Thursday, January 17, 2019

Simbang Gabi 2018 4: A Life of Purpose

SIMBANG GABI 2018 4
YEAR OF THE YOUTH
DECEMBER 19, 2018

Jesus, I trust in you!

Even before they were conceived and were born, both Samson and John the Baptist had a purpose for living. These were both revealed by angels to their own parents. The angel said to the mother of Samson that her son will begin the deliverance of Israel from the power of the Philistines. The angel Gabriel said to Zechariah that his son will prepare a people fit for the Lord. Samson was consecrated to God from the womb. John will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. Being consecrated to God means that a person belongs to him. This is a sign of God’s love and mercy towards the promised child and to the parents who will receive him from the Lord. Elizabeth, the wife of Zechariah, declared: “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he saw it fit to take away my disgrace before others.”

The Responsorial Psalm sings of the praises of God coming from a person who recognized the Lord’s singular love for him. “You are my hope, O Lord, my trust, O God, from my youth. On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength. I will treat of the mighty works of the Lord; O God, I will tell of your singular justice. O God, you have taught me from my youth, and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.” (Ikaw ang aking pag-asa, O Diyos ko; ang aking pinanaligan, Panginoon, mula pa sa aking pagkabata. Mula pa sa aking pagsilang ikaw na ang umaalalay sa akin; mula pa sa sinapupunan ng aking ina ikaw na ang aking lakas. Isasalaysay ko ang kapangyarihan ng Diyos; O Panginoon, ipapahayag ko ang katangi-tangi mong kabanalan. O Diyos, tinuruan mo ako mula pa sa aking pagkabata, at hanggang ngayon ay ipinahahayag ko pa ang iyong mga kababalaghan.) These words should be proclaimed by all people, and especially by the youth. It is because like Samson and John the Baptist, each of us were created for a life of purpose (may layunin ang buhay). We do not lead meaningless lives because God always has a reason for creating something. He does not create anything without meaning or purpose. The mere fact that we were created…the mere fact that we exist is the proof that we have a purpose for existing (may dahilan sa pamumuhay). There is always an answer for the question: Para saan ka bumabangon? Para kanino ka bumabangon?

Perhaps, for some, their purpose is not clear because they keep on looking at themselves in reference to people who do not seem to appreciate the gift of their persons. And this is sad. When we feel unappreciated, it is because we fail to see ourselves the way God looks at us. Each person is a gift. Samson was God’s gift not only the Manoah and his wife. He was God’s gift to the people of Israel who are to be delivered by him from the Philistines. John was God’s gift not only to Zechariah and Elizabeth but to the people who will be prepared by him for the Lord. You are a gift…otherwise, you will not be here on earth. One day, that purpose will be clear…you will mean something to someone because right now, you mean something to the Lord. No one is useless because God does not make trash.

Dear young people, you are beloved by God. From your mother’s womb, God called you to belong to him. Place your hope in the Lord. Trust him. Let the Lord be your strength. Let your life be one long song of thanksgiving to the Lord. You can only thank the Lord the moment you recognize that you are a gift. You are a gift of God to those who love you. You are a gift of God to the world. You are a gift of God to yourself. You did not create yourself. God did. And because of this, you have a purpose. God does not create meaningless creatures. God does not do things without a purpose.

 Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee! 

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