IT’S A beautiful and solemn season. As a nation we pause and gather as families and friends on Thanksgiving Day to express our gratitude to God. This weekend, we start the First Sunday of Advent in preparation for Christmas, the birthday of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
For us Filipino Catholics, the season is filled with joyful anticipation of Simbang Gabi, a unique Filipino tradition that we have brought here in the U.S. At Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, we’ve started to prepare for these Simbang Gabi Masses, which will be at 5:00 in the morning! We can’t wait to see a packed Church, hear Tagalog hymns, listen to uplifting homilies of guest-priests, and line up for Filipino breakfast. I hope to see bibingka and puto bungbong being served.
Outside, the malls are already decorated with Christmas ornaments and the stores are enticing us with discount sales. However hard life is in today’s economy, we’d still manage to shop for Christmas gifts and prepare for holiday parties.
There is a greater call from God for each of us during this holiday season. It’s more than the call to celebrate; it’s the invitation to plumb the depth of our human existence and our relationship with God. It’s to enter profoundly into prayer through quiet moments and solitude. It’s a call for interiority to discover our blessedness and the more important matters of life.
Absolutely, the urging of the season is the expression of interior joy that comes from deep gratitude to God despite the struggles and challenges of life. We may not be rich in material wealth, but we’re rich with faith, hope, and love.
Miracles still happen in spite of hardships and trials. This is true for our parish, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. Three years ago at the dawn of the global economic crisis, we dreamed of having an air conditioned and heated church. Now, that dream is realized! We also dreamed of having a freshly painted church and of restoring the classic elegance of the church’s arches. In a few weeks, we’ll be seeing these dreams come through as painters do the preparatory work, as scaffoldings rise up. We should be ready to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of our parish in 2012 with a renovated church! Thanks to the many generous parishioners and friends who believe in our mission and have generously given their support!
Miracles can happen in human relationships, as long as we keep humble hearts and stretch our minds: to understand than to be understood, to love than to be loved; to console than to be consoled. Miracles happen when we don’t give up on one another, when we’re there for each other through sickness and health, through sadness and joy, through failures and triumphs! Miracles can happen when we go beyond our differences for the sake of others, for a common vision and mission.
As we celebrate the holidays, let us be filled with interior joy, knowing that there are still miracles happening within our lives and communities!
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Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas attended St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California and earned his Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri. For twenty years, he has been in the parish ministry of large multi-cultural communities. Since 2002, he has been the pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Los Angeles. Please email Fr. Rodel at [email protected].
