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1ST SUNDAY OF ADVENT -YEAR A – The Advent of the Heart: A Meditation on Divine Visitation

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The language of the Gospel, especially its apocalyptic tones, often strikes a dissonant chord within our modern psyche. We either spiral into fearful speculation about a punishing God and a catastrophic end, or we flatten its profound mystery into a mere moralism about the suddenness of physical death. Both interpretations are a flight from the true, transformative power of the Word, born from a misreading of its sacred genre. Let us remember the fundamental key: the Gospel is, by its very nature, Good News. Any interpretation that breeds anxiety instead of hope, fear instead of conversion, or turmoil instead of peace within the soul is a distortion, moving us away from the heart of God, which is love and salvation.

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PIERRE LOIRET- FROM CHOEUR GRÉGORIEN DE PARIS – Gregorian Chant a Spiritual Treasure of the Church

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It´s one of the world’s most renowned choral ensembles and it performed in Macau late last month. The Choeur Grégorien de Paris performed, who performed in the 100th Anniversary Concert of the University of Fu-Hen, has included the territory on its Asian Tour. The group sang at Saint Lawrence’s Church and at the Saint Joseph’s Seminary and Church. Author of several books about Gregorian chant, Pierre Loiret is also one of the oldest members of the Parisian ensemble. A former member of the French Navy with a PhD in Economy and Finance, Mr. Loiret told “O Clarim” that Gregorian Chant is not a thing of the past: in Europe there’s a revival being fueled by the younger generations.

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BLACK NOVEMBER IN NIGERIA – The Ongoing Bloody Persecution of Christians in Nigeria

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This November has been particularly harsh for Catholic and Muslim communities in Nigeria.  In the early morning hours of November 17th, “shortly before morning prayers,” an unknown number of girls were kidnapped by armed men who attacked a girls’ school in the northwest of that African country. The gang members attacked the Maga Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School in the Danko/Wasagu district, Kebbi state. After killing the school’s vice-principal, Malam Hassan Yakubu Makuku – who tried in vain to protect the students – and wounding a security guard, the attackers fled to the neighboring state of Zamfara, taking an undetermined number of girls with them. The area where the kidnapping occurred is part of the Emirate of Zuru and is predominantly Muslim. 

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OPEN YOUR BIBLE – Whom Shall We Send? – Isaiah 6:1–13

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A Vision in a Time of Crisis

Isaiah chapter 6 marks a decisive moment in the prophet’s life and in Israel’s history. The vision occurs amid national upheaval: the death of King Uzziah, the Syro-Ephraimite war in 734 B.C., the fall of Samaria in 722, and the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem under Sennacherib in 701. In this desolate context, “the Lord of hosts” reveals Himself to Isaiah in overwhelming glory—“the hem of His robe filled the temple” (v.1).

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IMITATING THE CHARITY AND LOVE OF CHRIST – Charity as Peace

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As human beings, as citizens of a nation and of the world, as Christians, our humanity and our faith commit us to build peace: to have peace in our personal life and to promote social peace in our troubled world. We all desire peace, St. Augustine says, and therefore, St. Thomas adds, “we desire to obtain what we desire”: peace through continuing peacemaking by peaceful means.

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33RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME -YEAR C – Courage and Strength

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“Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.” Luke 21:12–15

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OPEN YOUR BIBLE (8) – Hosea’s Times: A Prophet’s Love Story in an Age of Betrayal

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In the eighth century B.C., the prophet Hosea emerged in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II (782–753 B.C.). This was a period of relative peace and economic prosperity, especially for the ruling elite and merchant class. But beneath the surface, instability brewed. Following Jeroboam’s death, Israel saw six kings rise and fall within just 25 years—four of them assassinated. This political chaos stood in stark contrast to the more stable Davidic monarchy in the southern kingdom of Judah. By 743 B.C., the geopolitical landscape of the ancient Near East shifted dramatically. Tiglath-Pileser III, the ruthless king of Assyria, launched a military campaign against the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Like his contemporary Amos, the prophet Hosea warned both the monarch and the people of the impending devastation. Their message was clear: Israel must repent. The Lord was preparing to use Assyria as an instrument of judgment and purification. Ultimately, Hosea’s warnings proved true. The northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed. Samaria, its capital, fell, and in 722 B.C., the majority of its inhabitants were taken into exile to a distant land—never to return.

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XVII NATIONAL MISSIONARY CONGRESS IN MEXICO – “A True Missionary Does Not Dominate, But Loves”

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In a moving message addressed to the bishops, priests, religious men and women, and lay people gathered in Puebla de los Ángeles for the XVII National Missionary Congress of Mexico (Congreso Nacional Misionero, XVII CONAMI), Pope Leo XIV recalled that the true missionary shares “the faith as one shares bread.” Christ himself attracts him and calls him to “put his hand in the dough of history,” so that faith, like leaven, may act “in the history and culture of the people, transforming them from within.”

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