Since we are travellers and pilgrims in the world, let us ever ponder on the end of the road, that is of our life, for the end of our roadway is our home (St Columban, 8th sermon).
In Ireland the Solemnity of the Epiphany is a Holy Day of Obligation and is celebrated this year on Monday 6 January. In many countries the Epiphany is celebrated on this Sunday, 5 January. The readings below are those for the Second Sunday After the Nativity, observed in Ireland.
Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia,
England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Scotland, South Africa)
GospelJohn 1:1-18. Shorter form: John 1:1-5, 9-14 [omitted] (Revised Standard
Version Catholic Edition )
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 were made through him, and without him was not
anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness has not overcome it.
[There was a man sent from God,
whose name was John. He came for testimony,
to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not
the light, but came to bear witness to the light.]
The
true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet
the world knew him not. He came to his own home,
and his own people received him not. But to all who received
him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor
of the will of man, but of God.
And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have
beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. [(John bore witness to
him, and cried, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks
before me, for he was before me.’”) And from his fulness
have we all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given
through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the
bosom of the Father, he has made him known.]
In The Ascent of Mount Carmel St John of the Cross writes: When [God] gave us, as he did,his Son, who is his one Word, he spoke everything to us, once and for all in that one Word. There is nothing further for him to say . . .
Consequently, anyone who today would want to ask God questions or desire some vision or revelation, would not only be acting foolishly but would commit an offence against God by not fixing his eyes entirely on Christ, without wanting something new or something besides him.
God might give him this answer, '"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." I have already told you all things in my Word. Fix your eyes on him alone, becuse in him I have spoken and revealed all. Moreover, in him you will find more than you ask or desire.' This passage is used in the Office of Readings, Advent, Week 2, Monday.
Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia,
England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Scotland, South Africa)
GospelMatthew 2:13-15, 19-23 (New
Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada)
Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother,
and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to
search for the child, to destroy him.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child
and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was
to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I
have called my son.’
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly
appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the
land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his
mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea
in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned
in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so
that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He will be
called a Nazorean.’
St Joseph is central in the Christmas story
as St Matthew tells it. His role is to be the husband of Mary. It is as such
that he names Mary’s son and so becomes his legal father (Mt 1:21). It is as
husband of Mary that he ‘took the child and his mother by night’ and fled to
Egypt. It is as husband of Mary that he ‘took the child and his mother, and
went to the land of Israel’. It was as husband of Mary that ‘he was afraid to
go there’ (Judea) and risk not only his own life but theirs and took them
instead to Galilee
The major feast of St Joseph, on 19 March, honors him as
‘Husband of Mary’. I can’t help repeating that the primary vocation of a
married couple is to be spouses, not parents. It is as loving spouses that they
become loving parents. This was most clearly expressed for me by an 11-year-old
boy at a family day of Worldwide Marriage Encounter in Bacolod City, Philippines, during
an activity for the pre-teens. They were asked what they loved most about their
parents. He said, ‘What I love most about my parents is that they are always
together’.
A wife can fail as a spouse by giving more attention to her
children than to their father. Nobody questions the love of a mother. But it
can be a temptation. If a husband, who has pledged his life to his wife ‘till
death do us part’ thinks that he is not any more the most important person in the life of his wife he may be more easily tempted to look elsewhere, with tragic
consequences for the whole family.
So many married couples in the Philippines, and elsewhere,
are separated by the fact that one is working overseas, sometimes both and
possibly in different countries. It is vital that they have living and vibrant
communication. Modern technology has made that possible in almost every part of
the globe. I knew one Filipino couple nine or ten years ago where the husband was on a scholarship in
Japan and who talked every night using Skype. And their
children had a chance to see and talk to their father as he saw and talked to
them.
What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people (John 1:4).
The Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord has four different Mass formularies, each with its own prayer and readings. Any of the four fulfills our obligation to attend Mass. These are:
Vigil Mass, celebrated 'either before or after First Vespers (Evening Prayer) of the Nativity'; that means starting between 5pm and 7pm.
Mass During the Night, known before as 'Midnight Mass'. In many parts of the world it does begin at midnight but in the Philippines since the 1980s it begins earlier, usually at 8:30pm or 9pm.
Mass at Dawn.
Mass During the Day.
When you click on 'Readings' below from the New American Bible you will find links to the readings for each of the four Masses. The readings from the Jerusalem Bible for the four Masses are all on one page.
Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia,
England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Scotland, South Africa)
Gospel, Mass During theDayJohn 1:1-18 (New
Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada)
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 into being through him, and without him not
one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the
life was the light of all people. The light shines in
the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
There
was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all
might believe through him. He himself was not the
light, but he 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 into being through him; yet the world did
not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did
not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he
gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of
blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And
the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory
as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom
I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.”’) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth
came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen
God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has
made him known.
Words by Thomas Hardy, Music by Jonathan Rathbone, sung by Voces8
Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock. “Now they are all on their knees,” An elder said as we sat in a flock By the embers in hearthside ease. We pictured the meek mild creatures where They dwelt in their strawy pen, Nor did it occur to one of us there To doubt they were kneeling then. So fair a fancy few would weave In these years! Yet, I feel, If someone said on Christmas Eve, 'Come; see the oxen kneel,
'In the lonely barton by yonder coomb Our childhood used to know,' I should go with him in the gloom, Hoping it might be so.
GospelMatthew 1:18-24 (New Revised
Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada)
Now the
birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary
had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be
with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph,
being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned
to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had
resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the
child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he
will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to
fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Look,
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’,
which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from
sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife.
In December 2002 I met a man in
Manila, Mang Pepe, and his daughter Ligaya whose story
reminded me so much of that of Joseph and Jesus in today's gospel. The story
of Mang Pepe and Ligaya is told here by a Columban lay
missionary from Korea, Columba Chang, who worked for many years in the Manila
area and whose ministry at the time she wrote this story was to families
affected by HIV/AIDS. The names used aren't their real names. 'Pepe' is a
nickname for a man named Jose or Joseph. 'Mang' is a Tagalog
term of respect for a man older than oneself. 'Aling' is the
equivalent term for a woman. The name 'Ligaya' means 'Joy'. The story was first
published, as I recall, in a newsletter ofCaritas Manilaand I used it in the November-December
2003 issue of MISYON, the Columban magazine in the Philippines that
I edited from 2002 until 2017. I republished itin the November-December 2015 issue of the
magazine, now calledMISYONonline.com.
I think it is a story worth telling over and over again. Columba was assigned to Myanmar as a member of a small team of Columban Lay Missionaries for some years but is now back in her home country, Korea. I
have updated the introduction.
According to official Philippine government figures there were more
than ten million Filipinos, about ten percent of the population, overseas as of
December 2012, more than half of them temporary or irregular in the countries
where they are staying. These temporary and irregular residents are mostly
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). They greatly help our country’s economy by
the money they send home. However sometimes we seem to take them for
granted, thinking that they have an easy life abroad. Read Aling Maria’s
story and find out the dangers our OFWs face and the abuses they
experience. We thank ‘Mang Pepe’ for his help in writing this article in
which we’ve changed the names.
I met Mang Pepe and his daughter
Ligaya through my work with Caritas Manila. I visit the family
regularly. They live in a poor part of the city and Mang Pepe makes a
living by doing odd jobs. My work takes me to families affected by
HIV/AIDS. I knew Mang Pepe’s story before he shared it with the
congregation at the Saturday evening Mass in Baclaran Church on 7 December 2002
at the end of a celebration organized by Caritas Manila for World AIDS
Day. (Baclaran Church is the huge Redemptorist church in Parañaque
City, Metro Manila, filled to capacity all day every Wednesday when the
Perpetual Novena to the Mother of Perpetual Help is celebrated from morning
till evening.)
Greener Pastures
Mang Pepe
and his wife Aling Maria were having difficulties putting
their five children through school. This sometimes led to
arguments. Eventually Aling Maria decided to work in the
Middle East. She felt happy when accepted as a nursing aide with a two-year
contract in the UAE. She prepared her documents. She and Pepe sold
their house and lot for her fare and placement fee. She flew out on 5
February 1989, full of hope for her family’s future financial stability.
Aling Maria
soon discovered that her contract as a nursing aid was terminated just a few
months after she arrived, without any hope of renewal. But she didn’t
want to go back to the Philippines with an empty pocket. She decided to
take the ‘TNT’ ('Tago ng
tago', a Tagalog expression meaning to
be an illegal immigrant worker) route. She managed to
find a series of jobs as a saleslady, cashier and office worker.
Columba (inset) in Manila
Hope
turns into a nightmare
As an illegal worker, Aling Maria was often subjected
to different abuses like underpayment, long hours of working without a day off
and so on. But the worst thing was when one of her employers took advantage of
her and made her pregnant. When she came home to the Philippines in October
1993 Mang Pepe and the family were very shocked to learn
that Aling Maria carried a child in her womb. She hadn’t
mentioned anything about this before. However, despite this they still
welcomed her and the child with joy . . . but deep in their hearts there was a
shadow of sadness, fear and uncertainty.
After a few days the tabloids reported that three Filipino overseas
workers had been sent home because of being infected with HIV, the virus that
causes AIDS – and that one of them was Aling Maria. These
stories, and the rumors they spawned, continued for a month. Some
relatives, neighbors and friends rejected Aling Maria. The children
of Mang Pepe and Aling Maria were torn
apart. Some wanted to quit school and leave the area. The family
suffered greatly because of the stigma.
Confirmed HIV
Aling Maria
and Mang Pepe went to the Department of Health (DOH) for a
series of blood tests. The tests confirmed what Aling Maria
knew already, that she and her ‘little mercy child,’ as Mang Pepe
called his wife’s daughter had HIV. The doctor gave them counseling and
advice and information about HIV/AIDS.
Ligaya is born
Aling Maria
decided not to say in the hospital and continued to work as a pension plan
insurance agent. In time she gave birth to a baby girl whom they named
Ligaya. Gradually, however, Mang Pepe saw his dear wife
turning into a picture of misery as she suffered from constant headaches and
flu. Aling Maria was hoping for a miracle that would
ease her agony. It was not to be. The HIV developed into full-blown
AIDS. Her appetite disappeared until she couldn’t eat
anymore. Mang Pepe and the children saw Aling Maria
slowly dying. He prepared the family to accept her death as the will of
God. She died on 15 December 1997, aged 46.
Like everyone else in Baclaran Church, I was deeply
touched by Mang Pepe’s story, even though he had told it to me
many times. I was touched by the great love of this simple man who
accepted as his own a daughter who was the fruit of the brutal violation of his
wife. Mang Pepe is ‘Tatay’ to
Ligaya. Her schoolmates sometimes tease her because her features clearly
show her Middle Eastern origins. But her Tatay stands by
her, as do her brothers and sisters.
Columba with a friend in Manila
Proud to be
her Tatay
Tatay Pepe is proud of Ligaya’s
singing ability and smiled as she sang at the celebration in Baclaran.
Ligaya is very proud of her Tatay and knows the depth of his
love as a father. She has very uncertain health and is often in the
hospital. The shadow of AIDS hangs over her.
St Joseph named Jesus, the Son of
Mary, and thereby became his legal father. He loved Mary, his wife, and
raised Jesus as his own son. Mang Pepe has gone through
the agony of knowing that his wife was violated overseas, after dishonest
employers had taken advantage of her in other ways. When she brought home
a child who was not his, he made her his own. This latter-day St Joseph
in Manila has given much joy to his daughter Ligaya as she has given much joy
to him and others, like myself, who have come to know and love her.
I was in Baclaran Church that day at
the invitation of Columba and, during an activity before Mass, came to know
‘Ligaya’ as a friend. Shortly before she died towards the end of 2004 I had the
privilege of talking to her on Columba’s mobile phone. She was a delightful
child. The light of heaven upon her.
The late American Scripture scholar Fr Raymond E.
Brown SS points out that St Joseph, by taking Mary as his wife and by naming
her Son, as the angel in today's gospel told him to do, in Jewish law, became
the legal father of Jesus, something more than being his foster-father, as he
is often described. And because St Joseph was of the line of David, so was
Jesus, as the Messiah was foretold to be.
The Church honours St Joseph above all as the
Husband (or Spouse) of Mary. Pope Francis has underlined this by adding the
words 'and blessed Joseph her spouse' to Eucharistic Prayers II III and IV, as
they were added to the Roman Canon (now also known as 'Eucharistic Prayer I')
by Blessed Pope John XXIII.
Mang Pepe
totally welcomed Aling Maria back from the Middle East as his
wife whom he loved, despite his initial shock at what had happened to her. And
he totally welcomed her daughter Ligaya as his own, as St Joseph welcomed the
Son of Mary as his own.
Today's Gospel reminds us of the fact that the
basic vocation, ie, call from God, of every married couple is to be spouses,
not to be parents. Being parents is a consequence of their being spouses. I'm
well aware that there are single parents, many of whom have never been married,
who are heroically raising their children, often in very difficult
circumstances. But it is God's will that children be born within marriage.
St Joseph was a loving husband to Mary and a loving
father to her Son Jesus, God who became Man. Mang Pepe
continued to be a loving husband to Aling Maria until she died
and was a proud and loving father to her daughter Ligaya, as I could see so
clearly.
Today's Gospel shows us something of the wonder of
being called to be a husband and father and of the immense responsibility that
goes with that. St Joseph as husband and father enabled Mary and Jesus to carry
out the mission that God the Father had given them.
What applies to husbands/fathers applies equally to
wives/mothers.
And the
Gospel reminds us very clearly that in God's plan the foundation of the family
is marriage, that is, of husband and wife, of man and woman. It can never be
anything else.
Motet for five voices (SATTB) by William Byrd (c. 1540-1623)
