Great 2017!!!

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/010117.cfm) assures me that 2017 is going to be another great year in the Lord!

It’s a new day! It’s a new year! And as we start this year, we are reminded that it is going to be another great year of the Lord! The first reading and psalm gives us a very beautiful blessing and prayer. And I believe that just as God asked Moses to bless the Israelites with this, he is also reminding us that this blessing is for us as well. As we start the year, it is good to be reminded of this blessing from God:

The LORD bless you and keep you!

The LORD let his face shine upon

you, and be gracious to you!

The LORD look upon you kindly and

give you peace!

God has concretized this blessing in the second reading. The reason for this season. God sent his only Son to save us from our sins, because he loves us. Because of this, we too can call God our loving and almighty father.

God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,

crying out, “Abba, Father!”

So you are no longer a slave but a son,

and if a son then also an heir, through God

Just as we start the year, we also celebrate the Solemnity of Mama Mary, Mother of God. This is one of the three Holy Days of Obligation in our country (Aside from Dec 8 Immaculate Conception and Dec 25 Christmas). It is fitting that as we start the year, we remember Mama Mary, a loyal and humble servant of God. We again see a glimpse of her in the gospel. After saying Yes to God, she bore a Son and named him Jesus. At this point, she does not understand yet God’s plans as she kept all things in her heart, but still she continues to be faithful to God and does her part as the earthly mother of Christ. It is a good reminder for us, that as we start the year, even if we do not know and understand yet God’s plans, we just have to be like Mary and submit to God and do what he asks us to do. God has great plans for us, and we should just wait and cooperate, even if we do not understand and things are looking different from what we expected. (See related story)

May we always remember that God will always bless us, and may this lead us to be like Mama Mary, who trusts and surrenders to God, despite not knowing his plans for us yet.

What is God telling me today as I start the year? What are my fears and worries as I enter another year? Financial concerns? Health issues? Family matters? What can I learn from Mama Mary?

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live! Thank you for another year! Thank you for all the great blessings of 2016! Thank you for all the challenges of 2016! Thank you for everything. As I start the year, I look forward to receiving more love, blessings, and challenges from you. Lord, I do not know what this year would bring, but I do hope that it would bring me closer to you. I do not know what will happen, but you do. And I trust in you. May the challenges and hardships, as well as the blessings and triumphs this year bring me to loving you more and may they strengthen my faith in you. I ask Lord that you hold my hand every step of the way. Never let go of me, and make me more and more like you. As you do, may I radiate you to others I encounter. Amen.

Blessed Sunday and Blessed Year!

In Christ,

-g-

Ps

This story reminds me that even if God’s ways are not our ways, it is still the best, it is still better than what we have imagined, better than what we want for ourselves. 

The Parable of the Three Trees

Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and  dreamed of what they wanted to become when they  grew up. 
The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: "I  want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold  and filled with precious stones. I'll be the most  beautiful treasure chest in the world!" 

The second little tree looked out at the small stream  trickling by on it's way to the ocean. "I want to be  traveling mighty waters and carrying powerful kings.  I'll be the strongest ship in the world!" 

The third little tree looked down into the valley below  where busy men and women worked in a busy town.  "I don't want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to  grow so tall that when people stop to look at me,  they'll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I  will be the tallest tree in the world." 

Years passed. The rain came, the sun shone, and the  little trees grew tall. One day three woodcutters  climbed the mountain. 

The first woodcutter looked at the first tree and said,  "This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me." With a  swoop of his shining axe, the first tree fell. "Now I  shall be made into a beautiful chest, I shall hold  wonderful treasure!" The first tree said. 

The second woodcutter looked at the second tree  and said, "This tree is strong. It is perfect for me."  With a swoop of his shining axe, the second tree fell.  "Now I shall sail mighty waters!" thought the second  tree. "I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!" 

The third tree felt her heart sink when the last  woodcutter looked her way. She stood straight and  tall and pointed bravely to heaven.  But the woodcutter never even looked up. "Any kind  of tree will do for me." He muttered. With a swoop  of his shining axe, the third tree fell. 

The first tree rejoiced when the woodcutter brought  her to a carpenter's shop. But the carpenter fashioned  the tree into a feedbox for animals. 

The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold,  nor with treasure. She was coated with saw dust and  filled with hay for hungry farm animals. 

The second tree smiled when the woodcutter took  her to a shipyard, but no mighty sailing ship was made  that day. Instead the once strong tree was hammered and sawed into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and  too weak to sail to an ocean, or even a river; instead  she was taken to a little lake. 

The third tree was confused when the woodcutter cut  her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard.  "What happened?" The once tall tree wondered. "All  I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point  to God..." 

Many many days and night passed. The three trees  nearly forgot their dreams. 

But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree  as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the  feedbox. 

"I wish I could make a cradle for him." her husband  whispered. The mother squeezed his hand and smiled  as the starlight shone on the smooth and the sturdy  wood. "This manger is beautiful" she said. 

And suddenly the first tree knew he was holding the  greatest treasure in the world. 

One evening a tired traveler and his friends crowded  into the old fishing boat. The traveler fell asleep as  the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake. Soon  a thundering and thrashing storm arose. The little tree  shuddered. She knew she did not have the strength to  carry so many passengers safely through with the wind  and the rain. 

The tired man awakened. He stood up, stretched out  his hand, and said, "Peace." The storm stopped as  quickly as it had begun.  And suddenly the second tree knew he was carrying the  king of heaven and earth. 

One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her  beam were yanked from the forgotten woodpile. She  flinched as she was carried through an angry jeering  crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man's hands  to her.  She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. 

But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the  earth tremble with joy beneath her, the third tree knew  that God's love had changed everything.  It had made the third tree strong. And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God.  That was better than being the tallest tree in the world. 

So next time you feel down because you didn't get what   you want, just sit tight and be happy because God is   thinking of something better to give you ........... Author Unkown

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January 1, 2017
The Octave Day of Christmas
Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
Lectionary: 18

Reading 1 Nm 6:22-27

The LORD said to Moses:
"Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them:
This is how you shall bless the Israelites.
Say to them:
The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and
give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites,
and I will bless them."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8

R. (2a) May God bless us in his mercy.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. May God bless us in his mercy.

Reading 2 Gal 4:4-7

Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, "Abba, Father!"
So you are no longer a slave but a son,
and if a son then also an heir, through God.

Alleluia Heb 1:1-2

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;
in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 2:16-21

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.

When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.