Community Word
The light and glory of God is revealed in Jesus, our Savior.
Order
“Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.” (Is 60:1)
Reflection
New Year begins with a heavenly message of hope in the person of Jesus Himself, our Emmanuel and Savior, God’s greatest gift to man. Thus the discerned theme for January is – The light and glory of God is revealed in Jesus, our Savior.
Starting the year brings our minds to look back at everything that happened during the past year. We recall the good things that came our way and the struggles we encountered, including the mistakes we made and how we dealt with those failures. But most of all we remember how much we were blessed by God in the midst of many challenges, as we saw how the Spirit of the Lord came to work in our life allowing us to experience peace, joy, and fulfillment. We gained renewed strength and determination to believe in those blessings and be grateful.
As we prepare to embark on a new journey of faith, let us pray for wisdom and guidance to do better, to hope and rise above difficulties, and most of all, to live life in a deeper and meaningful relationship with the Lord. Being Christians in community, we can become more active in our mission works so that we may fully embrace Jesus, the light and glory of God.
Let us then reflect on the readings for January as Jesus is made manifest to us, and how we can respond to His revelation.
We start with the Epiphany of the Lord with this theme – Jesus, our Savior, is revealed when we honor Him with our time, talent and treasure. Our life’s journey can be likened to the arduous journey of the wise men to find the newborn King. Just as the star guided them to Jesus, faith has been given to us to truly find God. The magi presented the lowly Jesus with gifts fit for a lord and king. We too can be humble and bow before the Lord to honor and adore Him as our King. Each of us has our own star guiding us – the start of prayer, love, friendship and support. At times, we become a star for others, by bringing Jesus to them and serving them through our loving care and compassion. Through us, this promise can be fulfilled in them – “…He shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.” (Ps 72:12).
For the Baptism of the Lord, the theme is – Jesus, our Savior, is revealed when we acknowledge Him as the Anointed Son of God. Jesus’ baptism was in fulfillment of the will of God when His Spirit came to sanctify and empower His Son to begin His earthly ministry. Baptism brings a person into the family of God and joins us to the saving work of Jesus. It gives us a new start in life. The Spirit empowers us to fulfill our mission, to spread the Good News of God’s love to the world. God proclaimed His unrelenting love for us through Christ, and our mission is to bring the light of Christ to those who need Him – the last, the least and the lost. And as we continue with our ministry work, we are in fulfillment of this promise – “…upon whom I have put my spirit, he shall bring forth justice to the nation,” (Is 42:1b).
Jesus, our Savior, is revealed when we are obedient to the will of the Father, is the theme for the Feast of Sto. Nino (Philippine Districts). Jesus started His ministry in the spirit of obedience. Even as a little child, He was obedient both to His heavenly Father and to His earthly parents. Especially for us who serve our community, the attitude of obedience opens our heart to love and therefore, gives us the opportunity to serve others with sincerity, commitment and dedication. For each one of us, “…the God of our Lord Jesus Christ…may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in the knowledge of him,” (Eph 1:17).
For the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (International Districts), the theme is – Jesus, our Savior, is revealed when we are obedient to the will of the Father. “His mother said to the servers, ‘Do whatever he tells you,’” (Jn 2:5). Whenever Jesus meets our needs, He often gives us something to do and we have to act on it obediently; our need is granted when we listen to Him and obey. The Holy Spirit guides us to action that will make us realize that our petitions would be answered. Many times, we are amazed at the miracles and unexpected blessings simply because of our deep faith and willingness to wait on the Lord, as what we witnessed at the wedding in Cana. After all, Jesus came that we may have life in abundance, and He gave us this promise, “You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the Lord,” (Is 62:3).
The theme for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time is – Jesus, our Savior, is revealed when we are one spirit in doing God’s work. Jesus did not waste time to begin His ministry in preaching the gospel. As the appointed and chosen One of God, Jesus fulfilled His mission with the help of God. We too have received the love of God in our hearts and our delight in the Lord should be experienced by others. We should share the love of God by translating the gospel of Christ into action through our evangelization and mission works, attending the needs of the poor among us, promoting the spirit of peace and reconciliation, opening the doors of mercy and compassion, helping the younger generation sustain their faith in a time when it has become scarce. God’s grace and mercy is available to us and we can turn to Christ with confidence for all our needs. This is God’s promise, “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; …giving wisdom to the simple,” (Ps 19:8).
Finally, the theme for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time is – Jesus, our Savior, is revealed when we accept and stand up for Him. Perhaps, our biggest challenge as true followers of Jesus Christ is to defend our faith and belief that He is our Savior and our Lord. The call to Christian discipleship is a call that requires courage. The Catholic Church continues to be besieged with voices that tend to shaken our faith and divide the faithful. It is timely that the Holy Father has called for a Synodal consultation process to reflect on the life and mission of the Church and help it to live communion, achieve participation and open itself to mission. There are many external obstacles that we might encounter when we serve community, but perhaps one difficulty is within ourselves, when we are afraid to leave our comfort zone, change our priorities and attachments. But Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He continues to sustain us, give us strength and encouragement: “They will fight against you, but not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you,” (Jer 2:19).

Prayer
Lord, we thank You for the many blessings You showered us in the past year despite the challenges we experienced. We pray that you continue to keep us safe and protected especially with the onset of the new Covid Omicron variant. We thank you for sustaining us spiritually even if we could not go to mass and receive the sacraments. Lord, bless us with faith and courage as we face a new year. We pray for Your wisdom, guidance and hope in meeting the new challenges, believing in Isaiah’s declaration: “Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you,” (Is 60:1). In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Readings
January 2, 2022 – Is 60:1-6/ Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13/ Eph 3:2-3A, 5-6/ Mt 2:1-12
January 9, 2022 – Is 42:1-4, 6-7/ Ps 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10/ Act 10:34-38/ Lk 3:15-16, 21-22
January 16, 2022 (Phil) – Is 9:1-6/ Ps 98:1-6/ Eph 1:3-6, 15-18/ Lk 2:41-52
January 16, 2022 (Int’l) – Is 62:1-5/ Ps 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9-10/ 1 Cor 12:4-11/ Jn 2:1-11
January 23, 2022 – Neh 8:2-4A, 5-6, 8-10/ Ps 19:8. 9, 10, 15/ 1 Cor 12:12-30/ Lk 1:1-4, 4:14-21
January 30, 2022 – Jer 1:4-5, 17-19/ Ps 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15-17/ 1 Cor 12:31-13:13/ Lk 4:21-30