Dear sisters and brothers,  Sto. Nino teaches us humility and tremendous ability to grow up in faith.  Fr. Cielo

1. Welcome to our Bible
Study
15 January 2017
2nd
Sunday A
Feast of the Sto. Niño
In preparation for this Sunday’s Liturgy
As aid in focusing our homilies and sharing
Prepared by Fr. Cielo R. Almazan, OFM

2. 1st
reading: Isaiah 9:1-6
 1 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great
light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light
has shone. 2 You have brought them abundant joy and
great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the
harvest, as men make merry when dividing spoils. 3 For
the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder,
and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on
the day of Midian. 4 For every boot that tramped in
battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel
for flames. 5 For a child is born to us, a son is given us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him
Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of
Peace. 6 His dominion is vast and forever peaceful,
from David's throne, and over his kingdom, which he
confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now
and forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!
The focus is on the child who is born.

3. 1st
reading: Isaiah 9,1-6
God’s powerful deeds
 1 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon
those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. 2 You have
brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice
before you as at the harvest, as men make merry when dividing
spoils. 3 For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their
shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on
the day of Midian. 4 For every boot that tramped in battle, every
cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames.
The description of the child
 5 For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder
dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. 6 His dominion is vast and forever
peaceful, from David's throne, and over his kingdom, which he
confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and
forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!
A simple outline!

4. 1st
reading: Isaiah 9,1-6
God’s powerful deeds
 1 The people who walked
in darkness have seen a
great light; upon those
who dwelt in the land of
gloom a light has shone.
2 You have brought them
abundant joy and great
rejoicing, as they rejoice
before you as at the
harvest, as men make
merry when dividing
spoils. 3 For the yoke
that burdened them, the
pole on their shoulder,
and the rod of their
taskmaster you have
smashed, as on the day
of Midian. 4 For every
boot that tramped in
battle, every cloak rolled
in blood, will be burned
as fuel for flames.
Commentary
In v.1, the fate of the suffering people is
reversed. It is reported in parallel form.
 Once walked in darkness, now in great
light // dwelt in gloom, now light.
 Once sad, now live in abundant joy and
great rejoicing. (not just simple joy and
rejoicing. It is qualified / quantified). V.2
 The imagery is enhanced by the two
similes:
 as they rejoice at harvest,
 as men make merry when dividing spoils.
 Once burdened with yoke, now the
smashing of that yoke and: v.3
 The pole on their shoulder
 Rod of their taskmaster
 V.4 speaks of the abolition of war. In
passive form, those war materials will be
burned as fuel. They will be destroyed and
be used for better purposes.

5. 1st
reading: Isaiah 9,1-6
The description of the
child
 5 For a child is born to
us, a son is given us;
upon his shoulder
dominion rests. They
name him Wonder-
Counselor, God-Hero,
Father-Forever,
Prince of Peace. 6
His dominion is vast
and forever peaceful,
from David's throne,
and over his kingdom,
which he confirms
and sustains by
judgment and justice,
both now and forever.
The zeal of the LORD
of hosts will do this!
 V.5 gives the reason for the great
changes that will occur in the life of
God’s people.
 A child is born to us // a son is given
us.
 His responsibility is great (dominion).
 V.5 also enumerates his titles:
 Wonder-counselor (good listener)
 God-hero (defender, victorious liberator)
 Father-forever (strange image, but
applicable to the son)
 Prince of Peace (peacemaker)
 V.6 describes his dominion, first
mentioned in v.5: vast and peaceful
 It is maintained by judgment and
justice. (punishment and reward)

6. Reflections on the 1st
reading
 For the Catholic interpreter, the child in the book of Isaiah
must refer to the Sto. Niño.
 The reading signals that this child is not an ordinary child.
 He is destined to establish a kingdom of justice and
peace.
 He has the qualities of a good leader.
 Both his heart (counselor) and mind (giving justice) are
working.
 In his reign, all will be well.
 Everyone will live in the light, in unbounded happiness
and joy.
 Therefore, if we want to benefit from him, we must subject
ourselves to his wisdom and to his rule.

7. Resp.Ps 97,1.2-3.3-4.5-6
R. The Lord is King; let many isles be glad.
1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds;
his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm.
2 The Lord has made his salvation known; in the sight of the
nations he has revealed his justice.
3 He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the
house of Israel.
3 All the ends of the earth have seen, the salvation by our God
4 Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands, break into song, sing
praise.
5 Sing praise to the Lord with the harp, with the harp, with the harp
and melodious song
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn, sing joyfully before the
King, the Lord.

8. Resp. Ps 97,1.2-3.3-4.5-6
R. The Lord is King; let many isles be glad.
1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has
done wondrous deeds; his right hand has
won victory for him, his holy arm.
2 The Lord has made his salvation known;
in the sight of the nations he has revealed
his justice.
3 He has remembered his kindness and his
faithfulness toward the house of Israel.
3 All the ends of the earth have seen, the
salvation by our God
4 Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands,
break into song, sing praise.
5 Sing praise to the Lord with the harp, with
the harp, with the harp and melodious song
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn,
sing joyfully before the King, the Lord.
Commentary
The psalm is classified as
Royal Psalm of Yahweh King.
In v.1, the psalmist invites us
to sing to the Lord and he gives
the reason why: because of his
wonderful deeds and saving
acts (v.2).
V.3 singles out Israel as
blessed by God, not forgotten by
him. He has been kind and
faithful to Israel.
V.4 repeats v.1.
Vv. 5-6 enumerates musical
instruments to be used in
praising God.

9. Reflections on the Psalm
 Like the psalmist, we must recognize God as a
victorious God.
 God fights for us. He saves us from our enemies.
 Therefore, let us celebrate.
 When we celebrate, let us use musical instruments
and sing new songs.
 Beware of singing old songs always. It is not a good
sign.

10. 2nd
reading: Ephesians 1:3-6.15-18
 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in
the heavens, 4 as he chose us in him, before the
foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish
before him. In love 5 he destined us for adoption to himself
through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, 6
for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in
the beloved. 15 Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the
Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, 16 do not
cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my
prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and
revelation resulting in knowledge of him. 18 May the eyes
of (your) hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is
the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of
glory in his inheritance among the holy ones.
The focus is on Jesus Christ.

11. 2nd
reading: Ephesians 1,3-6.15-18
Blessing to God and Father
 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, 4 as
he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and
without blemish before him. In love 5 he destined us for adoption to
himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, 6 for
the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.
Faith of the Ephesians
 15 Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your
love for all the holy ones, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and
revelation resulting in knowledge of him.
Wish of Paul
 18 May the eyes of (your) hearts be enlightened, that you may know
what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in
his inheritance among the holy ones.
A simple outline!

12. 2nd
reading: Ephesians 1,3-6.15-18
Blessing to God and Father
 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in
Christ with every spiritual blessing in the
heavens, 4 as he chose us in him, before
the foundation of the world, to be holy and
without blemish before him. In love 5 he
destined us for adoption to himself through
Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his
will, 6 for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.
Wishes of Paul to the Ephesians
 15 Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in
the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the
holy ones, 16 do not cease giving thanks
for you, remembering you in my prayers,
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of
wisdom and revelation resulting in
knowledge of him.
Wish of Paul
 18 May the eyes of (your) hearts be
enlightened, that you may know what is the
hope that belongs to his call, what are the
riches of glory in his inheritance among the
holy ones.
Commentary
 The reading is focused on God and
Father.
 But the author gives more space and
time to the Son, the object of many
prepositions.
 God works to us through Jesus
Christ.
 He blessed us in Christ v.3
 He chose us in him v.4
 He destined us for adoption
through him v.5
 He granted us glory in the
beloved. V.6
 God the Father truly does wonderful
things to us through his son, Jesus
Christ.
 Vv.15-18 express two prayers of Paul
to the Ephesians because of their faith
in Jesus. V.15
 That the God of Jesus may give
them a spirit of wisdom and
revelation… v.17
 That you may know what is the
hope that belongs to his call..
V.18

13. Reflections on the 2nd
reading
 Although the reading is centered on acknowledging God and Father,
we focus ourselves on Jesus Christ.
 Jesus is God’s instrument in dealing with us, humans, in effecting
his love and salvation to all of us, in gifting us with his many graces.
 As God does not do away with Jesus in relating himself to us, we
cannot also do away with Jesus in approaching God.
 Jesus Christ mediates.
 On the part of Paul (not really the writer), the Ephesians’ faith in Jesus
and their love for their fellow Christians trigger Paul to pray more for
the community.
 The reading expresses joy and happiness over God’s bountiful love
and the response of faith and love.
 Paul has found two sources of his joy: God who works through
Jesus and the Ephesians who believe.
 We, Christians, must find joy in loving Jesus and our fellow
Christians.

14. Gospel reading: Matthew 18:1-5.10
 1 The disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 He
called a child over, placed it in their midst, 3 and
said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and
become like children, you will not enter the
kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself
like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven. 5 And whoever receives one child such
as this in my name receives me.
 10 "See that you do not despise one of these little
ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.
The focus is on the child (Jesus).

15. Gospel reading: Matthew 18,1-5.10
Greatest in the kingdom
 1 The disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 He called a child
over, placed it in their midst,
Sayings
 3 and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and
become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of
heaven.
 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven.
 5 And whoever receives one child such as this in my name
receives me.
 10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look
upon the face of my heavenly Father.
A simple outline!

16. Gospel reading: Matthew 18,1-5.10
Greatest in the kingdom
 1 The disciples approached
Jesus and said, "Who is the
greatest in the kingdom of
heaven?" 2 He called a child
over, placed it in their midst,
Sayings
 3 and said, "Amen, I say to
you, unless you turn and
become like children, you will
not enter the kingdom of
heaven.
 4 Whoever humbles himself
like this child is the greatest
in the kingdom of heaven.
 5 And whoever receives one
child such as this in my name
receives me.
 10 "See that you do not
despise one of these little
ones, for I say to you that
their angels in heaven always
look upon the face of my
heavenly Father.
Commentary
 Focus on the question - Who is the greatest?
Why are they asking such a question? Do the
disciples understand the difference between
the earthly kingdom and the kingdom of
heaven? v.1
 In v.2, Jesus uses a prop (child) to explain his
answer. Why a child? Who is this child?
 In v.3, Jesus challenges his disciples:
 Unless you turn and become like children…
 V.3 talks about the need for conversion in order
to enter the kingdom of heaven. This is not yet
the answer to the question in v.1
 V.4 gives the answer:
 The greatest is the one who humbles
himself like a child.
 In v.5, Jesus identifies himself with the child.
He who accepts (welcomes) the child accepts
(welcomes) Jesus.
 In v.10, Jesus vehemently asks his disciples
not to despise (to look down, to discredit, or to
make fun of) any of the children.
 God loves them. They have guardian angels.

17. Reflections on the gospel reading
 Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? The
children.
 Jesus must be referring to new recruits, new comers,
new members of the community.
 They are enthusiastic about the new faith they have
adopted.
 They may be professionals, accomplished people,
experts in their own fields, but beginners in the Christian
faith.
 They humble themselves by subjecting themselves to
the scrutiny by the old members, who may not be as
smart / successful as they are.
 Jesus challenges the old members to be humble, to be
as fresh as the new ones, who are docile, enthusiastic
and excited about the ever new teaching of God.

18. Tying the 3 readings and the Psalm
 The first reading is about the greatness of the child
who is born.
 The psalm exhorts us to celebrate God’s wonderful
deeds (salvation).
 The second reading talks about Jesus whom God
uses to bring blessings to us.
 The gospel reading teaches about the humility of a
child/person, as the way to be the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven.

19. How to develop your homily / sharing
 The Sto. Niño is the focus of our homily or
sharing.
 The priest must not, in any way, promote
fanaticism in his sermon.
 Some Christians have turned the real and
religious meaning of the Holy Child into a
fashion show and pageantry.
 Other Christians have turned the image of
Sto. Niño into an amulet (agimat).

20.  The priest-preacher must remind the devotees of
Sto. Niño of the correct disposition toward the
devotion.
 Let us ask ourselves, we, who have a devotion to
the Sto. Niño, if we have captured the real
meaning of his becoming and being a child.

21.  The preacher must make this feast day
meaningful by developing the theme of
humility as we have seen in the gospel.
 The gospel reading rightly answers the
question who is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven.
 He who humbles himself.
 Jesus himself is the greatest, for he humbled
himself.

22.  Jesus humbles himself in the incarnation.
 He becomes human like us.
 He empties himself of his being God and lives
like a mortal being, like us, except sin.
 As if that is not yet enough, when he grows up,
he allows himself to be further humbled
(humiliated) by people who think they know God
better.

23.  As a humble servant, he willingly forgives those
who insult him.
 He knows and owns everything, he is the most
qualified to do everything for God, yet, he
submits himself to a mob, which unjustly and
unfairly treats him and gives him a poor trial.
 Humility is accepting trials and sufferings, which
you think you don’t deserve.
 We, too, are called to practice humility.

24.  The first reading describes the Holy Child perfectly
well.
 Though the prophet does not specifically refer to the
Holy Child, we, Christian readers, believe that the
child that is born with the big titles and with a big
mission is none other than Jesus Christ.
 Yet, this Jesus seems not to succeed because proud
people ignore him.
 They pay lip service to him and do their own thing.

25.  The second reading talks about Jesus, no longer as a
Holy Child, but as a grown up Holy Man.
 Jesus humbly becomes God’s instrument in delivering
his graces to us.
 God the Father does not do anything for us if not
through, in, and for his Son Jesus.
 So, all our thoughts and actions must revolve around
Jesus, the incarnate Word.
 We must not make fun of Jesus, by dressing his image
the way we want, thinking that he is no more than that.
 Instead, we busy ourselves with taking care of real
children of flesh and blood.

26.  In the eucharist, once more Jesus humbles himself
by becoming food for our body and soul.
 In the eucharist, Jesus allows himself to be an
instrument to draw us closer to God.
 In the eucharist, Jesus invites us to be humble like
him, to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

27. Our Context of Sin and Grace
 Exaggerated celebration of Sto.
Nino, more of a show, than
listening to the message
 Pride, arrogance, vindictive
 Malnourished children
 Overweight children (obese, no
control of food intake, no discipline)
 Children, exposed too much to
TV shows, have lost their
imagination and innocence
 Unparented children
 Out of school children
 Street children
 Child laborers, child soldiers
 Image of Sto. Niño in each
home
 Humble, able to absorb pain
and frustration
 Children’s Rights
 Hapag-asa
 Feeding programs
 Catechumenate programs
 Adult catechism
 On-going formation
 Jesus seen as a teacher,
who carries a message
rather than a male baby /
barbie doll
 Sagip-Bata, Bantay-Bata

28. Suggested Songs
 Lord, have mercy
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpRghV_Ngnc
 It’s Time to Prepare
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIandBaBMck
 Holy, Holy
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=104r1805jL0

29.  Dear sisters and brothers,
 Sto. Nino teaches us humility and
tremendous ability to grow up in faith.
 Fr. Cielo