Every Ash Wednesday we start the holy season of Lent, that is, a 40 day period of preparation for the Paschal Mystery of Christ. Paschal Mystery refers to his passion, death, resurrection and glorification which wrought our salvation. Why Ash Wednesday? Because we reminded of our origin, that is, we were created by God through the "dust". "Remember man that you are dust and unto dust you shall return."

In order for us to understand the meaning of the Gospel account, it is imperative that we have to understand the context where Jesus is coming from, most especially in the mind of the writer, the evangelist Matthew. Matthew would like to present to his audience, that is, his community that his Gospel is the "the Gospel of fulfillment." Jesus is the Son of God who fulfills the Law and the Prophets. So, for Matthew, the whole of Matthew chapter 5-8 is considered to be the summary of the teachings of Jesus, which begins with the Beatitudes.

Fr. Guido and I are living together at the parish rectory for more than a month. We cook our food together especially breakfast, eat our meals together, not to mention, and pray together. We are one small community...partners in doing God's work. I must admit that Fr. Guido is a better cook than me. In cooking, we often use salt and pepper. We know that salt is an important ingredient in cooking for it adds flavor.

The Beatitudes (Mt 5:1-12) serve as the foundation or the basis of all the teachings of Jesus. He now acts as the "New Moses" who teaches not only his disciples, but also the crowds (all people) who gather around him. Christ's profound wisdom is contained in the beatitudes. It is considered to be the road map for people who search for happiness and fulfillment in life. It is likewise considered to be the "Magna Carta" of Christianity.

What is the significance of January 15? This date is memorable to me. Why? I rather keep you in suspense. Nevertheless, there are certain historical events which we would never forget. Like December 7, 1941 the day when the Japanese bombed and attacked Pearl Harbor. September 11, 2001, the collapse of the Twin towers that cost the lives of more than 2000 Americans.

Last Sunday, we celebrated the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. According to St. Matthew, when John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to him for Baptism, he vehemently objected by saying: "I should be baptized by you, yet you come to me!" (Mt. 3:14) Jesus replied to him: "Give in for now. We must do this if we would fulfill all of God's demands." (Mt. 3:15)

In my previous homily, I said that Jesus manifested himself in three ways, namely: He manifests himself to the Gentiles (pagans) by the guidance of the star. This was the feast that we celebrated last Sunday. He manifests himself when he was baptized by John at the river Jordan, the feast that we celebrate today. And he manifests himself when he changes the water into wine at Cana, in Galilee.

In the Philippines, we are used to drinking a three-in-one coffee, that is, coffee, creamer and sugar all in one sachet. Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Epiphany or manifestation of the Lord. Christ manifests himself in three ways, namely: He manifests himself to the Magi (the pagans); he manifests himself when he was baptized by John the Baptist at the river Jordan, and he manifests himself when he performed his first sign at Cana.

Every human person has his high and low moments in life. My highest moments were when I took my final vows (April 3, 1987), was ordained a deacon (April 4, 1987) and was ordained as a priest (October 24, 1987). My lowest moment in life when I was told by mom to repeat my Grade 1, and when I got the lowest grade in the NCEE when I was in my 4th year of high school. The family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus had also their "high" moments and "low” moments.

The news about pregnancy and the news about birth are always exciting to the couple and to the family. The news about the birth of Jesus is also exciting by the fact that it is reported in Luke and Matthew because they are only gospels which have infancy narratives. The announcement of the birth of Jesus as reported by Luke (Lk 1:26-38) has been read for the Solemnity of Immaculate Conception. Today, we hear the announcement of the birth of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew. (Mt.11:2-11) At the outset, they are almost similar, but the difference lies on their focus. The former is focused more on Mary, while the latter is focused on Joseph.

In my homily last Sunday, I did mention that one of the personalities that we encounter is John the Baptist. Today's gospel gives us the reason why Jesus lauded John, the Baptist. "Amen, I say to you. Among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the Kingdom is greater than he." Thus, the reason why Jesus complimented John, the Baptist because He was privileged to be precursor of Jesus Christ, the one who was called by God to prepare his people for the coming Messiah. And John did his mission well by introducing the ritual of baptism which is the sign of repentance.

One of the staunch personalities that we meet in this season of Advent is John, the Baptist, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth whose primary mission is to prepare the people to welcome Jesus, the Savior. He understands his mission well when he confined his mission in the desert of Judea when he says: "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand".

After celebrating the Solemnity of Christ the King last Sunday, which culminates the Liturgical Year, we have arrived at a New Liturgical Year (Year A) with the Season of Advent. For me, this is an awesome season because we are being asked to reflect, ponder and think deeply about the three "comings" of Christ, namely: The coming of Christ at the end time or Parousia, the commemoration or celebration of Christ's coming in history more than two thousand years ago, and the coming of Christ in the daily events of our life.

Yesterday, the whole Universal Church celebrated the Solemnity of ALL SAINTS. Today, the Church celebrates the ALL SOULS Day. These two feasts manifest one fundamental truth of our faith, that is, we all belong to the BODY OF CHRIST. His body is composed of the Church Triumphant (the Saints in Heaven), the Church suffering (the souls in Purgatory), and the Pilgrim Church (the people here on earth).