DAILY- HOMILY

DECEMBER 25, 2008
SOLEMNITY OF THE LORD'S BIRTH

ISAIAH 52:7-10
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad
tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation,
and saying to Zion, "Your God is King!" Hark! Your sentinels raise a
cry, together they shout for joy, for they see directly, before their
eyes, the LORD restoring Zion. Break out together in song, O ruins of
Jerusalem! For the LORD comforts his people, he redeems Jerusalem. The
LORD has bared his holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the
ends of the earth will behold the salvation of our God.

HEBREWS 1:1-6
Brothers and sisters: In times past, God spoke in partial and various
ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he
has spoken to us through the Son, whom he made heir of all things
and through whom he created the universe, who is the refulgence of his
glory, the very imprint of his being, and who sustains all things by
his mighty word. When he had accomplished purification from sins, he
took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, as far
superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent
than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say: "You are my
son; this day I have begotten you"? Or again: "I will be a father to
him, and he shall be a son to me"? And again, when he leads the
firstborn into the world, he says: "Let all the angels of God worship
him."

JOHN 1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be
through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be
through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome
it. A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to
testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was
not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which
enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of
God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural
generation nor by human choice nor by a man's decision but of God.
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw
his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and
truth. John testified to him and cried out, saying, "This was he of
whom I said, `The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.'" From his fullness we have all
received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given
through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has
ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father's side, has
revealed him.

REFLECTION
In the Infant Jesus, the Christmas Word has been proclaimed to you.
And that proclaimed Word has three stages: First, the anxious waiting.
It is expressed by the lips of a Hebrew prophet, Isaiah: all those
endless days when a people walked in darkness, when the land was
deeply shadowed, when joy was indeed there but ambiguous and muted,
when the experience of God's people stressed a yoke that weighs, a bar
across the shoulders, an oppressing rod. But He will come.

Second, the actual coming. It is expressed in the simplest of
narratives: a journey and a birth, shepherds watching and angels
singing, good news, great joy, to be shared by all. He has come.

Third, the theological reflection. In this child so anxiously awaited,
so simply come, in him God's grace has been revealed, salvation has
been made possible for all, we are to give up everything that does not
lead to God, and wait in hope. He will come again.

Christmas is an invitation for each one of us to discover in ourselves
a dimension of goodness, which we call Jesus Christ. It's an
invitation to let that dimension shine forth into the darkness of
today's world.

Christmas celebrates the fact that the infinite God, at a point in
time, crossed an unimaginable border and personally entered our world.
The Christmas image of Jesus is that of a light shining in the
darkness. Christmas celebrates the fact that when Jesus entered our
darkened world hope also entered.

What Jesus was to the world of his time, he wants us to be to the
world of our time. We too must be a beam of light in the midst of
darkness. We, too, must be a ray of hope in the midst of despair.

Christmas is an invitation for each one of us to be for the world what
Jesus was to his world: a beam of light in the midst of darkness, a
ray of hope in the midst of despair.

If Jesus is to be born into today's world, it must be through us. We
must be the beam of light in the midst of darkness. We must be the ray
of hope in the midst of despair.

To the extent that we heed the invitation of Christmas, to that extent
will the world receive the gift of Christmas: peace on earth and
goodwill toward all.

A Blessed Christmas to You All!

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Lisa
- Graham
- Sophia Gonzalez
… for the healing of Chato Dizon and family
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Alex Go Dematera
- Birthday: Natividad Lomibao
- Birthday: Natividad Respecio
- Prayer Intention: Fr. Gregorio Sacristan
- Prayer Intention: Friends & Relatives of James & Gloria Yu
- Thanksgiving: Chola C. Navarro
- Wedding Anniversary: Jennette & Christopher Co Chan
- Wedding Anniversary: Mary & Christopher Lim
… for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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