EPIPHANY HOMILY
JANUARY 8, 2023
NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE SACRED HEART
Sunday, January 8, 2023
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EPIPHANY
THE SOLEMNITY OF EPIPHANY
SUNDAY NEAREST TO JANUARY 6
NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE SACRED HEART
NAZARENO 2023 TV MARIA COVERAGE
THE BLACK NAZARENE
JESUS OF NAZARETH
NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE SACRED HEART
Sunday, December 25, 2022
A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM THE NSSH RECTOR
Dear Parishioners and Devotees of the Sacred Heart,
Peace of Christ!
The night of Bethlehem resounds with a marvelous announcement: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace to those on whom his favor rests." (Lk 2, 14) – The entire plan of God is reflected in this sentence. And Jesus adds, in the gospel of John, "I have come so that you may have life and have it to the full." (Jn 10, 10)…
Dear friends, the Lord enters into our world and becomes one of us, in order to invite us to create a better world, a world of solidarity and peace, beginning with our own families, our friends, and our groups. God is not so much interested in what we have done in the past, our failures and our mistakes. What interests the Lord is our future.
The Child in the manger reminds us that the greatest gift we can give this Christmas is not an electronic gadget or a branded piece of clothing … but it is a sincere forgiveness, a warm embrace, a moment shared, a helping hand, or a broad smile…
Our gifts, this year, could be very simple, reflecting the simplicity of love and life – but, of course, this does not prevent us from also giving material gifts, because this, too, has a place in our celebration.
I pray for all of you to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Have a blessed Christmas.
Rev. Fr. Roderick L. De Castro
Shrine Rector / Team Ministry Moderator
I THIRST FOR YOU
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. . ." (Rev. 3:20)
It is true. I stand at the door of your heart,
day and night.
Even when you are not listening,
even when you doubt it could be Me, I am there.
I await even the smallest sign of your response,
even the slightest hint of invitation
that will allow Me to enter.
I want you to know that whenever you invite Me, I come always, without fail. Silent and unseen I come, but with infinite power and love, bringing the many gifts of My Father. I come with My mercy, with My desire to forgive and heal you, and with a love for you beyond your comprehension, a love every bit as great as the love I myself have received from the Father.
"Even as the Father has loved Me, have I loved you..." (Jn. 15:10). I come, longing to console you and give you strength, to lift you up and bind your wounds. I bring you My light, to dispel your darkness and all your doubts. I come with My power, that I might carry you and all of your burdens; with My grace, to touch your heart and transform your life; and My peace I give to still your soul.
I know you through and through, I know everything about you. The very hairs of your head I have numbered. Nothing in your life is unimportant to Me. I have followed you through the years, and I have always loved you, even in your wanderings. I know every one of your problems. I know your needs, your fears, your worries. I hear your every whispered prayer always, unfailingly. Even when it seems I am silent, I am ever at work in the background of your life to bless you and protect you. Every movement of your heart I follow, and your every thought. I know all your pain, your struggles and trials, your failures and heartaches.
And yes, I know all your sins. But I tell you again that I love you--not for what you have or haven't done--I love you for you, I love you because you are, I love you for the beauty and dignity My Father gave you, creating you in His own image. It is a dignity you have often forgotten, a beauty you have tarnished by ego and sin. But I love you as you are, infinitely, completely, without reserve; and I have shed My Blood to win you back. If you only ask Me with faith, My grace will touch all that needs changing in your life, and I will give you the strength to free yourself from sin and from all that binds you and takes you away from Me.
I know what is in your heart--I know your loneliness and all your hurts: the rejections, the judgments, the humiliations. I carried it all before you. And I carried it all for you, so you might share My strength and victory. I know especially your need for love--how you are thirsting to be accepted and appreciated, loved and cherished. But how often have you tarnished in vain, seeking that love outside of Me, who am its Source, striving to fill the emptiness inside you with passing pleasures--often with the even greater emptiness of sin. Do you thirst for love? "Come to Me all you who thirst..." (Jn. 7:37). I will satisfy you desire for love beyond your dreams. Do you long to be appreciated and cherished? I cherish you more than you can imagine--to the point of leaving heaven for you, and of dying on a cross to make you Mine.
I hold the answer to all you desires, to all your longing, I will be your peace, your comfort, your rest. "Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest..." (Mt. 11:28). There is no one who loves you more than I--nor can there ever be. My dream for you is greater than you can imagine--and I will never stop until you reach it. And though your indifference, your wandering and your sin pain Me deeply, I want you to know that My love for you never waivers, never changes. I love you infinitely, and always. There is no amount of good you could do to make Me love you any more than I already do at this very moment. And there is no evil you could do that could make Me love you any less. At every moment of your existence, I have loved you with the entirety of My love--and I always will.
If only you knew how precious you are to Me, you would die of joy. Of the millions of others I could have created in you place--I chose you. I have thought of you, and waited for your birth, from all eternity. Whenever you turn to Me in prayer, or return to Me in repentance, you move Me to the depths of My being. My Sacred Heart rejoices over you. "There is more rejoicing in heaven for one repentant sinner than for ninety-nine just" (Lk. 15:7); and "As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you..." (Is. 62:5). It is true. You are My joy, you are My delight. "You are My beloved son/daughter, in whom I delight..." (Mk. 1:11).
I wait for your love, day and night. No one else in My creation can love Me with your love, with your heart. No one else can console Me as you can. You are unique in My plan, and unique to My Sacred Heart--no one can ever take your place. Because I love you infinitely, I am infinitely sensitive to every movement of your heart--you can wound Me, or console Me, more easily than you can imagine.
Do not think that you don't know how to love Me, or that you are not able or worthy. Just begin--begin to love Me, exactly as you are at this moment. That is all I desire. Only begin. Love is learned by loving. You need not wait to be better to love Me. I long and yearn for you--exactly as you are right now. Nothing about you, no weakness or sin, can ever turn My love, or my longing away from you. So come, begin to love Me even as I love you. Begin to long for Me, even as I long for you.
Only in heaven will you finally know how important your love is to Me, how important you are to My Sacred Heart, how I long for you. I thirst for you... Yes, that is the only way to describe My love for you: I thirst for you. I thirst to love you, and to be loved by you. As the burning desert waits for water, so I wait for your love. As a thirsty man yearns for water, so I yearn for you. As a thirsting man seeks out the water, so do I seek for you. As a thirsty man thinks only of water, so My entire being is focused on you night and day ("the very hairs of your head are numbered..."). And as a thirsty man will give anything in exchange for water, so I have gladly given all I have and all I am, for you.
I thirst for you... Come to Me, and I will fill your heart and heal your wounds. I will make you a new creation, and give you peace, even in your trials.
I thirst for you... You must never doubt My mercy, My acceptance of you, My desire to forgive, My longing to bless you and live My life in you.
I thirst for you... If you are unimportant in the eyes of the world, that matters not at all. For Me, there is no one any more important in the entire world than you.
I thirst for you... Open to Me, come to Me, thirst for Me, give Me your life--and I will prove to you how important you are to My Sacred Heart. I have made you for Me, you exist to love Me and be loved by Me, and your soul cannot rest until you reset in Me. Nothing else will satisfy you or give you peace, no one else can fill the emptiness inside you. When you turn your scattered desires towards Me, when you begin to thirst for Me as I thirst for you, whenever your thirst and mine meet--you will begin to experience miracles, miracles of resurrection and new life!
Don't you realize that My Father already has a perfect plan to transform your life, beginning from this moment? TRUST IN ME. ASK ME EVERYDAY TO ENTER AND TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE--AND I WILL. I promise you before My Father in heaven that I will work abundant miracles in your life. Why would I do this? Because I thirst for you. All I ask is that you entrust yourself to Me completely, I will do all the rest.
Even now I behold the place My Father has prepared for you in My Kingdom. Remember that you a pilgrim in this life, on a journey home. I tell you again, the things of this world can never satisfy you, or bring the peace you seek. All that you sought outside of Me has only left you more empty, so do not cling to material things. Above all do not run from Me when you fall. Come to Me without delay. When you give Me your sins, you give Me the joy of being your Savior. There is nothing I cannot forgive and heal: so come now, and unburden your soul.
No matter how far you may wonder, no matter how often you forget Me, no matter how many crosses you may bear in this life; there is one thing I want you to always remember, one thing that will never change: I thirst for you as you are. You don't need to change to believe in My love, for it will be your belief in My Love that will change you. You forget Me, and yet I am seeking you every moment of the day--standing at the door of your heart, and knocking.
Do you find this hard to believe? Then look at the Cross, look at My Sacred Heart that was pierced for you. Have you not understood My Cross? Then listen again to the words I spoke there--for they tell you clearly why I endured all this for you. "I thirst..." (Jn. 19:28).
As the rest of the Psalm Verse I was reciting says of Me: " I looked for love, and I found none..." (Ps. 69:20). All your life I have been looking for your love--I have never stopped seeking to love you and be loved by you. You have tried many other things in your search for happiness, why not try opening your heart to Me, right now, more than you ever have before.
Whenever you open the door of your heart, whenever you come close enough, you will hear Me say to you again and again, not in mere human words but in spirit: "No matter what you have done, I love you for your own sake. Come to Me with your misery and your sins, with your troubles and needs, and with all your longing to be loved. I stand at the door of your heart and knock... Open to Me, for I thirst for you..."
MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY FATHERS
"Even as the Father has loved Me, have I loved you..." (Jn. 15:10). I come, longing to console you and give you strength, to lift you up and bind your wounds. I bring you My light, to dispel your darkness and all your doubts. I come with My power, that I might carry you and all of your burdens; with My grace, to touch your heart and transform your life; and My peace I give to still your soul.
I know you through and through, I know everything about you. The very hairs of your head I have numbered. Nothing in your life is unimportant to Me. I have followed you through the years, and I have always loved you, even in your wanderings. I know every one of your problems. I know your needs, your fears, your worries. I hear your every whispered prayer always, unfailingly. Even when it seems I am silent, I am ever at work in the background of your life to bless you and protect you. Every movement of your heart I follow, and your every thought. I know all your pain, your struggles and trials, your failures and heartaches.
And yes, I know all your sins. But I tell you again that I love you--not for what you have or haven't done--I love you for you, I love you because you are, I love you for the beauty and dignity My Father gave you, creating you in His own image. It is a dignity you have often forgotten, a beauty you have tarnished by ego and sin. But I love you as you are, infinitely, completely, without reserve; and I have shed My Blood to win you back. If you only ask Me with faith, My grace will touch all that needs changing in your life, and I will give you the strength to free yourself from sin and from all that binds you and takes you away from Me.
I know what is in your heart--I know your loneliness and all your hurts: the rejections, the judgments, the humiliations. I carried it all before you. And I carried it all for you, so you might share My strength and victory. I know especially your need for love--how you are thirsting to be accepted and appreciated, loved and cherished. But how often have you tarnished in vain, seeking that love outside of Me, who am its Source, striving to fill the emptiness inside you with passing pleasures--often with the even greater emptiness of sin. Do you thirst for love? "Come to Me all you who thirst..." (Jn. 7:37). I will satisfy you desire for love beyond your dreams. Do you long to be appreciated and cherished? I cherish you more than you can imagine--to the point of leaving heaven for you, and of dying on a cross to make you Mine.
I hold the answer to all you desires, to all your longing, I will be your peace, your comfort, your rest. "Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest..." (Mt. 11:28). There is no one who loves you more than I--nor can there ever be. My dream for you is greater than you can imagine--and I will never stop until you reach it. And though your indifference, your wandering and your sin pain Me deeply, I want you to know that My love for you never waivers, never changes. I love you infinitely, and always. There is no amount of good you could do to make Me love you any more than I already do at this very moment. And there is no evil you could do that could make Me love you any less. At every moment of your existence, I have loved you with the entirety of My love--and I always will.
If only you knew how precious you are to Me, you would die of joy. Of the millions of others I could have created in you place--I chose you. I have thought of you, and waited for your birth, from all eternity. Whenever you turn to Me in prayer, or return to Me in repentance, you move Me to the depths of My being. My Sacred Heart rejoices over you. "There is more rejoicing in heaven for one repentant sinner than for ninety-nine just" (Lk. 15:7); and "As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you..." (Is. 62:5). It is true. You are My joy, you are My delight. "You are My beloved son/daughter, in whom I delight..." (Mk. 1:11).
I wait for your love, day and night. No one else in My creation can love Me with your love, with your heart. No one else can console Me as you can. You are unique in My plan, and unique to My Sacred Heart--no one can ever take your place. Because I love you infinitely, I am infinitely sensitive to every movement of your heart--you can wound Me, or console Me, more easily than you can imagine.
Do not think that you don't know how to love Me, or that you are not able or worthy. Just begin--begin to love Me, exactly as you are at this moment. That is all I desire. Only begin. Love is learned by loving. You need not wait to be better to love Me. I long and yearn for you--exactly as you are right now. Nothing about you, no weakness or sin, can ever turn My love, or my longing away from you. So come, begin to love Me even as I love you. Begin to long for Me, even as I long for you.
Only in heaven will you finally know how important your love is to Me, how important you are to My Sacred Heart, how I long for you. I thirst for you... Yes, that is the only way to describe My love for you: I thirst for you. I thirst to love you, and to be loved by you. As the burning desert waits for water, so I wait for your love. As a thirsty man yearns for water, so I yearn for you. As a thirsting man seeks out the water, so do I seek for you. As a thirsty man thinks only of water, so My entire being is focused on you night and day ("the very hairs of your head are numbered..."). And as a thirsty man will give anything in exchange for water, so I have gladly given all I have and all I am, for you.
I thirst for you... Come to Me, and I will fill your heart and heal your wounds. I will make you a new creation, and give you peace, even in your trials.
I thirst for you... You must never doubt My mercy, My acceptance of you, My desire to forgive, My longing to bless you and live My life in you.
I thirst for you... If you are unimportant in the eyes of the world, that matters not at all. For Me, there is no one any more important in the entire world than you.
I thirst for you... Open to Me, come to Me, thirst for Me, give Me your life--and I will prove to you how important you are to My Sacred Heart. I have made you for Me, you exist to love Me and be loved by Me, and your soul cannot rest until you reset in Me. Nothing else will satisfy you or give you peace, no one else can fill the emptiness inside you. When you turn your scattered desires towards Me, when you begin to thirst for Me as I thirst for you, whenever your thirst and mine meet--you will begin to experience miracles, miracles of resurrection and new life!
Don't you realize that My Father already has a perfect plan to transform your life, beginning from this moment? TRUST IN ME. ASK ME EVERYDAY TO ENTER AND TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE--AND I WILL. I promise you before My Father in heaven that I will work abundant miracles in your life. Why would I do this? Because I thirst for you. All I ask is that you entrust yourself to Me completely, I will do all the rest.
Even now I behold the place My Father has prepared for you in My Kingdom. Remember that you a pilgrim in this life, on a journey home. I tell you again, the things of this world can never satisfy you, or bring the peace you seek. All that you sought outside of Me has only left you more empty, so do not cling to material things. Above all do not run from Me when you fall. Come to Me without delay. When you give Me your sins, you give Me the joy of being your Savior. There is nothing I cannot forgive and heal: so come now, and unburden your soul.
No matter how far you may wonder, no matter how often you forget Me, no matter how many crosses you may bear in this life; there is one thing I want you to always remember, one thing that will never change: I thirst for you as you are. You don't need to change to believe in My love, for it will be your belief in My Love that will change you. You forget Me, and yet I am seeking you every moment of the day--standing at the door of your heart, and knocking.
Do you find this hard to believe? Then look at the Cross, look at My Sacred Heart that was pierced for you. Have you not understood My Cross? Then listen again to the words I spoke there--for they tell you clearly why I endured all this for you. "I thirst..." (Jn. 19:28).
As the rest of the Psalm Verse I was reciting says of Me: " I looked for love, and I found none..." (Ps. 69:20). All your life I have been looking for your love--I have never stopped seeking to love you and be loved by you. You have tried many other things in your search for happiness, why not try opening your heart to Me, right now, more than you ever have before.
Whenever you open the door of your heart, whenever you come close enough, you will hear Me say to you again and again, not in mere human words but in spirit: "No matter what you have done, I love you for your own sake. Come to Me with your misery and your sins, with your troubles and needs, and with all your longing to be loved. I stand at the door of your heart and knock... Open to Me, for I thirst for you..."
"Jesus is God, therefore His love,
His thirst, is infinite.
He the Creator of the universe,
asked for the love of His creatures.
He thirsts for our love...
These words: "I thirst"
Do they echo in our souls?"
His thirst, is infinite.
He the Creator of the universe,
asked for the love of His creatures.
He thirsts for our love...
These words: "I thirst"
Do they echo in our souls?"
-Mother Teresa-
MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY FATHERS
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
NSSH ADORATION CHAPEL REOPENS
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)
Drop by at the newly renovated Adoration Chapel and say a prayer of thanksgiving or a petition for prayer requests. The Shrine's Adoration Chapel reopens starting December 16, 2022 Friday after the 4:00 AM Misa De Aguinaldo.
NSSH SIMBANG GABI / MISA DE GALLO SCHEDULE 2022
SIMBANG GABI / MISA DE GALLO
MASS SCHEDULE - DECEMBER 2022
NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE SACRED HEART
Make your Christmas truly special and more meaningful by attending the Simbang Gabi / Misa De Gallo Masses here at the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart. Whether attending in person or online, the spirit of the celebration is one of thankfulness and gratitude for the birth of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.
PASKO NG PUSONG PINOY TV MASS SCHEDULE
CHRISTMAS OF A FILIPINO HEART!
What better way than to complete the joy and true spirit of Christmas with Mass Night celebrations on our only Filipino Channel at TV Maria!
Saturday, December 10, 2022
WIND BENEATH MY WINGS - THE HSCC BAND
VIDEO HOT TRACKS
Wind Beneath My Wings (Bette Midler) - THE HSCC BAND
"Wind Beneath My Wings" (sometimes titled "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and "Hero") is a song written in 1982 by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley. The highest-charting version of the song to date was recorded in 1988 by singer and actress Bette Midler for the soundtrack to the film Beaches.
This version was released as a single in early 1989, spent one week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in June 1989, and won Grammy Awards for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year in February 1990.
On October 24, 1991, Bette Midler's single was also certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of one million copies in the United States.
Here is an inspirational interpretation of "Wind Beneath My Wings" as performed by Pina Del Rey and The HSCC Band. "Thank you, thank you. Thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings."
Thanks with credits to Video Hot Tracks for the use of this post and video material. For more music video hits, follow this link: https://videohottracksnewgen.blogspot.com
Monday, November 28, 2022
NOVENA TO THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
NOVENA TO THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Today, November 29, 2022, we begin our Novena to the Immaculate Conception in preparation for her Solemnity on December 8. You may use this Novena Prayer in your parishes and communities, as well as for your private devotion.
Or you may download the PDF file directly from this link:
Thanks with credits to the Manila Cathedral for this Novena Prayer to the Immaculate Conception.
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