Misa de Gallo is the name given in Spanish to the mass celebrated at midnight on Christmas Eve. Here in the Philippines, the prayer is done early in the morning on Christmas Eve, and it is the last day of a nine-day ritual known as Simbang Gabi, and today is the start of the nine-day ritual. Completing the nine days of Misa de Gallo is said to make a wish come true, and many Filipinos believe this centuries-old promise up to this day.
It's time of Puto bumbong and bibingka too!
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I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.
Your walls are always in my presence.
- Isaiah 49:16
How do you feel when you are an ordinary worker, and your boss knows you, or calls you by your name? Isn't it you are happy?
There are others who struggle to let their masters know them. But with God, we don't need to strive hard to let God know us. He definitely knows us all, by our name. Our name, not in diploma, not in awards, not in plaques, but in God's Hand and on God's lips. Aren't we not just happy about it, but delighted? Isn't it the most important award to all of us. Think of it. And thank God for remembering you.
And a way to thank God for his remembering, is for remembering Him too, always.
And a way to thank God for his remembering, is for remembering Him too, always.
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Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.
- Psalm 119:105
a light on my path.
- Psalm 119:105
The Holy Bible is the Word of God. And this words show us the right path. Imagine yourself walking at darkness. It is definitely difficult. We need a light to guide us on our path, and so God gave us His words, to lead us to the right direction of our lives.
If we keep God's word is along the way, we will not easily be deceived. We will see that this light reveals the path ahead of us.
This concludes that understanding the purpose of the bible is like setting the compass in the right direction, use it properly and we will all be on a safe journey.
If we keep God's word is along the way, we will not easily be deceived. We will see that this light reveals the path ahead of us.
This concludes that understanding the purpose of the bible is like setting the compass in the right direction, use it properly and we will all be on a safe journey.
On Day 9 of the book Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado, he started the page by this scripture:
"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night,
so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.
so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.
Then you will be prosperous and successful."
- Joshua 1:8
New International Version (NIV)
- Joshua 1:8
New International Version (NIV)
So how could we listen to God's heart?
In this book I learned important tools on how I can learn to listen to God. And what are those tools? Here are the ones he found useful, and I'm beginning to realize that these are definitely useful for one who wanting to be a Better Catholic:
A regular time and place. Select a slot on your schedule and a corner of your world, and claim it for God. For some it may be the best to do this in the morning...others prefer in the evening...
A second tool you need is an open Bible. God speaks to us through his word. The first step to reading the bible is to ask God to help you understand it...Don't go to scripture looking for your own idea; go searching for God's.
There is a third tool... A listening heart...If you want to be just like Jesus, let God have you. Spend time listening for him until you receive your lesson for the day - then apply it.
What do you think of Max Lucado's tools on listening to God? Did you find it helpful?
In the article "A 'Word' for You: Looking for a Catholic Bible" by Maria Jose Franco published on the Catholic.net, She summarized what a Bible is and what this book will do to our lives. She emphasized that the Bible is one of the oldest in history and continues to be a best seller decade after decade, not because the book is meant to narrate what happened 3000 years ago but it is a book that leads us to God. And most importantly, this Holy Bible is written for us.
Me, as a Catholic honestly lacks exposure to the Bible and it is only limited on what I hear during Sunday Mass. And sometimes it is hard for me to understand what the scriptures say, unless the Priest gives relevant examples to explain the readings on the bible.
But me, wanting to be a Better Catholic should not stop. Remember, the Bible is the Word of God. God is speaking to us through text. Accorfing to Franco, This is his "Word" to us and the 72 books in the Bible is God's love letter to us.
Here are the pointers given by Maria Jose Franco on how we read this love letter, The Holy Bible:
1. Ask the Holy Spirit for some help! Just say, “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love.”
2. Read it. You can do this before going to bed or when you wake up. Do it for ten minutes; it won’t take much time, and you will gain a lot.
3. Study it. Take part in a Bible course, either at your parish or on-line.
4. Learn from it and apply it. Learn from the examples of the Bible figures; for example Moses’ perseverance in the desert, Daniel’s courage before the lions, David’s repentance after his sins. And there is even more to learn from Christ. Apply this to your life. How can I keep going in my Christian life when things are hard? What would Christ do?
5. Pray about it. There are many methods of prayer. You can set aside some time at the beginning of your day where you pray to the Holy Spirit, read a passage of the Bible, and meditate on it. For example, in John 4, Christ meets the Samaritan woman. You might know the story by heart, but this time read the passage slowly. Did something new strike you? Can you relate to that woman? Are you thirsty for something in life? If you happened to encounter Christ standing by the “well,” what would you tell him?
6. Share it. Read to your kids before they go to bed. Buy an illustrated Bible so they can get into it. Draw the morals or lessons that they can learn from it and ask them to come up with a resolution of how they can live that the next day.
7. Find help. Use a book if you feel you are going nowhere. There are many books with meditations or explanations about the Bible that could help you. Make sure it is a Catholic Bible since some other editions exclude some of the seventy-two books of the Bible, leaving the story incomplete.
He also gave some pointers to check when acquiring a Bible:
1. The “imprimatur” notice on the back of the title page. An imprimatur indicates that the book is free of errors in Catholic doctrine.
2. Check the index and make sure it has the seventy-two inspired books.
3. A tip: The New American Bible, Ignatius Bible, and The New Jerusalem Bible are great choices!
We are celebrating today the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was celebrated at least by the sixth century, when St. Romanos the Melodist, an Eastern Christian who composed hymns used in the Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies, composed a hymn for the feast. The feast spread to Rome in the seventh century, but it was a couple more centuries before it was celebrated throughout the West.
The traditional date of the feast, September 8, falls exactly nine months after the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. The story of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary is coined on the Protoevangelium of James, an apocryphal gospel written about A.D. 150. From this gospel we came to know that Mary's parents are Joachim and Anna, as well as the tradition that the couple was childless until an angel appeared to Anna and told her that she would conceive.
In celebration of Mama Mary's birthday, some Filipino celebrities joined in praying a million rosaries for World Peace. The project aims to enlist a million Filipinos to pray the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary for peace. The prayer project is called "A MIllion Roses for the World".
Why not visit the official site of Million Roses of the World and submit your pledge as a birthday gift to Mama Mary!
Happy birthday Mama Mary!
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"By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing;
so on the seventh day He rested from all His work.
And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done."
Genesis 2:2-3
God
celebrated all the good work he had done. He blessed the seventh day
and made it holy. God made it a special day, different from all the
rest. Don't you think that it is what God wants us also to do? That on
the seventh day of every week, He wants us to rest and enjoy all that
He has made.
God made everything. God is so good!
God made everything. God is so good!
Our Daily Bread
