Since returning from reverse carolling in the Philippines, it's been hard to shift gears, especially since my flight home last Tuesday was delayed for one and a half hours by the typhoon-created winds at the airport and I later found out that one of the people we visited in Mindoro had died due to the typhoon. Mindoro was in the path of Typhoon Nona or Melor and Father Caloy had messaged that he himself was forced to evacuate, roofs had blown off the homes of many, and dry clothes and food were in short supply.
It is hard to get jolly in the face of natural disaster and my own personal close shave, and the abject poverty I just experienced. Plus, this is the period of Advent, a period where I am supposed to prepare my heart to receive the gift of Immanuel, God with us. It is not a season of anticipated gorging, gift-giving and financial extravagance. I find it quite ironic that Americans who assiduously avoid using the word Christmas throw themselves so enthusiastically into the Christmas season and engage in a frenzy of spending and of decorating their homes so lavishly.
Yes, Christmas is the season for gift-giving, but not of the material. Christmas is the story of the greatest gift of all time, the tale of salvation incarnate in the tiny Christ child. To truly enter into the spirit of Christmas, one must spread the joy of this message of redemption. I need to sit quietly and contemplate what I can do to prepare my heart to receive this awesome gift come December 25.
During reverse carolling, we spoke of feelings of helplessness when faced with the ugly, pervasive and continued presence of poverty and what it does to the human spirit and body. Here is where many rail at God for not doing anything to change desperate situations, or where many disavow the existence of God. We forget that we are loved so much that we are given free will, and that we can turn around the darkness that envelopes us when we turn to God and work with Him. Neither natural disasters nor poverty can defeat us, especially if we all work together to rebuild and transform.
During the penitential service I attended last week, Father spoke of the importance of this
Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy that we have just entered on December 8. When we are faced precisely with moments where we feel helpless, or where the darkness threatens to overwhelm, then we engage in prayer. He encouraged me to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet to ask for the gift of God's mercy, then to witness and participate in the wonderful mystery of mercy that will manifest in the world. I found this such a beautiful message of hope: greater and wonderful things are yet to come, so let us continue to be faithful and obedient in spirit. Thus will the power of God's mercy unfold fully in the world.
As Father Caloy preached on December 8, this Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy is a time where we allow ourselves to experience the mercy of God as true prodigals who repent and receive the Father's generous forgiveness; where we actively share this message of God's loving mercy with others; and where we ourselves must show mercy to others as true disciples and missionaries of Christ.
To be true missionaries, Father Caloy shared, on another occasion, the significance of creativity (keep finding ways to make something work instead of giving up), for us to work with a sense of urgency, and to team up with others for we cannot go it alone. When I think of how the team* of people came together this reverse carolling under the direction and driving force of ICPE Mission Philippines (thank you Albert, Esther and Joan and their lovely guests Adjka and Katka from Slovakia), and how we worked with various different teams - the San Isidro Labrador Chaplaincy under Father Caloy in Mindoro, the Missionaries of Charity sisters in Kavisayaan, the Claretian sisters in Salaban, and the Balikatan community in Montalban - I am awed at how God connected us all to make all the outreaches successful, not forgetting the generous group of donors from Singapore and the Missionary Society of Saint Paul (MSSP) fathers who kindly offered us a home for our overnight stay in Manila. When we labour as one people to bring in the harvest, then it will indeed be a rich and plentiful one.
While I must get busy preparing my home to receive guests and for the massive cookfest and multiple gatherings of family and friends, I will hold fast to the profound meaning of Christmas and make room for Jesus in the sacred emptiness of my heart. I will also continue to hold the families we visited in my heart and not forget them in the comfort of my home here in Singapore.
* To complete the team, Jeanny brought with her from KK Ben, Ian, Louisa and Luke.
It is hard to get jolly in the face of natural disaster and my own personal close shave, and the abject poverty I just experienced. Plus, this is the period of Advent, a period where I am supposed to prepare my heart to receive the gift of Immanuel, God with us. It is not a season of anticipated gorging, gift-giving and financial extravagance. I find it quite ironic that Americans who assiduously avoid using the word Christmas throw themselves so enthusiastically into the Christmas season and engage in a frenzy of spending and of decorating their homes so lavishly.
Yes, Christmas is the season for gift-giving, but not of the material. Christmas is the story of the greatest gift of all time, the tale of salvation incarnate in the tiny Christ child. To truly enter into the spirit of Christmas, one must spread the joy of this message of redemption. I need to sit quietly and contemplate what I can do to prepare my heart to receive this awesome gift come December 25.
During reverse carolling, we spoke of feelings of helplessness when faced with the ugly, pervasive and continued presence of poverty and what it does to the human spirit and body. Here is where many rail at God for not doing anything to change desperate situations, or where many disavow the existence of God. We forget that we are loved so much that we are given free will, and that we can turn around the darkness that envelopes us when we turn to God and work with Him. Neither natural disasters nor poverty can defeat us, especially if we all work together to rebuild and transform.
During the penitential service I attended last week, Father spoke of the importance of this
Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy that we have just entered on December 8. When we are faced precisely with moments where we feel helpless, or where the darkness threatens to overwhelm, then we engage in prayer. He encouraged me to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet to ask for the gift of God's mercy, then to witness and participate in the wonderful mystery of mercy that will manifest in the world. I found this such a beautiful message of hope: greater and wonderful things are yet to come, so let us continue to be faithful and obedient in spirit. Thus will the power of God's mercy unfold fully in the world.
As Father Caloy preached on December 8, this Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy is a time where we allow ourselves to experience the mercy of God as true prodigals who repent and receive the Father's generous forgiveness; where we actively share this message of God's loving mercy with others; and where we ourselves must show mercy to others as true disciples and missionaries of Christ.To be true missionaries, Father Caloy shared, on another occasion, the significance of creativity (keep finding ways to make something work instead of giving up), for us to work with a sense of urgency, and to team up with others for we cannot go it alone. When I think of how the team* of people came together this reverse carolling under the direction and driving force of ICPE Mission Philippines (thank you Albert, Esther and Joan and their lovely guests Adjka and Katka from Slovakia), and how we worked with various different teams - the San Isidro Labrador Chaplaincy under Father Caloy in Mindoro, the Missionaries of Charity sisters in Kavisayaan, the Claretian sisters in Salaban, and the Balikatan community in Montalban - I am awed at how God connected us all to make all the outreaches successful, not forgetting the generous group of donors from Singapore and the Missionary Society of Saint Paul (MSSP) fathers who kindly offered us a home for our overnight stay in Manila. When we labour as one people to bring in the harvest, then it will indeed be a rich and plentiful one.
While I must get busy preparing my home to receive guests and for the massive cookfest and multiple gatherings of family and friends, I will hold fast to the profound meaning of Christmas and make room for Jesus in the sacred emptiness of my heart. I will also continue to hold the families we visited in my heart and not forget them in the comfort of my home here in Singapore.
* To complete the team, Jeanny brought with her from KK Ben, Ian, Louisa and Luke.
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