3H for 2023

I remember an incident when I was invited to celebrate Mass. It was the town fiesta, and the front of the church was filled with decorations, a welcome band, and all the Mass servers ready to march into the church. As I was late already, I chose to go straight from the sacristy to the altar, using the backdoor, skipping the ceremonials and the grandeur. If there is one more lesson Christmas can tell us, it is the lesson of humility, hiddenness, and “backdoor” spirituality.

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Happy New Year! What will this new year bring? What will we come to in 2023? As long as we bring the Lord in our journey, and as long as we don’t forget that the Lord has come already to our world, we don’t have to worry about anything or anyone, come what may.

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In today’s Gospel (Luke 2:16-21), we hear of the humble beginnings and lowly surroundings that accompanied the birth of Jesus. God chose to come to the world by the backdoor. There were no marching bands, no fireworks, no bright lights and loud sounds that first Christmas. And yet, it was full of peace, hope, joy, and love.

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Let us meet the new year with humility to God and to people, and we will be strong and peaceful all throughout the year. Humility is the key: with humility, we don’t need to worry; with humility, we just trust God every day; with humility, we reach out to others, especially the needy.

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Let’s humbly ask Mama Mary, the Mother of God, and our Mother, to guide us to God’s heart. Mama Mary’s words for us: “I am here, I’m your Mother; Do not fear, I am near.” Let us consecrate to Mama Mary ourselves, our country, our world on this first day of the New Year.

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This year, let us take the road of love more concretely. I call them the 3H of love:

HEART. Give your heart to God. Love Him in your thoughts, words, and deeds. Accept His love no matter what you go through. Let not trials, sufferings, failures, and sins stop you from loving and serving God. All He asks from each one of us is our heart. Tell Him every day: I give you my heart, my Lord and my God!

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HELP. Give your help to people! Help them by your thoughts, words, and deeds. Help them materially, emotionally, spiritually. Beyond dole outs, empower them. Make them believe in themselves. There is so much suffering around us. Let us specialize in kindness and generosity. May we have no regrets in the end that we loved and shared too little, too late.

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HEALTH. Give health to your body and soul. Take care of yourself. Be healthy. Stay healthy. Be healthy emotionally. Be free from stress, worries, anger, and sadness, which become heavy baggage. Also, be healthy spiritually. Sin makes us unhappy. Sin and bad habits imprison us. Bad relationships make us unhappy. Be free.

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New year’s resolution 2023:

Give your HEART to God;

Give your HELP to people;

Give your HEALTH to your body and soul. 

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Think about this: “If 2022 is telling us anything … it’s telling us to enjoy the moments we have, and don’t take any day, anything, anyone for granted.” (Donovan Mitchell) We’ve said it before, we say it again: Do not postpone your conversion to God, and do not postpone your loving to people.

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May we all have a happy, healthy, and holy new year. May 2023 be a better year for all of us, in all aspects, in Jesus’ name. Amen! One with you in prayer and gratitude, and hope!

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A moment with the Lord:Lord, to you, I give my HEART, to people, I give my HELP, and I give HEALTH to my body and soul. Amen.

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