light.” We live in darkness, but He is light. So God descended into our darkness that we may share in His light.

Yes, our God stoops, he stoops so low to the lowest place, the manger and to find him, and be with him we too must be willing to stoop. God hates pride. He just can’t stand it. With humility, by descending so low to take upon himself the nature of man, he conquers pride. Darkness cannot overpower darkness. Only light can do that. Hate can not defeat hate. Only love can do that. Pride will not defeat Pride. Only humility will do that. So God stoops.

And tonight, God calls us with this same humility. He could have descended from Heaven on a lightning bolt and stunned us into fearful submission. Instead, he goes to the lowest place. He comes quietly, non-violently, without threat, as an infant. But even in this lowly way, he is still calling.

Jesus comes to be born for us. But is there room in the inn of our heart to receive him?

The Gospels tell us “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. But to all who did receive him and believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God.” What could be sadder than to miss this precious gift to become the very Children of God?

But what do we need to do if we are to take this gift of Christ seriously? We have already taken the first step: we have set time aside in which to keep Vigil. We have listened to the word of God, and it is penetrating into our hearts. Tonight we seek to open our hearts again to welcome Christ into our lives, not simply as a consolation in our hardships but as the Master, the Lord, who alone can teach us the way to live each day.

Once again let us be reminded that the great joy of Christmas is that God made himself as we are so that we might ever become what he is – that we, too, may share in the divine life of him who humbled himself to share own humanity. Christmas reminds us that Jesus truly is Emmanuel – God with us – and not only God with us, God who loves us.

Tonight, we are being invited to begin once again a relationship of love with Jesus. As we keep vigil in this Church, we are invited by Christ through the angels who announce his presence to set aside all fear. We are called into the presence of the Christ-child. We are invited to accompany him in his journey from infancy, through childhood, to his adult life and to his death and resurrection; from this Vigil of Christmas night to the Solemn Vigil of Easter night. We are invited to surrender ourselves, the whole of ourselves, into his hands so that he, Christ, may transform us by his word and through his sacraments.

Let us pray: Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

 THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT YEAR C!

There was a great monastery that had fallen on hard times. In the past it had been populated by hundreds of devoted monks who were praying, working in the fields and serving the poor. But now for a variety of reasons, the population of the monastery had dwindled until all that were left were the Abbott and three monks. And they were all in their 70’s, so clearly the life of this monastery was about to come to an end. In the woods next to the monastery there was a small hut in which an old rabbi lived. He was known for his wisdom and spent his days as a hermit. The Abbott thought there was nothing to lose in visiting the rabbi. Perhaps he would have some word of advice that could save the monastery. The rabbi welcomed the Abbott warmly and listened to his story. Then the rabbi said, “I know only one thing about your monastery: God has revealed to me that the Messiah is one of you.”

The Abbott returned to the monastery and told the other monks what the rabbi had said. They were filled with wonder. The Messiah is one of us, one of us here in the monastery? Immediately they began to debate who the Messiah could be: It must be the Abbott. He’s our leader, and he has wisdom and strength. Surely, he is the Messiah. But then again, there is Brother Thomas. He is a holy man, and we often see the love on God in him. It probably is not Brother Elrod. He is old and cranky. But when we have to make a decision, he’s usually right. In fact he is almost always right. Maybe he’s the Messiah. The only monk left was Brother Phillip, and at first no one thought he was the Messiah because he was passive and even lazy. But then they realized that whenever there was a need, he was suddenly there to help. So try as they might, the monks could not figure out who the Messiah would be. Therefore, they determined to wait until the Messiah was revealed.

But as they waited, they changed. Because they were sure that the Messiah was one of them, they began to treat one another with more and more respect. They found themselves laughing more often, beginning the day with a certain joyous expectation that perhaps today might be the day that the Messiah was revealed. The people who lived in the village close to the monastery noticed the change in the monks when they interacted with them. People started to come for Mass at the monastery and began seeking out the monks for spiritual direction. The word spread among their family and friends. Soon the young people in the town began to consider joining the monastery. In a few years, that monastery was as alive and thriving as ever.

In today's gospel John the Baptist tries to announce the same powerful message to the Jews of His time who were anxiously waiting for the coming of the Messiah. John tells them: " Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal".

The reason the Jews of Jesus’ time could not recognize him as the Messiah is that they had definite ideas on how the Messiah was going to come. The Messiah would suddenly descend from heaven in his divine power and majesty and establish his reign by destroying the enemies of Israel. No one would know where he came from, humanly speaking, because he came from God. So when finally Jesus came, born of a woman like every other person, they could not recognize him. He was too ordinary, too unimpressive.

After 2000 years, are we now better able to recognize Christ in the persons of the ordinary men and women in our midst together with their unimpressive attitudes, habits and appearances?

John the Baptist was the last of the prophets whose mission was to bear witness to the Lord when he came among his people. He prepared the way for the Anointed One and pointed him out. Today John is the model for every one of us: we are called to be prophets in our world; we are called to bear witness to the Christ; in the wilderness of human greed, injustice, and falsehood. We are called to make straight the way of the Lord.

Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of the Lord: His coming to us sacramentally at Christmas, His coming to us individually at the end of our lives and His coming to us collectively at the end of time. That's why in the first Sunday of Advent, we talked about the preparation by being watchful because we do not know when Christ will come again. In the second Sunday, we also talked about how to prepare and be watchful and that is preparing the way of the Lord by way of repentance. And today's Third Sunday of Advent let us talk about Christ's coming or His presence among us especially nowadays. All through the centuries, Jesus has been coming into the lives of his people, and along with his comings John the Baptist's indictment keeps re-echoing: There is one among you whom you do not recognise."

What a changed world there would be if we would treat the people we live with and meet each day like the monks after they discovered that the Messiah was in their midst, but in disguise. Is he still amongst us and we don’t recognize him because of his disguise?

Lord Jesus, give us your holy Spirit so as to recognise you in others always and to treat them with respect and love as the best way to prepare for your coming at Christmas and at the end of time. Amen.

 THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT YEAR C!

For today's homily, I came across the story about the faces in Da Vinci’s Last Supper. One of the world’s greatest portraits ever painted. This story reveals that when the painter Leonardo Da Vinci was painting The Last Supper, he had an intense and bitter argument with a fellow painter. Da Vinci began to think of a way to get back at this guy. He came up with a deceitful plan. He decided to paint the face of his enemy as the face of Judas Iscariot, so it would be captured for all time, and that is exactly what he did. When people came to look at his work, while it was still in progress, they immediately knew who “Judas” was. Da Vinci got great joy out of portraying this man as Judas Iscariot. But as he continued his work on the painting of Jesus and his disciples, he finally came to the face he had saved for the very end-the face of Jesus. But he drew a mental blank. He could not paint a thing. Finally, God convicted him and showed him the trouble he had painted the face of his enemy as the face of Judas Iscariot. He realized that his hatred and bitterness were keeping him from being able to face the face of Christ. So he went back to the image of Judas and repainted some unknown face. He went to his painter enemy, asked forgiveness, and they were reconciled. Then he went back and could clearly paint the face of Christ and complete his masterpiece. Be reconciled with your fellow human beings, says today's Gospel.

There is a penitential element to the season of Advent. The Advent season, besides being a season of joyful expectation, is also a season of repentance. This is symbolized by the violet colour of the vestments. John the Baptist is one of the central figures and our guide for the season of Advent. Today’s Gospel defines his role. He is to prepare the way of the Lord. But how does John prepare the way of the Lord? We might think that he does this simply by announcing that Jesus is coming. But I think his role is much deeper than that. John’s ministry is not about information. It is about formation. He is not only telling us about Jesus, he is forming us so that we will be able to receive Jesus.

In today’s Gospel, he appears preaching a baptism of repentance. That makes repentance a part of this season of Advent. It calls us to practice repentance during these weeks before Christmas. But what is repentance? There are several meanings to the term, but its most foundational sense is a call to change, to change something in our lives. We see that all of us have qualities in our lives that keep God out, that make the way of the Lord crooked and rough, that prevent Christ from coming into our hearts.

The season of Advent calls us to repent, to change anything that hinders Christ’s coming. Of all the things that hinder Christ’s coming, perhaps the most detrimental is any resentment that we have in our hearts against others. We see, when someone hurts us, when someone rejects us, when someone demeans us, our hearts fill with anger and pain. That pain makes our hearts hard. Our hearts become ready for battle, ready to strike back. When our hearts are hardened, it will be difficult for us to receive the grace of Christ. When our hearts are hardened by resentment, we cannot welcome the Prince of Peace in our hearts.

Therefore, this season of Advent asks us to examine whether we are carrying resentment against others? When someone hurts us, we prolong that pain by making it into a story and then telling and retelling that story over and over again. We make the pain permanent by giving it a narration by repeating over and again what happened, what someone said, how we felt. As we tell that story over and over again, we continue to give life to the hurt and to the pain.

The season of Advent calls us to let go of the stories of our hurt so that our hearts can heal. Yes, we have been hurt. Yes, we have been treated badly. But the only thing we accomplish by telling that story over and over again is to keep the pain alive. It is time to stop the story. Resentment builds a roughness into our lives. It twists our hearts. If Christ is coming to us, he needs a way that is straight and smooth.

The recognition of our inability to make things right reminds us of why we wait for Jesus. Jesus is coming. Of course, we can never forgive or let go of our hurt without God’s help. Advent is a time of grace. So this is the time to ask for that help, to let go of the story, to let go of the hurt, and prepare the way of the Lord, because it is only by finding the emptiness in our lives, in our world, in our church, that we will have the room to let Jesus in.

 THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT YEAR C!

Once, there was a round table discussion on religion and freedom in which many theologians and famous religious leaders were present. Dalai Lama, the Tibetan religious leader and a Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff, were also taking part. During recess, there was a brief discussion between Dalai Lama and Leonardo. Leonardo asked Dalai Lama: “Your holiness, what is the best religion?”

Leonardo thought that he would say: “The Tibetan Buddhism” or “The oriental religions, much older than Christianity.” Dalai Lama paused for a moment, smiled and looked into his eyes and said: “The best religion is the one that gets you closest to God and makes you a better person.” He further asked him: "But what is it that makes him a better person?" Dalai Lama responded: “Whatever makes you more compassionate, more sensible, more detached, more loving, more humanitarian, more responsible, and more ethical.” “The religion that will do that for you is the best religion.”

Leonardo was silent at his wise and irrefutable response. Dalai Lama said, "I am not interested in your religion or if you are religious or not. What really is important to me is your behavior in front of your friends, your family, your work, your community, and in front of the world and God." Remember, the universe is the echo of our actions and our thoughts. The law of action and reaction is not exclusively for physics. It is also of human relations. If we act with goodness, we will receive goodness. If we act with evil, we will get evil. we will always have what we desire for others. Being happy is not a matter of destiny. It is a matter of options. And finally, he said: We should be watchful and careful at all times in our lives.

Today is the beginning of Advent season, which reminds us to be vigilant, watchful, and hopeful as we prepare to celebrate the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ. On this first Sunday of Advent, we are warned that everything will end. This is a very timely reminder especially for those who continue to believe that they can extend, prolong or perpetuate their worldly pursuit of power, fame, riches and glory, even at the expense of other people and God Himself. The message is simple, loud, and clear. The key word of today's Gospel is WATCH, which sums up what Dalai Lama said to Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff. The word for word, *W-A-T-C-H stands for* :

*W stands for words.* Watch your words. Our irresponsible use of words can hurt and destroy people. Many relationships had been broken with onslaught of vile language, cursing, and gossiping. Let our mouths be instruments of blessing rather than cursing and gossiping, of kindness than condemnation, of appreciation than destructive criticism and of praising than blaspheming. That is why a saying goes this way: “The tongue should be used to bless rather than to curse; to compliment rather than to criticize; to highlight good qualities rather than focus on bad qualities.”

*A stands for Actions.* Watch your actions. It is rightly said, “Actions speak louder than words”. Do our actions reflect profoundly our faith? We know that a mere profession of faith is not enough. We need to express it concretely in deeds. Can we be more loving, caring, and forgiving in our lives?

*T stands for Thoughts.* Watch your thoughts. A wise man once said: “All that we are is a result of what we have thought. It begins with our thoughts; it is carried on with our thoughts and ends with our thoughts.” The New Testament standard is that it is never enough to avoid doing wicked things; it is to restrain our thoughts not to even desire them. The word may never be concerned with judging the thoughts of humans. But for Christ, thoughts are just as important as actions.

*C stands for Character* Watch your character. Saint Paul says: “Fortitude produces character” and “character produces hope,” (Rom 5:4). When trials afflict people, some may allow themselves to whine and grovel in despair, other may spur themselves with the opportunities of merging stronger and greater and nearer to God. Christians are those who set efforts and hopes in bringing about God’s kingdom in their midst. What is the character of our lives? Is it devoted to our own glory or God’s glory?

*H stands for Heart.* “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” (Matt 6:21). If our hearts are fixed on possessions, we become greedy; if they are directed to having popularity and power, we become proud; if our hearts are set on worldly security, we become people of fear. What is in our hearts? Is it a heart full of love for God and for those whom we have committed ourselves to love? Or is it a heart full of H-Hatred, E-Envy, A-Anger, R-Resentment, and T-Timidity?

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Jesus tells His disciples to be vigilant at all times. He tells us to be alert and to be on the watch and not let our hearts cause anxieties of daily life. Let us watch, and our watch will bring conversion into our lives. Let us prepare ourselves for the coming Christmas celebration, which involves a spiritual renewal on our part so that we can celebrate Christmas meaningfully and allow our Lord to come into our lives. Let us be watchful against the devil and his evil ways and resolve to walk in the light of the Lord.

Take care of your thoughts

because they become Words.

Take care of your words

because they will become Actions.

Take care of your actions

because they will become Habits.

Take care of your habits

because they will form your character.

Take care of your character

because it will form your destiny.

And your Destiny will be your life. Remember, there is no religion higher than the truth.