Maria Lactans – Honoring Mary as the Theotokos on the Octave Day of Christmastide

The octave day in the Christmastide is marked as the solemnity of Mary as the Theotokos, though it was formerly celebrated as the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord. It was because baby Jesus was circumcised and given his name, Jesus, on the 8^th day from his birth (Luke 2:21) in accordance with the brit milah mizvah of Leviticus 12:3.

On the Christmas octave day, a focus has shifted from the circumcision of the Son to his mother, Mary so that we can reflect on how baby Jesus was on the 8^th day from his birth with his mother, Mary.  Certainly, it is much better to reflect on Mary holding on 8-day-old baby Jesus in her breast than the circumcision of baby Jesus on his 8^th day of life.

What did 8-day old baby Jesus really look like with his mother, Mary? Imagine, 8-day-old baby Jesus being held in Mary’s breast, perhaps sucking breast milk from her nipple.

An image of Mary and baby Jesus together, baby Jesus held in Mary’s breast, being nursed by her love. And, this motherly love for her newborn baby may be symbolized by her life-sustaining breast milk and the breast itself. 

Baby Jesus on his 8^th day of life incarnate is extremely vulnerable and cannot survive without Mary’s breast. Unless Mary offers her breast to him, baby Jesus would not survive, not to mention, to thrive. Though he is God himself, the Messiah King, he came to this world as such a baby so vulnerable totally on the mercy of her mother’s loving care. And, as the handmaid of God (Luke 1:38) to serve God as the Theotokos, Mary gives her breast to her son, the Son of God, so that he can grow healthy and strong.

An image of Mary breastfeeding baby Jesus, not only give a sense of peace but secureness, keeping from anxieties. And, later in his life, Jesus himself invites us to this kind of peace and secureness as he calls us to be one with him as he is one with the Father.

As we complete the Christmas Octave in honoring Blessed Virgin Mary as the Theotokos with an image of Maria Lactans,  we also reflect that the love of God inviting us to rest in through Christ (John 14:20) in nursing Mary’s love for her Son, sucking her breast and resting there peacefully.

Maria Lactans not only represents the secure attachment of baby Jesus to his mother, Mary, but also our secure attachment to God, for which God the Father sent His only begotten Son, to which Mary has become the Theotokos as the handmaid of God.  Additionally, Maria Lactans, can be a heartwarming symbol that God’s chesed  can be compared to nursing mother’s love for her baby, as reflected in Isaiah 66:10-13.

May the New Year bring abundant blessings and grace of God like the richness of breast milk from Mary's breast that has nourished baby Jesus! 

Christmas Octave Reflection of the Holy Family and Christian Families

Now we are in the Christmas Octave to continue reflecting what it means to have the Logos-Theos incarnated (John 1:1) to dwell among us (John 1:14). This God incarnate is, indeed, Emmanuel (Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 7:14, 8:8; cf. Matthew 28:20), which means “God with us”, named Jesus (Matthew 1:25), which means “יה (yah), Yahweh (יהוה), will save”.  The Father in heaven has sent him to us as our Messiah King out of his salvific love (John 3:16). Yes, the Nativity of the Lord, the very first theophany by the incarnation of the Logos-Theos, is indeed the very first sacramental manifestation of God’s חסד (chesed), steadfast covenant love, for us!

The Sunday following the Nativity feast of the Lord (Christmas Day), during the Christmas Octave, is the feast Sunday of the Holy Family, as instituted by Pope Leo XIII in 1893. This suggests that the Nativity of the Lord must be celebrated, appreciated, and understood, in the context of the Holy Family, not only during the Christmas Octave but throughout the entire Christmastide. And, the Holy Family, to which Christ was born, represents what Christian families are to be. 

So, what is the nature of the Holy Family that Christian families can model?

It is, indeed, the steadfast faith in God, leading to obedience to God’s will.

As Luke 1:38 describes, Mary demonstrated her faith in God through her obedience to God’s will for her to be the Theotokus, while she was betrothed to Joseph but not yet consummated her engagement into matrimony.  Finding out of Mary’s out-of-wedlock pregnancy, Joseph was planning to divorce her quietly as it is not legal to marry a woman pregnant with a child, who is not his, but loved her enough to protect her from legal consequence, which is a death penalty (Matthew 1:18-19). Then, Joseph learned from Angel Gabriel, who made the Annunciation of her virgin pregnancy to her, that Mary was made pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit according to God’s will (Matthew 1:20-23). To this, Joseph responded with his obedience and welcomed Mary as his wife and the son in her womb as his step son (Matthew 1:24-25), because Joseph is just as obedient to God as his wife, Mary, is. The obedience that both Mary and Joseph have demonstrated reflects their uncompromising faith.

Jesus was born to this faithful couple, Mary and Joseph, whose faith made them obedient to God. Therefore, it is evident that Jesus’ absolute faithfulness and obedience to the Father and His will (John 4:34, 5:30, 6:38, 8:26, 10:18, 12:49-50, 14:30-31, 15:10; Matthew 26:39//Mark 14:36//Luke 22:42; Luke 23:46; Philippians 2:8) was affected by the obedience of Mary and Joseph during his formative years in the Holy Family.

See, not only Mary and Joseph but Jesus are all faithful, and therefore, obedient to God the Father.

Faith, which leads to obedience, is associated with hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:8). Therefore, the steadfast faithfulness of the Holy Family, demonstrated by Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, also means that hope and love are other characteristic of this family to which we are to model. 

As Christian families are becoming more like the Holy Family in regard to the steadfast faith, not only we become more obedient to God’s will but, as St. John Paul II has put it in his apostolic exhortation, “Familiaris Consortio”,  our families can serve as more powerful and efficacious agents of Christian hope and love.

Remember, there is the Holy Family because Mary, the wife, and Joseph, the husband, are both faithful and therefore obedient to God's will. Otherwise, the Son of God, the Messiah King, would not have been born in the human flesh of Jesus and nurtured by this Holy Couple. Christian families are to be the placed where children are born and nurtured to grow like Jesus.

During this Christmastide, may all Christian families throughout the world grow more like the Holy Family in regard to the steadfast faith, leaning to obedience in association with hope and love, so that the salvific spirit of Christmas is embodied, reflected and radiated through our Christian families.

From Santa to the Father in Heaven: Reflection of the Christmas Gift

It is Christmas Eve, the last day of Advent Season, through which we have been preparing for the coming (adventus) of…..

Guess who is coming at an unknown hour by the time we wake up tomorrow morning?

Santa Clause? Sure, if you are under a certain age and nice. But, if you are naughty, then, no Santa to you.

Children are more preoccupied with Santa’s coming to bring gifts to them by the time they wake up on Christmas morning.

This tradition of Santa Clause bringing gifts to nice children while they are asleep from Christmas eve night into early Christmas morning is based on St. Nicholas’ generosity to children in need. To honor St. Nicholas’ wish, the tradition of Santa Clause emerged so that no children would wake up on Christmas morning without a gift, even their families are too poor to buy gifts or even they are orphans.

Now, those who are mature enough to be responsible for children’s dream for gifts from Santa have been busy shopping the gifts during Advent. They do not mind so much about spending time out of their own busy schedule to shop Christmas gifts for children they care about. Many of them enjoy being Santa to the children.

The tradition of Santa Claus for Christmas reminds us that Christmas is about a gift. But, it is not a gift that many children would hope to get from Santa. It is not a kind of gift nicely wrapped and placed under Christmas tree. It was the gift that the Father in heaven has sent to us, His beloved children.

This gift from the Father in heaven was first sent to the Immaculate womb of Mary, the blessed virgin, betrothed to Joseph, the righteous man by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:18,20).  The reception of this divine gift to Mary was a total surprise when Angel Gabriel announced it to her but she accepted it with humility (Luke 1:26-38). And, her acceptance of the gift from God led to her joy as she dung in Magnificat canticle (Luke 1:46-55).

Let us not to forget that it was also Joseph, who accepted this gift from God by accepting Mary as his legal wife, though he did not want to marry a woman, who had been made pregnant by someone other than him at first (Matthew 1:18-25).

Thus, through Mary and Joseph, we, too, have received the greatest gift of all, Christ, who was first received in Mary’s Immaculate womb, then, delivered to the world to fulfill Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament, such as Isaiah 7:14.


Yes, children love the jolly Santa tradition associated with nicely wrapped Christmas gifts to know that someone loves them. But, let us not forget the real Christmas gift that the heavenly Father has sent to us out of His love for us (John 3:16) by making the Logos-Theos in the human flesh of Jesus (John 1:1, 14), with the power of the Holy Spirit affecting Mary (Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:18,20) as Mary was full of grace (Luke 1:28, 30), she herself was the Immaculate Conception, being conceived in her mother’s womb without any trace of the Original Sin (Infafabilis Deus).

This divine gift, the Christ, was received first by Mary and then by Joseph, her chaste husband, because both of them were open to God’s will. So, Mary opened her heart and womb to receive Christ as the ultimate gift for us, as our Mother. Then, Joseph received Christ in Mary’s womb as he accepted her as his legal wife. This way, Christ, heavenly Father’s greatest gift to us, legally has the Davidic royal lineage with the Abrahamic ancestry (Matthew 1:1-17).

On this Christmas eve, first and foremost, our hearts goes out to the Father in heaven, with heartfelt gratitude, for sending us this greatest gift in the human history, Jesus the Christ, with the Davidic royal line, to be our King of the universe, and with the eternal order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:11-25; Psalm 110:4 ), to be our High Priest. 

Of course, we are grateful to Mary, who humbly accepted God’s invitation to receive this divine gift first as the Theotokos and also as the Mother to us. Not to mention, we thank Joseph for marrying to Mary, who was already pregnant with this gift in her womb, to give Christ the Davidic legal lineage, and provide all the necessities for the gift to grow into the maturity to bring us the good tidings for our salvation.

So, where do we fit into this Christmas tradition of gift-giving and gift-receiving?

The Santa tradition is just a metaphor was a step into appreciating how loving the Father in heaven has been. As Santa loves good children, the heavenly Father loves us far more than Santa loves children. That is why the gift from the Father in heaven on Christmas is priceless and given to all those who accept him with gratitude and joy.

On this Christmas Eve, are we ready to receive and fully accept this divine gift from the Father in heaven with our open heart? It is this gift from the heavenly Father, who has been coming, and whose coming that we have been preparing throughout the Advent Season.  For this, we have recalled the words of John the Baptist, citing Isaiah 40:3, making a straight high way for the Lord’s coming (Matthew 3:3//Mark 1:3//Luke 3:4), as we have heard on the Second Sunday of Advent.

When the world received this gift, Jesus Christ, he was not so welcomed. In fact, when Mary and Joseph were desperately looking for a nice place to deliver this gift from the heavenly Father, they were declined to have a room in an inn. So, they had to deliver this gift in a stable and wrapped him with swaddling clothes to place in a manger. It was far from a warm and comfortable crib for a newborn baby gift.

Let us make sure that our hearts are much better than the manger in the stable, where Jesus the greatest gift was first received by the world.

Are our hearts warm and comfortable for the greatest gift to be received as he comes?

Do our hearts have enough love to wrap this gift?

If our answers to these question are yes without hesitation, then, we must be ready for Christmas.

Let us also remember that Christ is the first gift from our heavenly Father, delivered to us through the cooperation of Mary and Joseph as our Parakletos (1 Johm 2:1). We have also received another gift of Parakletos, the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 26), on Pentecost, also from the Father in heaven, in the name of Christ the gift. 

May our hearts be like these of Mary and Joseph, who have accepted this divine gift first with their open, humble, and loving heart, so that we, too, can receive Jesus Christ, this gift.  Amen.

Merry Christmas!

Advent is Not for Holiday Stress but a Time of Preparatory Penance and Anticipatory Joy.

As we have begun the Advent Season on Cycle A, let us make sure our Advent will be as what Advent is meant to be. It means that our Advent  will not turn into a time of holiday stress but a time of preparatory penance and anticipatory joy for Christ's coming. 

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Happy New Liturgical Year and Happy Advent! It’s Year (Cycle) A!

A liturgical year (cycle) begins with the First Sunday of Advent on all cycles (A, B, C).  We have just begun a liturgical year of A on this First Advent Sunday on the ABC-3-cycle liturgical calendar.

Because the liturgical color of the Advent season is purple and there is no gloria singing at Mass during this season, just as it is the case during Lent, we regard this preparatory season for Christmas as a penitential. However, Advent is not considered as a penitential liturgical season in the eyes of the Canon Law. Nevertheless, it bears a penitential tone like Lent mainly reflecting a theme of the Second Sunday of Advent Gospel readings on Cycle A and Cycle B (Matthew 3:1-12, A; Mark 1:1-8, B): repent because the Kingdom of God is at hand. For this reason, all the Second Sunday of Advent Gospel readings (Matthew 3:1-12, A; Mark 1:1-8, B; Luke 3:1-6, C) cite Isaiah 40:3, which says the voice in the wilderness is calling to prepare the straight way of the Lord to come. It means that a prophetic voice in the wilderness is calling us to remove all obstacles that may get in the way of the Lord to come, as his Kingdom is at hand. The obstacles are our sins. Therefore, the Second Sunday of Advent focuses on our need to repent in order to truly joyfully prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord on Christmas.

Yes, though there is a penitential tone of this preparatory liturgical season, except for the Gaudete Sunday (the Third Sunday of Advent), which focuses on joy in our anticipation of the Lord’s coming, it is essentially a season to rejoice. Therefore, we can say, “Happy Advent!” in addition to “Happy New Liturgical Year!”

So, we have just begin a new liturgical year with the Advent season of preparatory penance and anticipatory joy on this First Sunday of Advent on Cycle A to set the tone for the season. And it is important to reflect this theme from the Gospel Reading of the First Sunday of Advent.

These are the words of Christ read for the First Sunday of Advent on Cycle A:

"As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake!

For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." (Matthew 24:37-44)

Jesus spoke these words directly to his disciples in Jerusalem during his last seven days before his Crucifixion.

Basically, the above kerygma of Christ emphasizes the importance of being vigilant for the coming of the Lord so that we are prepared to meet his at his arrival. Vigilance – so that we will not be caught being destructed from recognizing signs of his coming and making ourselves prepared to meet him at his arrival, when he actually comes. Yes, he is coming as he promised to the disciples during the Last Supper (John 14:1-3). And, he wants us to be prepared for his coming at an unexpected and unannounced hour (Matthew 24:37).

The way Jesus put this important teaching is that his unannounced coming may be like how the Great Deluge wiped out those who were too ignorant about the coming of the flood (Genesis 6:9-7:24) in Matthew 24:37-39. They did not know that the flood was coming because they had lost faith and had been preoccupied with mundane matters to the point of wickedness. Jesus has given us a warning that we would face this kind of punishment if we are unprepared to meet him when he is coming, and we may be in such a trouble if we were too busy with worldly and earthly affairs to keep our faith in preparing ourselves for his coming.

As the Advent Season progresses toward Christmas, many of us go experience so-called “holiday stress”. We become more stressed during the Advent Season as we become increasingly busy with holiday shopping. We are also very with so many social events that come with heavy eating and drinking during this season of a year. With all these mundane and worldly stressors, how can we really stay focused on Christ and his coming, in preparing ourselves vigilantly for his arrival? How can we keep us from all these distractions and remain focused on making high way for Christ to come to us during the Advent Season?

Imagine you were so busy shopping and partying to a point of sin of gluttony when Christ comes and you did not even notice his arrival. Then, which one would you be: one taken by Christ or one left in this world to be deconstructed (Matthew 24:40-41)? If you let the worldly preholiday and holiday craziness make you off-guard while Christ is coming, you would be left by him when he comes to take those who remain vigilant with him (i.e. 1 Thessalonians 4:17). While those who are taken by Christ with him upon his coming are like Noah but those who are left out will be like those who were washed out by the Great Deluge.

After all, Advent is a season of penance to remove obstacles in our hearts to make straight highway for God to come, as the Second Sunday of Advent reminds us. At the same time, it is also a season of anticipatory joy, as the Gaudete Sunday (the Third Sunday of Advent) reflects. It is not a season to drive ourselves to destructive stress, raising our blood cortisol level.

To make the Advent Season as it is meant to be, in light of Christ’s kerygma for us to prepare for his coming, we must be strong enough to remove all obstacles, which distract our attention from Christ and his coming. Namely, these obstacles are our sins, internally, and are distracting factors, such as unnecessary shopping and partying, externally.

The world, where evil prevails, and its secular norms tempt us with false notion of “joy” but self-destructive down-spiral hedonism and gluttony, to keep our attention from Christ and his coming, making us drowsy to his coming. So, let us remember these words of Paul, “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect”(Romans 12:2). And, the will of God in the Advent context is discerned from the Gospel text of Matthew 24:37-44.

If you find yourself stressed as the Advent Season moves toward Christmas, you are not making a straight highway of Christ to come. In joyfully anticipating the coming of Christ, we diligently and vigilantly prepare the straight high way of Christ (Isaiah 40:3) as we remove obstacles out of the way by way of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, so that we can joyfully go on a highway, called the Highway of Holiness (Isaiah 35:8) as take by Christ upon his arrival. 

As our work on constructing a straight highway of Christ’s coming makes progress toward Christmas during the Advent Season, the more light of hope, peace, joy, and love, will replace the world’s darkness of sins. This is reflected on our lightings of Advent Candles on each Sunday during this season. The increasing light of Advent joy with the progress of making a straight high way of Christ’s coming also means our Advent penance is in progress in light of Acts 26:18.

Once again, Happy New Liturgical Year and Happy Advent!

Moving from One Liturgical Year to Another: Preparing for the Coming of the Messiah-King to the World and to Our Hearts with the state of γρηγορέω and ἀγρυπνέω

As the week of the 34^th Sunday in Ordinary Time on one liturgical cycle ends and another  begins with the First Week of Advent at a stroke of midnight bell tonight, we ponder meaning of this transitional period from one liturgical year to another.

Toward the last week (the 34^th week in Ordinary Time) of an outgoing liturgical cycle, the last three Sunday Gospel readings (Gospel readings for the 32^nd, the 33^rd, and the 34^th Sundays) increasingly reflect upon our needs to be prepared for Christ’s return (Parousia) as the King of the Universe to judge and completely destroy all evils. An important lesson to prepare ourselves to close a liturgical year is to stand ready to meet the Lord upon his return at the eschaton.  We are called to remain vigilant, not doze off, as his return can be like a thief entering into a house (Matthew 24:43; 1Thessalonians 5:2,4; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 16:15).  

Christ’s return at the eschaton is like a thief entering into a house in the middle of night? It is rather a hyperbolic expression to warn us not to be off -guard when he returns. This teaching on vigilance toward the time of Parousia is also reflected in Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), as well as his parable of the watchful servants and his explanation of the parable (Luke 12:35-48).

When Peter asked Jesus about the parable of the faithful servants (Luke 12:35-40), “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”(Luke 12:41), Jesus answered:

“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute [the] food allowance at the proper time?

Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.

But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”  Luke 12:42-48

Realize from the above words of Jesus that those who fail to be ready to meet Christ in good standing when he returns will be subject to due punishment, whether they knew of his return but failed to act accordingly or they failed due to ignorance.

In fact, the Gospel readings for the 34^th Sunday (Matthew 25:31-46, A; John 18:33-37, B; Luke 23:35-43, C) address failures to see Jesus as the King, who comes to judge. The passages of Matthew 25:31-46 on Cycle A echo Luke 12:42-48, while John 18:33-37 on Cycle B and Luke 23:35-43 on Cycle C remind how our failure to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah King turned into killing him! However, we find a glimmer of hope in the darkness of ignorance as there is one thief, who was crucified along Christ and another criminal, recognized Jesus as God and the Messianic King, repenting and submitting himself to the mercy of God, saying, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”(Luke 23:42). And Jesus assured him of his salvation saying, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise”(Luke 23:43).

When our ignorance about the Messiah King contributed to the killing of him for the crime of being “the King of the Jews”(i.e. John 19:19) about 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem, at least there was one person to recognized Jesus as God and the Messiah King, as reflected in the Gospel reading for the 34^th Sunday (Christ the King Sunday) on Cycle C (Luke 23:35-43).  In fact, the way the world reacted to the first coming of this Messiah King, Jesus, to this world has some similarity. The Lucan narrative of the Nativity (Luke 2:1-20) reminds us that the world was totally ignorant about the first coming of the Messiah King, even though his coming had been prophesized in the Old Testament (i.e. Genesis 3:15; Psalm 24:1-10; Isaiah 7:14; Zechariah 9:9; Malachi 4:2). That is why Mary and Joseph could not find a place to welcome Jesus in a decent place but end up in an animal stable in the outskirts of Bethlehem. When Mary the Virgin gave birth to Jesus, the Messiah King, nobody noticed and celebrated, except until the shepherds, who represent marginalized people of the society, were noticed by angel and came to rejoice witnessing the Messiah King in his nativity (Luke 2:15-20). 

In fact, the world really did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah King until after Jesus came to the Jordan River to be baptized by his cousin, John the Baptist, who had been calling the world to prepare for the public appearance of the Messiah King, citing Isaiah 40:3. It had been at least 30 years since the coming of the Messiah King in his Nativity for the world to gradually notice his presence among us, as said in John 1:14 and 3:16, except for the Magi from the east seemed to have acknowledged Jesus as the King (Matthew 2:1-12) and for Simeon and Ana see him as the long-awaited Messiah (Luke 2:21-38) while he was still a baby.

You see how ignorant we were when our Messiah King was born at his Nativity and at his death and even when he resurrected. He does not want us to be so ignorant when he comes back! That was why we were reminded not to be ignorant but remain vigilant for his return toward the end of the outgoing liturgical year.

Now, we welcome a new liturgical year in and begin the Advent season to prepare for the celebration of the Nativity of the Messiah King. As we prepared for the feast of Christ the King of the Universe on the 34^th Sunday in Ordinary Time of the outgoing liturgical year, we are again reminded to remain vigilant and alert throughout our Advent preparation for the feast of the Nativity of the Lord so that we can welcome the Messiah King into our heart on the feast of his first coming with joy. To kick off into a new liturgical year with First Sunday of Advent, the Gospel readings for the very first Sunday of a liturgical year (Matthew 24:37-44 on A; Mark 13:33-37 on B; Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 on C) call us to stay γρηγορέω/gregoreo (vigilant) (Matthew 24:42, 43; 25:13; Mark 13:34, 35, 37)  and ἀγρυπνέω/agrupneo (alert) (Luke 21:36).

We want to close one liturgical year and to welcome another one as we remain γρηγορέω/gregoreo (vigilant) and ἀγρυπνέω/agrupneo (alert). After all, who wants to miss out the coming of our Messiah King out of ignorance or drowsiness?

What bridges an outgoing liturgical year and an incoming new year is our fully vigilant and alert state of mind.

Maranatha! We long to your coming, our Lord, Jesus! We cannot wait to meet you at your adventus! We cannot fall asleep because we do not want to miss the very moment of your glorious adventus, as we stay ready for the Parousia and ready to celebrate your Nativity, when you began to dwell among us!

Christ the King of the Universe: Are We the King's Bone and Flesh?

The last Sunday of a liturgical year (34th Sunday in Ordinary Time) has been celebrated as the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe (a.k.a. Christ the King Sunday), since Pope Pius XI instituted this solemnity with his encyclical, Quas Primas, in 1925.

Pope Pius XI's motive to institute this solemnity was to remind us of our need to live a Christ-centered life. If not to live a life centered in Christ, obedient to his law, then, our life would be driven by our own egocentric desires, often resulting in conflicts and injustice. The state of the world in 1925, as Pope Pius XI saw it, was where many people and nations had thrust Christ out.  To prevent the world from a destruction due to conflict and injustice, he called the world to put a focus on Christ, the ultimate King, the King of the Universe, whose rule and Kingdom is eternal.

Pope Pius XI wrote:

In the first Encyclical Letter (Ubi arcano Dei consilio)

which We addressed at the beginning of Our Pontificate to the Bishops of the universal Church, We referred to the chief causes of the difficulties under which mankind was laboring. And We remember saying that these manifold evils in the world were due to the fact that the majority of men had thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law out of their lives; that these had no place either in private affairs or in politics: and we said further, that as long as individuals and states refused to submit to the rule of our Savior, there would be no really hopeful prospect of a lasting peace among nations. Men must look for the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ; and that We promised to do as far as lay in Our power. In the Kingdom of Christ, that is, it seemed to Us that peace could not be more effectually restored nor fixed upon a firmer basis than through the restoration of the Empire of Our Lord. We were led in the meantime to indulge the hope of a brighter future at the sight of a more widespread and keener interest evinced in Christ and his Church, the one Source of Salvation, a sign that men who had formerly spurned the rule of our Redeemer and had exiled themselves from his kingdom were preparing, and even hastening, to return to the duty of obedience.

Quas Primas, paragraph 1

As envisioned prophetically in Revelation 19:11-16, Christ will return as the King of the Universe to bring ultimate justice to rule his Kingdom with eternal peace. Upon his return to the world, nothing will go against Christ's holy law. Only those who remain faithful to him and his law will enjoy the New Heaven and Earth in his eternal Kingdom, as described in Revelation 21 and 22.

On Cycle C, the first reading for Christ the King of the Universe Solemnity is taken from 2 Samuel 5:1-3. It is about David was being recognized as the King of Israel, upon rejecting his predecessor, Saul, for the sake of peace and justice of Israel. Saul proved that he was not good enough to serve as a king. As the Israelites replaced Saul with David for their king, they showed their unity with David, saying, "Here we are, your bone and your flesh"(2 Samuel 5:1).

Now, we have Christ as our King, and because by virtues of the Sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation), we are eligible to inherit the Kingdom that he reigns eternally. For us not to forfeit the Kingdom, though, we must remain united with our King as his "bone and flesh".

In fact, our King has expressed his desire for us to remain with and in him as the branches are firmly attached to the vine so that we may be fruitful, bearing good fruits (John 15:1-17), in reiterating his desire to be united as one with us (John 14:20) metaphorically.

The Gospel reading for the Solemnity of Christ the King on Cycle C, Luke 23:35-43, describes Christ as a rejected king by the world. This Lucan Gospel narrative echoes Jesus' parable of tenant vineyard workers in Matthew 21:33-45, in which Christ was rejected and killed by people of this world. And, they are the ones mocking and putting Christ to death, along with two other men.

There are very interesting lines in the Gospel reading (Luke 23:35-43), because there is one man, who saw the crucified Christ as the King, and asking him to remember him as he comes to his Kingdom (Luke 23:42). This man was condemned by the world, which also condemned the King. However, the King condemned by the world proclaimed, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise"(Luke 23:43).

What does this remind us?

It is not the world or its political leaders to decide who are to be saved or who are to be condemned. Out salvation or condemnation is not really based on laws of nations but the law of Christ the King. That is why Pope Pius XI in his Quas Primas, echoing Ubi arcano Dei consilio, instituted the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe, to call for our attention to bring our heart's focus on Christ and his law for our salvation.

To be with Christ as one means to acknolwedge him as the King of the Universe, whose throne is at the right hand of the Father in heaven, and whose Kingdom is eternal. Then, we need to humbly surrender ourselves totally to this King, acknowledging our offenses, as one of the crucified man next to Christ did, even just before his death. The Sacraments of Initiation are to help us keep our vision on the King and to be his "bone and flesh", especially, through the Eucharist.

Two other men were crucified with Christ. One did not recognize Christ. Thus he mocked the King. The other one, however, rebuked the first one for mocking Christ and recognized him as the King, in asking him to remember him, too, in the Kingdom.

Whine one will we be, when he returns to judge, as reflected in Revelation 19? Like the one who rejected and mocked Christ? Or, the one who acknolwedged Christ and asked him to remember?

As long as we remain as "bone and flesh" of our King - remaining one with our King, we will find ourselves in the Paradise with him.

The King will come to harvest the good fruits of the seed that he has sown. As we remain with him like the branches securely attached to the vine, the seed, which is the Word of God, will turn into abundant multifaceted fruit, as in the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), helping us fight against vices.  Remember, the seed that Christ the King has sown is loaded with the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 1:5).

What fruits will we be offering to the King in order to enter into the Kingdom with him? As we can say, "Jesus, remember us when you come into your Kingdom", we are in peace, even condemned by the world. Therefore, we are bound to the Kingdom, where there is peace.

Do We Make the Kind of Efforts that Zacchaeus Made to Encounter the Divine Mercy in Jesus?

The Lucan Gospel story about Zacchaeus' encounter with Jesus  and conversion (Luke 19:1-10) is one of the well-known stories of the Bible. Because of this children’s song, “Zacchaeus Was a Wee Little Man”, many children are familiar with this Gospel stories.

So, how do we relate this Lucan Gospel story about Zacchaeus the chief tax collector of the Jericho region to us?

When I teach this Gospel story to children, I ask them, “Do you make the kind of efforts that Zacchaeus made in order to see or to be seen by Jesus?”  I am not necessarily encouraging my little students to climb up on a tree as Zacchaeus did. 

Zacchaeus was short, as said in the Gospel story and the aforementioned song reminds vividly. He was easily lost in the crowd for his short physical stature. So, he had to climb up on a sycamore tree to see Jesus, when he came to his turf, Jericho, and a crowd swarmed.  

And Jesus recognized Zacchaeus on the tree and commanded him to come down quickly because Jesus decided to stay at his house. Yes, quickly! He wanted Zacchaeus to be with him immediately!
 

I suppose Zacchaeus was not expecting Jesus to come to and stay in his house on that day. Perhaps, he came to see Jesus out of curiosity or maybe, something deep in his heart nudged him to see Jesus, as his conscience was still alive and began to cry out deep in his heart, as if the voice crying out in the wilderness to make the high way of the Messiah to come (Isaiah 40:3), which was represented by John the Baptist calling for metanoia to prepare for the public appearance of Christ (John 1:23).  Zacchaeus and those who worked under his supervision had been known for extortion in collecting taxes for the Roman colonizers, and consequently, hated by his fellow Jews. Though Zacchaeus made himself rich by cheating, the comfort from his dirty wealth did not really kill his conscience. 

So, when he learned about Jesus coming to his town, Zacchaeous could not help but to check out who Jesus really was. And, he was willing to make any efforts for this. Thus, he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed up the sycamore tree to get the best view of Jesus.

This effort that Zacchaeus made to see Jesus is like how a zealous fan of a rock star gets himself first in line to get a concert ticket for the best seat, even he had to camp out in the cold weather in front of the ticket sale box so that he is the  first one to buy a ticket.

The question is: Are we willing to make the kind of efforts that Zacchaeus made to encounter Christ?

For us to do so, we must have a voice crying out to see Christ deep in our heart, no matter how far away we may have gotten from him due to our sinfulness.  And, heeding this voice of our conscience for conversion, we sure have the urge to encounter Christ.

Why Zacchaeus was so wee little? Well, his such a short stature may symbolically tell how he was seen in his society: being hated, seen as insignificant, marginalized, because of his sins of extortion as a puppet of the Roman colonizer. But, Jesus, on the other hand, saw him differently, because of his mercy, which is namely the Divine Marcy, as Jesus himself revealed so to St. Maria Faustina (Diary of St. Faustina, 1074).

The Lucan story of Zacchaeus’ encounter of Jesus and conversion (Luke 19:1-10) is read for Mass on the 31^st Sunday in Ordinary Time on Cycle C, and its corresponding First Reading is taken from Wisdom 11:22-12:2, which reflects the mercy of God. Thus, the Lucan story is about how God’s mercy in Jesus not only recognized a man, made invisible to his society because of his sins, acknowledged him and prompted his instantaneous conversion, preceded by his efforts to seek out Jesus.

Yes, Christ, the Divine Mercy, is coming to seek the lost – the sinners, who are ignored and marginalized by societies – to save them (Luke 19:10). At the same time, like Zacchaeus, we make our efforts to seek him out, also reflected in Deuteronomy 4:29 as well as in Proverbs 8:17, as we hear the voice of conscience crying out in our heart. This may also be like how David felt when his soul thirsted for God (Psalm 63:1).

Do our souls thirst for Christ, who is merciful and mercy himself?

Are we hear and listen to the voice of our conscience, crying out in our hearts, to seek Christ for his mercy?

Does this urge us to make any efforts to seek out Christ to be touched by his mercy for conversion?

If we say “yes” to all of these, then, we may experience an instantaneous metanoia as Zacchaeus enjoyed.

Faith, Gratitude, and Humility: A Lesson from Lucan Narrative of Jesus Healing Ten Lepers

The Lucan Gospel narrative of Jesus healing ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19) appears to be straightforward in its teaching message: the importance of gratitude. In fact, expressing our gratitude for what God has done and His goodness is essential to our faith in Him (i.e. 1 Chronicles 16:8; 2 Chronicles 7:3; Psalm 107:1; 118:1;136:1-4, 26; 1 Thessalonians 5:18). Jesus himself thanked the Father (Matthew 11:25//Luke 10:21; John 6:11; John 11:41; Matthew 26:26-27//Luke 22:17, 19). So, giving thanks, expressing our gratitude, to God is an integral part of our faith in Him.

According to this narrative, ten lepers pleaded Jesus to have mercy on them from the distance, as Jesus was traveling toward Jerusalem. In response, Jesus simply commanded them to go and show themselves to the priests (Luke 17:14). It is noteworthy here that these ten lepers went to show themselves to the priests even though their leprosy was not healed yet. According to Leviticus 13:2-3; 14:2-32, they were supposed to go show themselves to the priests after being healed for verification and to be claimed “clean” in order to be reintegrated to the society. These lepers could have asked Jesus, “Pardon me, Lord, we are not healed yet. We still have leprosy. How can you dare to tell us to go to the priests now? We are already outcast because of our condition. We will be thrown away again!”. If they were fundamentalist to the Torah, they could have argued with Jesus. However, according to this Lucan narrative, none of these lepers even raised a question to what Jesus commanded, though it made no sense to the Torah, and simply went to show themselves to the priests while they still had leprosy.  It is important to note in Luke 17:15, they were healed on their way to see the priests. They were healed because they simply believed what Jesus said and did it.

To the nine, who were Jew, this was the end of the story. However, to one Samaritan person, it was not, because he was the only one to return to Jesus, glorifying God in loud voice, and thanked him by bending himself down at the feet Jesus (Luke 17:15-16).

Though all of these ten lepers believed in Jesus’ healing power, it must have had a far more stronger impact on the Samaritan leper than the nine Jewish ones. Perhaps, subconsciously, these nine Jewish lepers thought that they “deserve” to be healed by Jesus because they were Jew and so was Jesus. On the other hand, it was not that he doubted of Jesus’ healing power, but that the Samaritan leper could have wondered if Jesus, a Jew, would really extend his mercy to him, because his ethnicity was despised by the Jews.

A bit deeper lesson from this Lucan Gospel narrative on Jesus healing ten lepers – only the Samaritan leper returning to Jesus, glorifying God, and thanked him –(Luke 17:11-19) is not to assume we “deserve” God’s mercy, though it endures forever (i.e. Psalm 136) and can benefits regardless of our ethnicities as long as we are faithful ( i.e. Romans 4:11-13; Galatians 3:8). Such an assumption can make take God’s grace for granted and reduces sensitivity to gratitude. In fact, if our faith is strong, we never assume that we “deserve”, as such a strong faith keeps us humble and consider ourselves unworthy to receive God’s grace, including His mercy. Faith is not just about believing in what seems impossible but also to keep ourselves humble enough to regard ourselves unworthy and to prompt us to express our gratitude in our praises to glorify God, who is generous and merciful in dispensing His grace (Ephesians 2:1-7) to the worthy in His eyes.

After all, this is what it means to live a life of Christian faith: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus!” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).  The Samaritan who returned to Jesus and thanked him was in joy to glorify God.

ある女子高生の悩み：どうして化学なんか勉強しなければいけないの？ある宗教教師の応答

私は、リストラ食らって以来、心理、宗教、教育の３分野におけるコンサルタントとして、食ってく為にいろんなことしてますが、その一つはカトリックの宗教教理や聖書を子供達に教えることです。でも、ただ宗教を教えるというのではなく、子供達からのいろいろな相談にも乗る羽目になります。臨床宗教の他、メンタルヘルスの臨床カウンセリング心理も私の専門なので別に構わないのですが。。。でも、通常のメンタルヘルスのカウンセリングでは傾聴することが８割で私自身しゃべるのが２割ぐらいなので、この場合は典型的なカウンセリングではありません。話をしているのが私ですから、やはり教えているようなものです。

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アメリカのカトリックの中高生達にカトリックの教理を教えてると、こうした思春期の子供達に接していると必ずありがちなように、彼らの人生相談のようなことまでしなければならないことがよくあります。授業が終わっても、マサ先生、あの～、なんて言われたら、やはり、はい、何やねん？なんて答えてしまいますから。

先日、私の担当である宗教教理のお話を終えてから、高校１年の女の子の相談に乗ってたら、彼女は普段ベビーシッターやてて、子供が好きなので将来は保育士になりたいのにどうして化学なんて勉強しないといけないんですか、って聞かれました。そんなこと、知らんわい！化学のセンセに聞かんかい！って言って、さっさとその場を去ってもよかったんですが。。。（そもそも、何でそんなこと私に聞かなあかんの？）

私はその子に、うん、何でやろね～？それ勉強せんと高校卒業でけえん。高校卒業でけえんかったら念願の保育士にもなれん、学校のセンセに聞いたら多分そう答えるやろね。

せやけど、風変わりな宗教教師である私は、好きであろうが嫌いであろうが、これも何かの縁というよりも、神からの導きやと思いますわ、って答え始める。

塩化水素が塩酸 (厳密には, 塩化水素の水溶液が、塩酸), しかし、硫化水素は硫酸ではない。でも、酸化水素は水や。水素原子２個に一つの酸素原子がくっつく、つまり、酸化すると水になる。せやけど、白衣着て、研究室で一日過ごしながら飯食うような生活でもせん限り、こんなこと知ってて何の役に立つんや？って言いたいんやろ？

彼女は、うん、と言わんばかりの顔つき。

蛇口ひねってちゃんと水が出てきて、その水を安心して飲める生活ができれば水素原子や酸素原子がどうのこうのいったことどうでもええやんか！せやろ？

せやけど、心理学の眼で化学というのを考えると結構おもしろいんやで！

というのは、周期表にあるそれぞれの元素をいろんな人にたとえてみる。人それぞれご先祖様がおってその人なりの家族歴代の歴史があるように、しかも、マタイの福音書の最初やルカの福音書の第３章にあるように、イエスにもちゃんとした先祖との繋がりがあるように、元素ひとつひとつにも原子構造のユニークさによる物理学的個性があり、宇宙創成といわれるビックバンにその歴史は遡ることができる。で、すべての元素のご先祖様は水素とヘリウムや。せやから水素が最初、ヘリウムは２番目なんや。ほら、前にも言ったと思うけど、創世記の第一章をビックバンの話と並行させてみるっこと、覚えてる？これらをごっちゃにすると頭こんがらかってしまうけど、並行させると、”な～るほど”って思うやろ？そして、宗教と科学は対立するものではなく、並行しながらとどのつまりは同じ一つの真理の理解を目指すんやで。そういうふうに考えると、化学は退屈な科目というよりも、なにか奥深いロマンがあり好奇心を掻きたてる面白い科目と化すやんか。

こうした考えでもって周期表に親しみ、周期表の元素の並び方から分る電子軌道の様子やその軌道上の電子と原子核内の陽子との電荷的バランスなどについて考えることから、化学反応の物理学的からくりである電子の共有云々といった大学レベルの化学へと楽しみながら学ぶことができるんで。しかも、化学の背後にあるこれらの原子物理学的、量子力学的なからくりはすべて創造主である神のメッセージが秘められてるんや。そう考えると化学だけけでなくそれとは切っても切れない縁にある物理学を学ぶ意義もカトリックの教えとの関わりの中でわかってくるので、何でこんな科目勉強せんとあかんのや！、なんていう気がしなくなる。文句ないやろ？

こうして、彼女の年ぐらいのときは医学部目指して化学を含む理系科目を猛勉強していたかつての少年が今では宗教教師として、自分が教えるカトリックの教理のクラスにいる化学に悩む女子高生と話をしているのでありました。

彼女、最初はわかったような、わかっていないような顔してましたが、一言、マサ先生、元素を人と考えてみると面白いですね。じゃ、周期表って皆のグループ写真みたいなもんですか？

で、私は、せや、せや！ええことに気～付くやんか！ほな　あんた、化学、わかってるやんか！神様、喜んでますがな～！

彼女、少しや救われたような顔して、笑顔で、ありがとうございました、って言いながら去って言った。やれやれ。。。因みに、私は彼女の化学の成績を保証しません。

こうして、宗教以外のことを宗教と関連させて思春期の子供達と話していると、あたかも芋蔓式にどんどん生徒が集まってくるんです。だから、私は貧乏暇なしに忙しいのです。

Dimensions of Faith, a Gift of the Holy Spirit: Steadfast Trust, Hopeful Patience and Humble Service

Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:9). It is also essential for salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is important to know, however, for faith to lead to salvation, it cannot be tepid (c.f. Revelation 3:16).

Faith (emunah/ אֱמוּנָה in Hebrew, pistis/ πίστις in Greek) means steadfast fidelity. It is based on firm trust. Therefore, a degree of faith in God means how much trust we have in God and how steadfast our fidelity to God is. Therefore, it is not faith if lacks steadfastness.

The Scripture readings for the 27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time on Cycle C (Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; Palm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10) teach us what faith is about. This set of readings speaks of the importance of keeping our faith strong so that we do not complain and grow contentious to God, while our steadfast faith in God keeps us humble in serving the Lord. And, the steadfastness of our faith is the strength of faith. What gives our faith strong and steadfast is the Holy Spirit, as Paul reminds in 2 Timothy 1:6, and the strong faith works like the mustard seed, which commands and moves a huge mulberry tree, even though it may seem as small as such a tiny seed (Luke 17:6). Furthermore, Jesus’ words in Luke 17:7-10 remind us that steadfast faith makes us humble servants.

Steadfast trust, patience and humility – these are some characteristics of steadfast faith.

The First Reading, Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4, reminds us that faith is about trusting God. Habakkuk was getting inpatient with God as he was frustrated with rampant injustice. He wonders what God was doing in and when He would intervene. So he complained to God. Then, Habakkuk was reminded to not to be in rush in expecting God’s action to fulfill a prophecy.  “Rush one has no integrity” (Habakkuk 2:4). It means, rush one has no faith.

Faith means trusting with patient hope.

In response to Habakkuk’s frustration with God, the Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9) tells that our hearts will not be hardened with frustration and doubt as we hear God’s voice, because listening to His Word affirms and reaffirms our faith – trust – in God. This Responsorial Psalm also reminds us that our faith can be tested to see if it is strong enough so that we will not be tempted as the ancient Israelites on Exodus were at Meribah as in the days of Massah (v. 8; Exodus 17:7; Numbers 20:13).

In a way, there is juxtaposition between how Habakkuk was frustrated with prolonging injustice in Judah and how the Israelites on Exodus complained and became contentious as they experienced prolonged hunger and thirst.  The frustration of Habakkuk and contentious impatience of the Israelites at Meribah as in the days of Massah are reflections of our problem with faith. When our faith is not strong enough, in other words, when our trust in God lacks confidence, we are prone to be like Habakkuk and the Israelites at Meribah as in the days of Messah.

To overcome this problem with faith, in the Second Reading, 2 Timothy 6-8, 13-14, reminds us to stir up the gifts within us through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is to raise the “temperature” of our faith by the power of the Holy Spirit, with all our gifts fully activated. As we are filled with the Holy Spirit, how could we let our faith become problematic? Being frustrated with God, like Habakkuk, and complaining to God due to the inabilities to endure, like the Israelites at Meribah as in the days of Messah are symptoms of lukewarm faith due not being filled with the Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit is of power, love, and self-control (v.6), as we are filled with it can love God with their whole hearts, whole beings, whole strengths, as commanded in Deuteronomy 6:5. Then, we can fully trust God and endure challenges without complaining.

The Gospel reading, Luke 17:5-10, gives another aspect of faith, fortified by the Holy Spirit, and it is humility. Having a steadfast faith makes us humble, and such a faith is as strong as the mustard seed commanding the large mulberry tree to be removed (Luke 17:6). It may look as insignificantly small as a mustard seed, because humility makes our ego so small. The Gospel narrative indicates that the power of faith is relative to humility but in an inverse relation to pride.

Along with anger, envy, lust, gluttony, sloth, and covetousness, pride is one of the seven vices (cf. Galatians 5:19-21) to be overcome by the Holy Spirit, producing its multifaceted fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Thus, pride needs to be transformed into humility by the power of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to serve.

Remember, salvific faith (Ephesians 2:9) is manifested in deeds (James 2:14-26). And, our Christian faith manifests in our deeds of love, serving one another as Christ has demonstrated and commanded during the Last Supper (John 13:1-35). Reflecting Christ’s commandment for us to love one another (John 13:34) and to be servant leader (Matthew 9:35), Paul reminds us that we show our love in service to one another (2 Corinthians 4:5; Galatians 5:13). Ultimately, our faith needs to manifest in our loving service to the least among us for salvation (Matthew 25:31-46).

Simply accepting and believing in Jesus as our “personal” savior itself will not lead us to salvation. Such a belief is not a genuine faith. Such a belief often leads to lukewarmness, which Jesus despises (Revelation 3:16) and makes him suffer greatly (Diary of St. Maria Faustina, 1228).

As a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:9), our faith is strengthened by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 1:6-7, 13-14), to be steadfast so that our hopeful trust in God is also unshakably firm and we can remain to be humble servants on Christ’s commandment of love. And, this leads to salvation through necessary virtues.

This set of the 27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time on Cycle C readings (Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; Palm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10) can be read also in conjunction with 2 Peter 1:3-11, to further appreciate what faith leads to.