ENGR. ST. JUDE

Hannah reminds me a lot of myself when I was pregnant with my son, Jude. And in the same way, Eli reminds me of St. Jude Thaddeus. Just like Hannah I was weeping and praying before the Lord for the life of my unborn son. I religiously attended the novenas of St Jude in Mendiola near Malacanang Palace. And again just like Hannah I also made a promise. I prayed to God that if he will be gracious to me through my child I will name him after St. Jude if he will come out as male, since I have asked him to intercede for me in prayers. God indeed answered my prayer since I gave birth to a healthy and normal baby boy. What's most interesting is that I went past my due date for several days and his birth fell on a Thursday which is the day of devotion for St. Jude in the Philippines. It has been more than 22 years since then and the Lord continues to bless my son. He is now in College and taking up Chemical Engineering in De LaSalle University. Hannah placed her situation before the Lord and Eli also prayed for her. She ultimately conceived a son. It was not God’s plan that she remains barren. In a way we should realize that we do not have to be worried about our situations. We find in the Old Testament that Samuel is one of the greatest of the Old Testament seers and guides of Israel. Samuel became not just a blessing for Hannah but all the people of Israel. With this, I also continue to hope and pray that someday my son, Jude will be just like Samuel as he becomes the person God has meant him to be. St. Jude Thaddeus, pray for us. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Samuel 1:9-20
9 Hannah rose after one such meal at Shiloh, and presented herself before the LORD; at the time, Eli the priest was sitting on a chair near the doorpost of the LORD’s temple. 10 In her bitterness she prayed to the LORD, weeping copiously, 11 and she made a vow, promising, “O LORD of hosts, if you look with pity on the misery of your handmaid, if you remember me and do not forget me, if you give your handmaid a male child, I will give him to the LORD for as long as he lives; neither wine nor liquor shall he drink, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”...Eli said, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” 18 She replied, “Think kindly of your maidservant,” and left...the LORD remembered her. 20 She conceived, and at the end of her term bore a son whom she called Samuel, since she had asked the LORD for him.

There is really nothing that God will not do for us if it's for our ultimate good. Amen. Hallelujah!

P S A L M

1 Samuel 2:1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd
R: My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.
...The LORD makes poor and makes rich, he humbles, he also exalts.” (R) 8 “He raises the needy from the dust; from the ash heap he lifts up the poor, To seat them with nobles and make a glorious throne their heritage.”

We find that the word teaching is used twice in today’s gospel. From this we draw emphasis on the fact that Jesus is a teacher. We know that the Jews have rabbis and whenever one states a particular teaching it is common practice to give reference to one as source of authority. But Jesus teaches in a different way. He conveys a new teaching and teaches with authority. His words are straight forward and without reference to anyone else for He is authority. He demonstrated His authority through the exorcism. He said something and proved it with His actions. There are two things that is very classic about authority, confrontation and defense. We find them in the gospel when the evil spirit cried out to Jesus, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? ? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!” This is the act of putting responsibility to the superior by the inferior. The Kingdom of heaven is at hand to destroy the kingdom of darkness and sin. Jesus rebuked him and said “Quiet! Come out of him!” The evil one’s last ditch effort can be seen in the fact that he is telling Jesus that he knows Him to try to wield control but he has no power. We have to keep this in mind always. The evil one will always assert authority in our lives and confront us with what he knows about us. One of the reasons they possess people is to distort the image and likeness of God. It is important that we are aware of the truths about God. We need to know more about the gospel and be filled with His authority. This we have to remind ourselves and do many times and over and over again. Jesus is up and above everything and nothing is beyond His power. Thus our faith in Jesus should also go beyond our recognition and amazement of Him but rather go further than what the unclean spirit and the onlookers did. We should all lead a life which testifies to God's greatness. God is the Supreme authority over all things and we as His faithful followers have the same power in our hands all in accordance to His great love and care for all of us. Amen. Hallelujah!

Mark 1:21-28
Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, and on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. 23 In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; 24 he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!” 25 Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” 26 The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. 27 All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” 28 His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.