By Cyrus A. Natividad

There is a story about a teacher who arrived in his class where the students have started to make much noise. He knew that he would be giving them a difficult exam that day. There were some students who anticipated the exam negatively, setting an atmosphere of reservation and uncertainty in the classroom. The teacher moved in front of the class and with a piece of chalk wrote, “I can’t.” Students howled in reaction to what he wrote. Then he asked, “What will you do to pass my exam?” A long moment of silence passed, but no positive reaction came from the class. Then from a seat at the back, a quiet boy went to the board and erased the apostrophe and the letter T. The whole class stood up to see what was written on the board this time and in a chorus read, “I can.”

As we welcome the new year, let us set aside who we are, where we come from, what belief and principles we have, whether we are rich or poor, of higher or lower educational achievements. For whatever desire or plan we need to achieve in 2018, none of those I mentioned is the greatest factor in gaining success. Many popular, rich, and powerful people in history have, in later years, landed in jail, committed suicide, or have become unpopular.

Success, or the lack of it, may be attributed to faith and commitment. It is a matter of mind-set combined with faith in God and a belief in one’s capacity. But above all, let us accept Jesus in our lives for only he can provide us the strength and perseverance, and will make us able. In the Bible, we are reminded by the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary, “With God, nothing is impossible.”

Yes, we can!

By Keziah G. Huelar

Charles Dickens’ popular novel “A Christmas Carol” has given a literary account of Christmas through the eyes of the old Scrooge who was later on transformed into a joyful character after having been visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and of the Christmas Yet to Come. This tale brings into our consciousness that we can discover the reasons why we celebrate Christmas through our own account and experience.

Christmas, being one of the most beloved holidays for Filipinos, gathers families near and far. It ushers in the holiday spirit of cheer, goodwill, forgiveness, and generosity as we celebrate the greatest gift given to humanity—the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

From Dickens’ tale, we learn that each Christmas celebration we spend with friends and family adds to the long list of Christmas lessons that can make us wiser throughout the years.

Christmas is indeed a grand celebration but it is no more important than how we celebrate each day of our lives filled with God’s blessing and faithfulness. Thus all year round, we should have Christmas in our hearts. Every year we should out-give ourselves. We should be as generous, as kind, as forgiving, and as faithful the entire year as we are on Christmas. Every Christmas should be a testimony of how we will strive more to be like Christ to both our friends and enemies. The Christmas spirit should stand against despair and hopelessness as we come to celebrate not only the birth of Christ but of His promises that we will live life to the fullest, that He will be our protector and aid, that we will be more than conquerors because through Him who loved us—and that will only happen if we have Jesus in our hearts; if we choose Him over fear, worry and doubt every day of our lives.

Let us celebrate Christmas all year round. Let us be like Scrooge, who, after full realization said, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year. I will live in the past, present and the future. The spirits of all three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”