A journey of grace

How can we find peace this Christmas, in a year that “Time” magazine dubbed “the worst ever”?

“At the first Christmas, the news in Jerusalem would also have given little to rejoice about,” said Fr. Bienvenido “Ben” Nebres during “Simbang Gabi” three years ago. “Stories would have been about Herod the Great, who not only slaughtered the innocents, but also executed two sons and several wives.

“We would only have heard news of rejoicing if we happened to meet some lowly shepherds and three wise men who got lost on their way.”

In this pandemic, the poor are the worst hit.

A friend who owns a household goods family business talks about unscrupulous individuals who hoard essentials, lend at exorbitant rates, take advantage of the vulnerable.

Another friend, a medical doctor, worries about infections rising in the coming months, particularly among the poor, who have no choice but to put themselves at risk, in the hopes of providing loved ones with a feast come “noche buena.”

“The first Christmas also heightened the inequalities in Jesus’ society,” said Fr. Ben in 2010. “His coming disturbed Herod, who decided to kill the source of this disturbance. The Holy Family had to flee to Egypt. Jesus’ coming also disturbed the wise men, but they opened their hearts and found grace.

“Today … we can be tempted to a sense of doom if we focus on the darkness around us. And if we went to lowly places, yes, we will meet selfish households, like those at Bethlehem with no room for a carpenter and his wife about to give birth to their child.

“But we will also meet lowly shepherds and wise men who will tell of the wonder of God coming to us in a stable. God understands that we can often feel forgotten and alone, and assures us that He is always there for us—and in return asks us to be there for one another.”

So instead of succumbing to despair, let us open our hearts, so that “God comes in and gives us His Christmas peace and joy. May we join the shepherds and the wise men, who opened their hearts and found in the poor couple and the child born in a manger, Him whom our hearts await with eagerness and longing.”

What makes Fr. Ben’s homilies powerful is his emphasis not only on faith, which is essential, but also on action, as he continues to heed St. Ignatius’ call for the Society of Jesus to be active in the world.

His Christmas homilies often describe firsthand efforts with Gawad Kalinga, Ateneo Center for Educational Development, Synergeia, Pathways to Higher Education, to feed, teach, empower the ones Jesus tells us to care for.

Forty-three of Fr. Ben’s most popular homilies comprise the book “With Wonder and Thanks,” published by Jesuit Communications.

Working on Fr. Ben’s homilies during the lockdown was a journey of grace.

As my students and I did online learning, we took to heart that despite the pandemic, classes today are a significant improvement over the school infrastructure experienced by Ignatius and his friends in Paris 500 years ago.

As my family and I worked out ways to send wages to helpers in Tondo and Cainta, whose only source of income was cut off by the lockdown, we are consoled by Fr. Ben’s conviction that in the depths of despair, God is with us.

As my husband and I ache to hold in our arms our only son studying in a foreign land, we take solace in the fact that he has grown to be a young man with the skill and the passion to serve others.

Tears come to my eyes as I go through Fr. Ben’s most tender homily—for Simbang Gabi 2000, when my son was just a toddler—as I am comforted by a God whose hand is indeed upon my son, and upon us all.

May Fr. Ben’s words guide you in your own journey of grace and faith, hope and love, towards our Lord and our people. Have a blessed Yuletide.

Get “With Wonder and Thanks” by Fr. Bienvenido Nebres on Lazada, or email [email protected].