December 15, the first Simbang gabi of 2020 was presided by our parish priest Rev. Fr. Ferdinand Delatado.
In his homily, he asked the parishioners to pray that they will remember the message of his homily and the Gospel. The Holy Gospel highlighted the truth and honesty. It is saddening that in our generation, a lot of people are very comfortable in telling lies and very few are willing to stand with the truth. Fake news, fake products, age, and even relationships are easily spotted. This is the Gospel’s challenge to ourselves. “Honesty is the best policy”. Just like the phrase that people learned during grade 1, we need to be like John the Baptist who became honest with the truth. We need to wake up about the kinds of lies that are existing in our world. Even though there are many people who know that there are people lying, hiding, and faking everything, not a lot are standing with the truth. It is scary to know and to discover that lying is becoming a very easy and comfortable action for people to do. It is scary that more and more people are becoming the children of lies. It is alarming that the phrase “Honesty is such a lonely word” is becoming a reality. There are a lot of liars in the world, let us not be one of them. If you are living in a world full of lies and fake, and if you are a liar, it is not yet over to change and to become a person who is standing with the truth as long as you are breathing.
This season, it's nice to see beautiful decorations to make us remember and feel the spirit of Christmas. It is also nice to have a little feast for noche buena and gifts to give to your loved ones. However, it is more beautiful if we can show the people around us that Jesus Christ is real. Christmas will be nonsense if we will not prove the truth.
Article by: Marianne Aragon