May I deviate from the usual topic since this issue falls on Christmas Day.
It is everybody’s favorite time of the year, probably even for non-Christians or non-believers.
Who could resist the dazzling lights, parties, festive mood, generosity, and the general aura of celebration? Christmas has become a universal affair so much so that non-Christians have also enthusiastically joined in. Some countries just like the United States however, have now effectively converted Christmas into a non-denominational or even a non-religious event. It has now been renamed “Holidays”. So instead of greeting people “Merry Christmas”, they now say “Happy Holidays”. How unfortunate. But no matter how we call it, the core message should still remain in us and for me, it is “gratefulness”. It is the season of giving but it should also be a season of grateful receiving.
For most of us, we wish to receive more gifts and even pray earnestly to God for him to grant our wishes. The traditional 9-day simbang gabi (dawn masses) for Philippine Catholics has even become a “wishing well” wherein some believe that the complete attendance during the nine novena masses will ensure the fulfillment of prayers or wishes. This however has been repeatedly countered by the Catholic Church. On the contrary, I believe that God has already blessed us sufficiently for He has promised his people repeatedly that He will take care of their needs. So instead of praying for more and more blessings or favors from God, maybe we should also pray that God gives us the ability to see and recognise the many blessings we were already given.
Sometimes because we are so focused on our prayers or wishes and in our desire that God give them to us, we tend to overlook or disregard other things we already have. We even become frustrated and even question God for not fulfilling or answering our prayers even after we have already done everything to praise and perform good deeds. As if we are now even “buying” favors from God and demand or require Him to perform his obligation because we have already done ours. Can this Christmas be a time for us to reflect and realize that we are abundantly blessed and to become more aware of our gifts and blessings so that we may become more grateful? After we recognise our blessings, may we then also be willing to share them to others. It is through sharing our blessings that we realize that we belong to the family of God.
I would like to greet all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
