WE HAVE turned another leaf of our 2018 calendar and it's is now the start of the ber months. So, allow me to greet you Merry Christmas. The Philippines is known to celebrate the longest Christmas season in the world. Malls would start to play Christmas songs and Christmas decors are now available on sale.
Even the rains ushered the coming of the ber months. With cold mornings and cool afternoons, one could now feel the season of joy.
However, as we welcome the season, the physical and material world do not rejoice with us. The prices of basic commodities continue to rise and the disputes and conflicts in the local and international communities are still growing and continue to brew to a large scale conflict. Self-proclaimed atheists start to abound and claiming their theories to be more relevant in today's situation.
Many also want to form their own schism by trying to believe what they see on television and social media. Fake news and doctrines also abound both in the real and virtual world. Many have forgotten the real essence of peace and love. This is the real world and could we still be merry or happy, like the little child playing with his toys?
But even the child no longer plays with an imaginative world, he is engrossed in playing a "death" game in his personal computer or at a rented one. Where is the merrymaking? We still have October and November to mend our ways and really enjoy the message of the season and not just simply what is presented to us by the material world.
For those who believe in Jesus, there is a great reason to celebrate.
Allow me to remind everyone of the beautiful days of September. September 4 is the feast of Our Lady of Consolation. Here we are presented of the image of the Blessed Mother giving the cincture to St. Monica. This is a symbol where St. Monica could pour all her sacrifices and sufferings for the conversion of St. Augustine. This is a great fiesta for the Augustinian family. September 8 is the Birthday of Mama Mary.
We celebrate the birth of the Blessed Mother, the woman who said "yes" to the perfection of the salvation of mankind. Here we celebrate the birth of the mother of salvation. On September 15, we also celebrate the title of the Blessed Mother as Our Lady of Sorrows. We are reminded of the sorrows of the Blessed Mother. It is not always glorious to be the Mother of Christ but it is full of sorrows.
September 10 is the feast of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, an Augustinian Monk, who is made a patron of the Poor souls in Purgatory. We can ask his intercession to help our relatives who are in Purgatory, that the pain they are experiencing may become a way for their glory into the passage to Paradise. St. Nicholas is also the patron Saint of the first Catholic university in Negros Island, the University of Negros Occidental–Recoletos.
We also commemorate one of the sad events in the life of the Philippines – the declaration of Martial Law by then President Ferdinand Marcos. It was one of the saddest moments for many lives were lost due to the misinterpretation of the military force. However, the atrocities continued until its dissolution. Many lives were lost and many are still missing as of today.
These are some events in the life of the Philippines and our personal spiritual lives that would make our lives meaningful and we could say, a merry Christ coming to one and all.
St. Nicholas of Tolentino, pray for us.
