I WILL always remember Fr. Anthony Lee’s homily last week in the seminary when our community celebrated a Thanksgiving Mass. To start his homily he shared a “culture shock” he had during his first years of immigrating to America from Korea.
It was about opening gifts on Christmas Day. He was stunned to see how people in the U.S. would rip beautifully wrapped and ribboned gift boxes to immediately see what’s inside of them. In Korea, he said, people do not practice this manner of opening gifts. They would be embarrassed to tear gift wrappings and boxes in front of people. Instead, they would carefully do this ritual by opening each gift gently and slowly to show their great appreciation and delight for the gifts and the givers. He said that he, himself, would not open gifts in front of people. He would do it in the privacy of his room.
There is a lesson to learn from Koreans’ manner of opening gifts. It reminds us to cherish all the gifts and blessings we receive from God and other people with a deep sense of awe and gratitude. And so, as much as we get excited to see our gifts, opening them slowly and gently shows a keen appreciation to the givers.
Gifts and blessings are what we just celebrated on Thanksgiving Day: the presence, love and affection of our family members and friends; our good health; the long years of marriages and friendships; the achievements of our kids, nieces and nephews and the joy they bring us; the jobs we have that pay for rent or mortgages, tuition fees and other bills, buy groceries, fill up our gas tanks, and help us go on trips and vacations.
I hope that we would always celebrate these gifts and blessings with profound sense of awe and delight on the benevolence of the Giver of all these gifts, our Father God. And even though our lives are simple and not perfect, even if the challenges of health, work, and relationships bring us down, I hope we would still take time to recognize and count our blessings.
During the prayer of my family on Thanksgiving Day, my niece played the song, Blessings, by Laura Story. The song helped us to appreciate even our struggles and difficulties in life. Part of the lyrics are these:
“We pray for blessings, we pray for peace. Comfort for family, protection while we sleep.
We pray for healing, for prosperity. We pray for your mighty hand to ease our suffering.
And all the while, You hear each spoken need. Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things.
‘Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops. What if Your healing comes through tears. What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near. What if trials are your mercies in disguise.”
As we celebrate the beginning of Advent, let’s nurture and practice a deeper appreciation for life and the people around us. Let’s see God’s favor and protection in disguise. Let the eyes of our hearts be keen in seeing grace like raindrops. Let peace and contentment reign over us.
And even if people rub us the wrong way, let us learn to deal with them with patience, kindness, and I understanding. For this annoyance may help us grow in charity and wisdom.
Advent’s call to “stay awake” urges us to see all elements and aspects of life as sacraments–visible signs of God’s invisible grace. And so, we begin this prayerful time of the year by walking on the path of gratitude, graciousness and awe. This is the most pleasing way to prepare ourselves for the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, today, always, and at the end of times!
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From a Filipino immigrant family, Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas was ordained to the priesthood from St. John’s Seminary in 1991. He served as Associate Pastor at St. Augustine, Culver City (1991-1993); St. Martha, Valinda (1993-1999); and St. Joseph the Worker, Canoga Park (1999-2001). In 2001, he served as Administrator Pro Tem of St. John Neumann in Santa Maria, CA, until his appointment as pastor of ImmAaculate Heart of Mary, Los Angeles, in 2002, which lasted 12 years. His term as Associate Director of Pastoral Field Education at St. John’s Seminary began in July 2014.
