February

Jesus brought Peter, James and John to Mount Tabor to pray. It is a beautiful mountain, 11 miles west of the Sea of Galilee. Our Gospel today narrates to us that Jesus of Nazareth was transfigured on this site. Witnessed by the three disciples, Jesus' clothing became dazzling white and his face changed in appearance. While praying, Moses and Elijah appeared to talk about His exodus towards Mount Calvary. And a divine voice came down from heaven and said: "This is my chosen One, listen to Him!"

Baptized in and through Christ, we are citizens of heaven. St. Paul continues that we await our Savior, Jesus Christ who will change our lowly body to conform with His glorified body.

As we reflect on the Transfiguration of Jesus, we ask His abundant graces and blessings that through the Sacraments (e.g. The Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation) and devotions (e.g. Rosary, Stations of the Cross) we celebrate, may He transform our life and bring us to a constant conversion of hearts and mind. Aware of our unworthiness and sinfulness in this holy season of Lent, let us listen to Him always and that may we, as citizens of heaven, be in God's glory for all eternity!

Temptation is a reality. It was, is and will always be there. Jesus, the Son of God, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert for forty days, known as our Lenten season, to be tempted by the devil. The devil tempted Jesus three times. First, the stone to turn into bread. Second, worshiping the devil for seeming glory and power. Third, throwing Himself and the angels will come to His rescue. But with the powerful words of Jesus, He fearlessly told the devil: “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” And the devil departed from him for a time.

Even the Son of God was tempted many times in the Gospels. As mentioned above, temptations will always be there. The devil, in our Gospel this Sunday, departed from Him for a time. And so, as we are in this holy season of Lent strengthening our faith through prayers and fasting, we should be aware of the presence of the devil. We should be aware that we are also tempted anytime in the ordinariness of our life.

As the whole world celebrate Valentine’s Day this Sunday, let us gird ourselves with the Love of God and His abundant graces through the reception of the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Confessions as well as our fervent and unceasing prayers.

There are moments in our ordinary life that we need some time-outs or breaks: a time for relaxations, rest and reflections.

In our Gospel, Jesus sat on the boat to teach the crowd. It was a time for rest and reflection with Jesus. They were hungry and thirsty for the holy Word that comes from the lips of Jesus.

After Christmas season, we entered the first part of Ordinary Time. This first part of Ordinary Time serves as a time-out for us embarking on long seasons of Lent and Easter. This week, we shall celebrate the Ash Wednesday. We are marked by the sign of the Cross to remind us of our humanity. That we are dust and from dust we shall return! With intensity of our faith and love in this season of Lent, we pray that our family and our parish community may take this holy season as an opportunity for spiritual growth and family bonding, and for mercy and love!

Let us open our ears to listen to Jesus and to the promptings of the Holy Spirit!