(This series of reflections is courtesy of Word and Life Publications, publisher of ‘Patnubay sa Misa’ at ‘Euchalette.’ Rappler is sharing these reflections for those preparing for Christmas.)

Isaiah 7: 10-14; Luke 1:26-38

Our Tagalog language is an interesting study on agglutination. Hold your horses right there! I know it is a 64 dollar word, but what it simply means is that Tagalog words begin with a basic word unit (called morpheme) and then we add more syllables to change the meaning ever so slightly. Thus we have sama which means to join. When we add KA, then it becomes more than just join. It connotes togetherness. Same thing with putol which when given an added KA becomes kaputol or utol for short, which is the slang word for kapatid (patid + ka).

Togetherness. Fraternity. Camaraderie . . . These are words not big enough to describe what we are reflecting on in today’s liturgy. But it will do for now. The first reading from Isaiah speaks about the coming of a son to be born of a virgin who shall be called Emmanuel. The Gospel from Luke speaks about the fulfillment of that promise in the great news given by the angel Gabriel to Mary – the coming of a child to be born of her who will be named Jesus.

How consoling all this is! May K tayo forever! We have someone with us at all times. And he comes from no less than the heavens, the “Son of the Most High.”

May KASAMA tayo mga ‘tol. May Kara- may tayo mga kapatid!

It is no secret that as one long-dead American writer puts it, “most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” We have a grow- ing phenomenon of people living and dying alone in the developed and even developing countries. We are wired and connected 24/7 but we are really for the most part, not meaningfully related.

Today’s Good News rouses us to a much-needed spiritual boost. We are never alone. God is with us. May “K” tayo! “O Key of David, come and free the prisoners of darkness!” He became flesh and pitched his tent in our midst.” – Word and Life Publications/Rappler.com

This reflection is part of the Patnubay ng Misa, which can be downloaded at the Word and Life Publications site.

Here are more reflections and stories about Christmas in the Philippines