Category: Faith & Life

What is Advent?

The season of Advent is a time of expectation, when we prepare our home and our hearts to celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day. The word Advent is derived from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming”…..

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.

What powerful words these were. As Jesus hung dying on the Cross for the salvation of the world, He hung between two thieves. These thieves represent all of us. One of them wanted Jesus to save His earthly life by coming down from the Cross and saving him at the same time.

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.

One of the sweetest memories from my childhood was spending summer days in the hills of Córdoba, Argentina, in a small village where my grandparents lived. We’d visit them every year, and those days were filled with joy. I remember the stream that ran down through the colorful stones, its waters crystal clear, fresh, and pure. My younger brother, cousins, and I would play in it until sunset—building little dams, catching tiny fish, splashing around. Time flew by so fast! Last year, my brother came to visit me, and we went to Tai-O, on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. Some Filipino friends took us to a waterfall that poured down from the mountain. The solitude of the place, the shadows, and the cool, clear water brought back those unforgettable days by the stream in that little village on the hills. 

In Amos 7:10–17, we witness a dramatic confrontation between the prophet Amos and Amaziah, the priest of Bethel. Amaziah, acting as a royal official, reports Amos to King Jeroboam II, accusing him of conspiracy and sedition: “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words.” (Am 7:10) Amaziah’s reaction reveals the tension between prophetic truth and institutional power. Amos, a shepherd from Judah, is seen as a threat to the Northern Kingdom’s political and religious establishment. This episode illustrates a central biblical principle: the prophetic vocation stands above monarchy and priesthood, serving as the voice of God’s justice and mercy.

Visits to schools and charitable institutions, prayer meetings, Eucharistic Adoration and a hike in Coloane. These are some of the initiatives that the Macau Diocesan Youth Commission will organize in the upcoming weeks. Instead of being confined to a single afternoon, this year’s Diocesan Youth Day will be commemorated as a month-long celebration.