Mass
Memorial of St. Cecilia
These days, we are reading about Revelation and we are fast approaching the end of the Liturgical Year where we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King (Sunday, November 24, 2024).
Jesus was already in Jerusalem. He had had a grand welcome.
But then He continued to teach, to preach.
Christ Cleanses the Temple of Your Heart
Today, we read that Jesus was cleansing the Temple– of businesses, of those who cheat, of those who take advantage of the pilgrims, because they had no choice — they had to pay, exchange money.
It was at the Temple that cheating was rampant. And all these were with the approval of the priest and Temple carers. It should not be like so.
But Christ now is cleansing the Temple– the Temple of our hearts. The Temple of our hearts should be cleansed from…
That’s why we have to practice humility obedience, and charity.
… And hence, today’s saint gives us an example– St. Cecilia, who was very determined to keep her perpetual virginity, was willing to be beheaded for the sake of witnessing for Christ.
Martyrs, by the way, are called witnesses for their faith, for their hope– “The Lord will be my inheritance. You will be my reward, Lord.
Even if we suffer, even if we get sick, it’s okay. We offer what we suffer. So that like You, we save the world.”
… I would like to invite all of us to ask the Holy Spirit to open our hearts, our minds, our ears, and to inspire also the speakers of this Conference that Let there be Light– that we may be open to discern, to learn, to obey, and to do with charity the good things that we are going to hear about the speakers’ experiences.
… And so, in tribute to St. Cecilia, I’ll sing my message to you:
Let your light shine for all the world to see
The brightness of your love within peace that sets you free Let your light shine through all your nights and days
And men will see the things you do and give your Father praise.
We shall do this in the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Welcome!
BRO. ARUN GOGNA:
Welcome to the happiest place on Earth: The FEAST CONFERENCE.
Our theme for this year is Let There Be Light.
…What can light do to you?
First, Light makes things clearer.
… Who among here have failures in life?
You know what the Light of Jesus is telling you?
The truth: Those are not failures. Those are lessons.
Who among you have problems? The Light of Jesus is clarifying to you that those are not problems. They are disguised blessings.
You are going through a crisis. The Light of Jesus is telling you: No, you are not going through a crisis. You are going through a transformational experience.
You don’t have money. The Light of Jesus is telling you something else.
Your blessings are on the way. Light clarifies. Light changes your perspective.
That’s why God said: Let There Be light.
Light cleanses us. Light can sanitize a lot of stuff. You know that. Ultraviolet light disinfects water.
The Light of Jesus in your life will purify your words, your actions, and your thoughts. Especially the way you look at yourself.
My dear Friends, God doesn’t major in your mess. He majors in your magnificence. What the Lord monitors in your life is not your mistake, but your skill. He does not focus on your fumbles. He focuses on your fabulousness. Because while you’re still wrestling with your history,
God is already talking about your destiny.
That’s the light. That’s why He said: Let There Be Light.
Isaiah 58:8b says:
Then your light will break forth like the dawn and your healing will quickly appear.
Light heals.
Scientists and doctors say red light heals wrinkles. Blue light heals acne.
I don’t use blue light. Blue is Ateneo. Green light heals all sicknesses.
Animo, La Salle
When the Light of Jesus enters your life, your emotional wounds will be healed.
You will be happier more often. Why? Because you create simple rules of happiness. You don’t make things hard for yourself.
We Filipinos, we are very easy to please. You want proof? Okay, look at the one beside you.
(Laughter).
See? I haven’t said a joke, you are already laughing.
That’s what the Light of Jesus says: Laugh. Don’t be always serious.
The unruly power of Emotions — anger, fear, worry, grief– are like inner storms in your life. And you know, if your emotion is intense, the Light of Jesus shine into that inner storm and you will hear Him say, “Peace. Be still.”
And you will feel great calm.
Let There Be Light.
The last one: Light cultivates.
Light makes things grow. Photosynthesis, right? In Science we learned that if there’s no sunlight, plants die. You cannot live without light.
The Light of Jesus cultivates the real you. It brings out the real you. You cannot live under a fake light. You cannot pretend to be someone else. You need to be yourself. You need to be faithful to how God made you. Be faithful to who you are.
… So, my dear Friends, just allow the Lord to be with you. In this darkness of your life, just allow the Lord to minister to you. Say, “Lord, be with me.”
And believe that everything will turn bright because Jesus is the Light of the World, and He tells you: Let There Be Light.
Talk
BRO. AUDEE VILLARAZA:
Let’s sing with reverence and respect:
Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet and a Light unto my path.
The Old Testament. This message is for somebody who is struggling in some darkness in your life.
You don’t have to raise your hand to acknowledge that there is darkness in your life.
I know there is darkness in your life, and God knows whatever that is. Because Isaiah is giving us some good news today. Isaiah says>
The title of my talk is Overcoming Darkness and I’m going to be sharing from this Book of Isaiah.
The Bible says God did not give us a spirit of fear.
What God gives to us?
A spirit of power, a spirit of love, and a spirit of self-control…
The Message
Here’s my big message: Choose the light.
…My life now revolves around work, ministry, family. But you know, if you met me 30 years ago, you’d know my life was completely different.
I started smoking at 13, got into drugs at 17, fooled around with people at 21, got my first tattoo at 24. And then I went bankrupt at the age of 25– owed P7 million… Until I met God at the age of 26… and boy, did He change my life.
There are three types of people who struggle with darkness.
There are two categories:
Those who know they’re living in darkness.
You’ve accepted the reality of who you are and you put a period on it. If you’re like that, you’ve given up, you’ve never encountered the love of God. Why?
Because nobody encounters God and remains unchanged.
People who think they are living in the light, but actually they are living in the dark. They are confused.
Some of us celebrate the lies of the world so much that the truth almost feels like hate.
We live in a post-truth era– where truth is no longer truth.
So, if the truth is no longer convenient for you, you can easily reject that truth.
… But let me say this out loud, my dear Friends… Heaven is still holy.
Hell is still hot. The Bible is still the truth. Sin will always be wrong. And God will always be the Way out of this mess that we’re in.
So, how do you know– how do you live in the truth?
Well, you come before God every day, as regular as you can, and say:
“Lord, search my heart. Know my anxious thoughts. See if there’s anything that is offensive in me and then lead me to the path of everlasting life…
If I am the problem, fix me. But if I am not, protect me.”
The more you love the light, the more you despise the darkness. Because the truth is, when you are in brokenness, you are attracted to dark things.
You like listening to dark music. You like reading dark stuff.
But when you are healed, you’re attracted to the Light.
This is the place where we all want to be. But see, here’s the thing:
When you start choosing the Light, the darkness, it doesn’t’ really go away.
And it takes a very spiritual mature person to realize that that’s okay. Why?
Because darkness and light always co-exist. Just the same as good and evil.
In the beginning, it was darkness, and God said, “Let There Be Light.”
But take note, God never took away the darkness. He called the darkness night and the light He called day.
There was a separation– but God kept it there because He wants us to be responsible. As you get into the midst of darkness, your job now, as a Christ follower, is to choose the light.
But you know, one of the greatest mistakes all of you and I can make is to think like this: “Because I gave my life to the Lord when I was 13 years old, or maybe just five years ago, that God is done with me. I’ve surrendered all my darkness to the Lord.”
That’s not true… There’s nobody here who can be so faraway from God for Him to minister to you. But I also realized this: There can be a point in your life where you can get so far from the Lord that He’s unable to minister to you.
Exodus 8:13 says:
You can get so deep in your anger, and in your darkness, that God cannot touch you.
And some of us are reveling in that darkness, as in saying, “Lord, hands off my situation.”
What should you do?
You open your life to Jesus. You trust Him enough to let Him minister to you.
The fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy happened when God sent His Son Jesus and Jesus said: “I am the Light of the World. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
I love that Jesus did not say, “You’re never going to walk in darkness.”
He didn’t say that. Jesus does not guarantee that you’re not going to walk in darkness. He guarantees that when you walk in darkness, He will be right next beside you…
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me… –Psalm 23 ESV
God is our firm foundation, my Friends. Choose the Light.
Choose Jesus, the Light of the World. Let Him penetrate into the deepest, darkest, ugliest, vilest parts of your life.
Let Him minister to you so He can change your life forever and change it completely.
Let Us Pray:
Father, we’re believing that Your Spirit is more than enough to wash away every shame, every guilt, every inequity that we hide in every crevice, and every corner of our life.
We allow Your Light to penetrate these dark corners, Lord, and we’re throwing away the key today. As You knock on our doors, we open these doors for we know that we will never want to come to a moment in our life, at the end of our life, when we will be the ones to knock, and knock and knock on Heaven’s door.
Now, we allow, Lord, that as You knock on the door of our heart, that You would come in. We release our darkness to You, oh, Lord, that Your Light would heal us and bless us, and change us. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Light of the World Feast Worship Arranger: Adriel Zachary Yokingco Producer: Adriel Zachary Yokingco Producer: Paul Vernon Lim Composer: Vera Yajaira Viñas Composer: Almari Barcelona Composer: Vanya Fatima Castor Lyricist: Vera Yajaira Viñas Lyricist: Almari Barcelona Lyricist: Vanya Fatima Castor.
