THE CALL

These past few days I've been meaning to share about our Blessed Mother Mary since she was always impressed to me in the several occasions whenever I wrote reflections that is related to sorrow and anguish. Mama Mary just celebrated her Feast of the Our Lady of Sorrows (Sept. 15) and was sharing that we have a mother in Mary who understands every single sorrow and anguish we are going through. There is nothing that she wouldn’t understand because she experienced the killing of her son. Mary accepted to become Mother of Jesus whom only a woman full of grace is highly honored and privileged to be called. When she responded "Yes" and obediently accepted the plan of God in her life she faithfully submitted to God's will like a handmaid to her master. She did not only accept the honor and privilege that goes with it but also the 7 sorrows of Mary which pierced her heart. She left us an example of how we should ponder in our hearts, the word of God that is being conveyed to us through our daily lives. We are God's children and He is calling us in the same way Paul in today's 1st reading is calling the Ephesians. This call is not exclusive and should therefore be taken by everybody as his or hers too. We tend to overlook, set aside and neglect this important call that we all have to respond and take action. If we look at the way most people of this world live then we can say that we are far from following this call rather we are heading towards a different path. We ought to stop living like we've forgotten and abandoned the purpose for which God created us and make a decision to heed God's call who is over all and through all and in all. Amen. Hallelujah!

Ephesians 4:1-7. 11-13
1 Brothers and sisters: I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, 3 striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: 4 one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all...

There is no denying to the greatness of God which is displayed day in and day out. God's power and dominion is declared throughout the world. The wonders of all the things in this world which extends throughout the universe declare the glory of God. Who is greater than He? No one but God alone can make all these wonderful signs and miracles that are before us day and night. Let us not continue to be deaf, blind and mute to this message that goes out through all the earth. Amen. Hallelujah!

P S A L M
Psalm 19:2-3. 4-5
R: Their message goes out through all the earth.
1 [2] The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. 2 [3] Day pours out the word to day, and night to night imparts knowledge. (R) 3 [4] Not a word nor a discourse whose voice is not heard; 4 [5] through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the ends of the world, their message.

Jesus has the biggest and most compassionate heart for sinners especially those who choose to respond to His call and follow Him. Despite the stigma attached to tax collectors and sinners during His time, He did not hesitate to call them. I was just sharing about the call of Mary to be the Mother of God because she is full of grace and without a stain of sin and Jesus also wants us to know that the call is for everybody. We are all being called to live a life with Him no matter what our situations are. Whatever we may be going through right now, a problem, difficulty or sin that is preventing us from responding to His call, we have to always believe that God can overcome all of these if we are willing to give Him the room to act in our lives. Once we give God the go signal, He can accomplish almost anything. If we really believe this then it doesn't matter if we may be experiencing already a life of comfort and ease, our acceptance and consent to shifting to the unknown will only serve to emphasize the extraordinary nature of both our unwavering faith and the grace of God. The grace of God is worth celebrating as it can bring about wonders that will stretch the ability of our imagination. And we can not deny the fact that we’ve been privileged to watch this happen not only in the lives of other people on a number of different occasions as in the life of our forefathers like Abraham, Jacob, Moses, the life of the Blessed Mother but also to us. For He doesn't only call the qualified but He also qualifies the called. No one is hopeless and desperate for God. Nothing is beyond His healing love and mercy. We must not be impatient or judgmental of our brothers and sisters who have strayed from the Lord. We must keep in mind that He has a special eye for the sick and the sinners. We have all sinned and fallen ill because of the disease that sin brings to us. No matter how big and grievous our sins are, God is always able to heal us. This song which tells us, "He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities and the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him for by His wounds we are healed." should inspire us to reach out to Him more than anyone or anything else. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 9:9-13
9 As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 10 While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. 11 The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. 13 Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”