Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Jerome,
Pax Christi semper vobiscum!
We are almost halfway through our Advent journey. The Solemnity of the Birth of Jesus Christ is around the corner. I mentioned during the first week of Advent a possible danger of finding ourselves in the midst of Christmas preparations without truly entering into the spiritual dimension of the present season. The liturgical cycle, though important, may be reduced simply to an insignificant and yet a necessary timeline that needs to be a part of our Christmas celebration. Why? We simply become so familiar with the nature of the season to the point of not being reflective anymore of the underlying mysteries as the days leading up to Christmas are being unfolded. A meaningful Advent journey relies on our ability to be more contemplative as to the reason of Christ’s first coming, as we are being attentive to our encounter with Him each day and as we anticipate for His return on the Last Day. Jesus who became part of our human history and remains involved in our daily affairs, who also promised to return on the Last Day, is the center of the Advent pilgrimage. We know that! However, do we permit ourselves to be enveloped by the mysteries that surround the ordinariness of our life as we are transcended by our faith during this season of Advent?
Have we anticipated that Christmas would be different this year? Will there be a Christmas celebration at all? We are accustomed since time immemorial that Christmas is celebrated with joyful parties, gift-giving and receiving. Coming home and family visits are some of those anticipated reunions during Christmas. Gatherings at workplaces and a sumptous dinner among co-workers highlights our Christmas camaraderie. We often extend our Christmas days to accommodate the many social gatherings that bring us in connection with those who are dear to us.
Christmas is one of the most anticipated seasons in our parish life, especially for our young children who have been oriented to act out the Pastorela, the re-enactment of Posadas and hitting of Piñatas, of Simbang Gabi and Christmas Carols and many more cultural traditions that have molded our beliefs. Sadly, we will not be able to have them in the usual way this year. Time has changed and situations were altered as the pandemic made its way to the ordinariness of our daily routine. It is a sad reality especially when we simply define Christmas as a series of social events, gift giving, parties, decorations, food, and family reunions. Christmas is more than our busy shopping. It is more than our busy cooking. It is more than our family visits and travels. Christmas is more than just our parties with friends and co-workers.
Rather, Christmas is an opportunity for our souls to be in conscious communion with the One who is the source of our ultimate joy. It is our encounter with the absolute satisfaction of our hungry hearts that long for love. Our Christmas this year may be more quiet than the previous ones because we are invited to stay still in front of our Nativity scene at home and ponder upon the silence of the night when the King of Kings entered clandestinely into human history. Our Christmas this year may be accompanied by worries and fear as the contagion of the pandemic continues to increase. We are preceded to recognize the danger when the newborn Baby of Joseph and Mary needed to be protected and hidden from the threat of being murdered by Herod and his soldiers. Could it be similar to the quarantine that calls us also to be in hiding so that we won’t be caught by the deadly virus that may take our life away? Our Christmas this year may be different because it calls us not to acquire more clothing and computer gadgets or the latest technology and the newest home appliances. Rather, we are invited to gaze upon the characters of the creche and to see ourselves in them as they were content of having the simplest clothing, the simplest appearance and the most humble offering to the Son of God. Christmas this year invites us to appreciate what we already have by giving instead to the ones who are in need what we would like to buy for ourselves.
I am certain that the streets and front yards of many houses and buildings will be lit for Christmas. Trees will be decorated, and major thoroughfares will continue to have the symbols of Jesus’s birth. Shall we keep decorating for tradition? Or shall we choose to have an encounter with the One whose birth we are anticipating? The challenge of the season is on. Are we disposed to prepare a warm place within our hearts that can serve as a blanket for the Baby Jesus whose birth we are anticipating? Yes, Christmas may be unusual this year, yet we are given more opportunity to re-live the first Christmas night where silence was speaking of love and the darkness of night was anticipating a new day.
The journey continues. Stay on track.
Sincerely in Christ and Mary,
