ADVENT REFLECTION

     In today’s gospel, Jesus reminds us that we have to be always prepared and be watchful for the son of man may come anytime.  The coming of the Lord has two meanings.  First in our own death and the second is when He comes to judge the living and the dead.

     Many times we practice the act of preparing, especially us Filipinos, for we are known for our being very hospitable.  When we have visitors, relatives and good friends or even just new acquaintances, we always get out of our ways to prepare the best for them.  The best accommodations, foods and we wear our best outfits and attires upon greeting and in welcoming them.

     In relations to the gospel, we should prepare ourselves spiritually for our Lord Jesus Christ’ coming.  We can do this by cleansing ourselves from sin.  Through the gift of reconciliation or confessions, our sins are forgiven.  Next is attending the Holy Mass every day, if possible and praying unceasingly.  Another way is doing acts of charity, doing good favors to our families and to others and by sharing our blessings to them especially to the poor.

     Our Lord Jesus Christ is very much interested with our spiritual state rather that what we have achieved in our lives when we come to meet Him. He will not ask us if are college graduate, if we are achievers and if we are rich or poor.

     In this advent season, let us prepare ourselves, our best, spiritually for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Let us welcome Him with open arms and a joyous heart.

 

 

REAL LOVE

In the world today, love is the most abused term. Some people claim of loving a person even if it is not true. What is really a true or real love? To know about it, we have to go the other way around and discover the different misconceptions about love.

These are some misconceptions about love. First, we equate love with admiration, meaning to say, we easily fall in love with a handsome or to an attractive person. Thus, we are repelled to a person we consider ugly. Second, we associate love with sex. For us, to love a person, we should engage in sex or be sexually active with them. It leads to the idea that friendship is not love and that love cannot be found in friendship. Lastly, love is dependency. That is, the person is dependent to the person he/she loves. A person experiencing dependent love is primarily unconcerned with spiritual growth because he/ she always wants happiness that can be found to the person he/ she loves and abhors pains and loneliness which are two important ingredients for growth. For instance, a man wants to meet up with his girlfriend at the park but the girl prefer that they go to church and attend mass. So, the man gets angry because of this.

With that, what is real love? Love is an action, a commitment. It is the will of a person to become a part of another with the willingness to grow spiritually together. And, it always involves proper decision making. When we grow spiritually, Jesus is always there. Jesus is the origin of love. Jesus is love. And when this happens, we experience real and authentic love. When Jesus is at the center of two persons in love, we can really say that their love for each other is authentic and real. That is the time, we experience true joy, peace and happiness. Let us all remember that before we came to love Jesus, He already loved us, even before we were conceived. JESUS IS LOVE.