SEASONS AND REASONS

There are seasons in our life that we have to go through. In fact, there are many changes looming around the corner nowadays. With the upcoming presidential election here in the US on Nov. 6 there is really a need for the people to kneel down in prayer for God's will to prevail in every person casting out their votes these days. There have been a lot of campaigns going on in the Church to vote for a US President who will not only assure economic but most importantly, moral ascendancy in this country. Several prayer groups in different churches have already started their prayer activities for this intention.  In just a few days a change will take place, the daylight saving time will end so the clock will turn back to an hour. Since it's autumn/fall, night time has become longer and day time shorter. These season changes have been heralded by several obvious signs that naturally go with it. Whatever seasons, or feelings we have there is always a reason to paint our faces with a big smile just like what the 1^st reading encourages us to do. Have we given it some serious thought? During those times when we almost hit rock bottom and looked like everything is a dead end as if nothing good is ever going to happen but managed to make it through, still standing to this day. We may not be fully aware of it but in all those things God is always there for us. It is just a matter of drawing ourselves really close to God so that we can feel Him better in the midst of the so many stimuli that constantly compete to catch our attention. We have a tendency to underplay the role of God in our lives because we are not focused on Him. It is time we give credit to whom it is due. As today's 1st reading suggests to us, we really have to behold and look to God so that we will truly see. I could never forget the time when I decided to buy my son a laptop as a birthday gift. Actually I wasn't really sure about buying one since at that time I was a bit short in my finances. His birthday will be in a few weeks back then and I intended to give it as a birthday gift so it will not reach him on time if I send via balikbayan box and I know for a fact that it is not wise to send brand new laptops and the like via door to door box.  I have heard of rumors that it is not safe because it might end up getting lost. I finally decided against it and just hoped that if there will be somebody going home to the Philippines then that's the time I will decide to buy one. I knew at the back of my mind that it may not be possible to find someone going home to the Philippines within the specified time I have in mind which is just 1-2 weeks, in order to reach my son on time for his birthday. To find a trustworthy person and generous at that to be willing to carry a laptop in his/her baggage is another thing. Although there was a longing and aching in my heart to buy this gift for my son because he has been wishing for one, I knew I was unable to do so because of my limited options which lead to my indecision. I was just surprised that during the consecration in the Holy Mass, the Lord suddenly impressed in my heart that I should push through with my plan to buy that birthday gift. It gave me a new found confidence in pursuing the plan even though I have limited resources and options. To my surprise, I got a call from my friend Carmen in New Jersey who told me that she's going home to the Philippines on Aug. 24 which was exactly a week before his birthday on Aug. 31. This may be the sign that I've been waiting for I thought, because when I asked her if it was ok to include a laptop in her baggage she immediately agreed. All the while I thought that everything will end up there when I was finally able to buy a laptop and had it shipped to Carmen. It was just barely a week when I got news from Carmen that she is no longer going home and will just send the laptop via door to door and will no longer reach my son on time for his birthday. I was so disappointed since I never intended to send it via door to door, could had decided against if I had known right away and worse it was late for his birthday. I had so much anxiety and fear upon learning of it but I held on to God's goodness despite the seemingly endless wait for the delivery of the door to door which took almost 2 months when normally all it takes is just 1 month or less. For I know in my heart that my decision was based first and foremost on the message that I got from the Lord during the consecration in the Holy Mass I was not moved. I continued in my prayers and supplications to God that the laptop will reach my son in good shape because it really meant a lot to me, the way a mother longs to be with her sons but couldn't and the only consolation is the fact that somehow I can give them something to be happy about in exchange of my absence. Despite the long wait, God rescued me in my distress. My son finally got a hold of his birthday gift. It was like a great relief washed over me. If we continue to persevere in our faith in the Lord against all odds we will come to know that something good is going to happen because the best is in store for us.  Today's 1st reading tells us that we can look forward to a grand celebration or fiesta galore with much rejoicing that nothing can ever be compared to it. How can we not believe and trust in Him? How can we not give full confidence that He is able to answer all our needs? If we allow God then every single day should be viewed like He is always with us in the most intimate and personal way. Our God is the most loving and caring father that He will never abandon us. No matter what we are going through right now today's first reading should relieve us from every kind of worry. Amen. Hallelujah!

Isaiah 25:6-10a

6 On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. 7 On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations; 8 he will destroy death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces; the reproach of his people he will remove from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken. 9 On that day it will be said “Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the LORD for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!” 10 For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain.

Brothers and sisters, if we are confident that we are where w are supposed to be and the Lord allowed things to happen in our life the way they are happening right now then we should be still and know that God is in control. We need to understand the mysteries of our faith in order to appreciate it better. We have to go near as much as possible to the Word of God and experience it come to life and see His glory shining on us. As we go near Him we see his face and feel His love. We always have hope in the Lord who knows what's best for each one of us. There should be no doubt in our minds that He answers prayers. All we have to do is call on the Lord, trust that He hears the sound of our call and wait for Him with courage. When we get carried away by all the commotion there is a tendency that we neglect the essential and most central issue which is to always believe that we shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. There is really nothing that we should worry about if we always hold in our hearts the truth about Jesus. There may be times when we encounter disappointments and setbacks in life but this doesn't mean that God has stopped becoming the Loving God that He is, who suffered His only Begotten Son to die on the cross for our sake. Our focus should be on the truth of this love and everything that it stands for. This reminded me of a mini play staged in EWTN of a passenger waiting to be boarded on the airplane. He was the 1st and only person in the boarding area waiting patiently for his seat reservation to be called. He got surprised when someone came along and hardly ever waited when his seat number was called. He felt somehow annoyed at the idea of someone who just came and did not wait but got on the plane first although he managed to stop himself from making a scene. A lady with her young child also came and looked very excited to board the plane but he tried to warn them not to keep their hopes up too much because it would definitely take time and said that he had been waiting for a long time and came early but his number had not been called yet. To his surprise their numbers were called and happily boarded while he was once again left behind. He simply couldn't stand it anymore when a pleasant young lady came with all smiles on her face and speaking of how excited she is to board an airplane for the first time. The company of this nice lady kept her impatience at bay. She advised him to stop thinking about how the others were able to get there quickly but rather think of the joy he would have once he gets there. She assured him to just relax and make the most of his time because he has a reservation and a ticket all he needs to do is just wait. He did exactly just that and found himself at peace until the time his number was called. The same thing happens to the best of us when we are confronted with a tedious and exasperating process of waiting. We tend to lose our peace and joy and succumb to worry and doubt. If we are holding on to something that was assured to us by a trustworthy and reliable source we can put our worries to rest. Although sometimes anxiety can still find its way to our hearts and forget on whom our confidence lies.  If we remain in the Lord and put our trust in Him then there is nothing we should worry about. Although in life, there are 4 things which are 1. sin 2. grace 3. forgiveness 4. reconciliation that we could all learn a lot from. The 1st 3 are all a reality but #4 is only a possibility. Reconciliation calls us to true conversion. An example that fits this is a snake and caterpillar since both of them undergoes conversion. The snake sheds off its old skin but comes out the same while the caterpillar emerges into a butterfly. We have to ponder and think about setting our goals high, keeping our thoughts positive and coming up with new solutions. There is no room for fear for He is consistent to His nature as God. Let us strive to become the child He has meant us to be. Another thing we could learn something about is a puzzle. I am one person who never even thought of working on a jigsaw puzzle. I am not the type of person who would bother to even buy one. It just happened that when I was in Japan and saw all sorts of things which are being sold in a bazaar, I ended up buying one for no reason at all. In fact it took years before I finally opened it and put the puzzle together. That was when I actually experienced how to do it. It takes patience and perseverance to do it especially with the complicated puzzles. Sometimes in life we just back out and give up when things become complicated and when we do, we fail to witness the bounty of the Lord. As today psalm tells us, we've got to wait with courage and be stout hearted. We should all long for the day when we will have 100% confidence level in all our decisions for God. When the time comes it will totally remove all forms of anxiety and fear and incline ourselves to Him at all times. Sometimes in life we resort to a lot of means that are sometimes no longer necessary. All we have to do is believe that we will see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living if we will just be patient and full of courage.  It should be our ultimate desire and nothing else, to always be in the presence of the Lord. To abide in Him at all times even when things are not very good. I could never forget and would always remember those times when I used to pick figs at Sis Loreta's garden. It was then that a thought came to my mind while I was climbing a ladder in order to get the figs in hard to reach places. Despite the fact that I was already on top of the ladder there were still some figs that I was not able to see and pick up right away although it was already right in front of me. They are being covered by the leaves of the tree and some are hidden in between branches. I just realized that it could be compared to how God showers us with all the blessings and graces that we need. There are times when we fail to see it though it is already right in front of us. Sometimes we have to really look very closely and try to turn our gaze into different angles in order to see it. What's funny was that when I thought that I've got almost every ripe fig in the tree, I noticed one big ripe fruit at the lowest part of the tree, there was even no need to use a ladder in order to get it. Sometimes in life we resort to a lot of means that are sometimes no longer necessary. All we have to do is believe that we will see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living if we will just be patient and full of courage. We ought to realize that if we wait on the Lord patiently and persevere long enough we will never be disappointed for He alone is our light and salvation. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-9, 13-14

 R: The Lord is my light and my salvation.

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? (R) 4 One thing I ask of the LORD; this I seek, to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, that I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD and contemplate his temple. 7 Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call; have pity on me, and answer me. 8 Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks. (R) Your presence, O LORD, I seek. 9 Hide not your face from me; do not in anger repel your servant. You are my helper: cast me not off. (R) 13 I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the LORD with courage; be stout-hearted, and wait for the LORD.

Nothing compares to the love that God has for us. We need to be aware of it every single moment of our lives. We are so blessed that His love for us surpasses all other kinds of love we've ever known and we'll ever come to know. We may keep on searching for the best kind of love but we'll just be disappointed if we look for it in other than God Himself. For His love alone suffices. Everything happens for a reason. Whatever the reason is we can be confident in the truth that God loves us so much and hope that we will never be disappointed. Amen. Hallelujah!

Romans 5:5b-11

5 Brothers and sisters: Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us...But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. 9 How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. 10 Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11 Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation...

As we continue the process of living, dying and the hope of resurrecting, we the church of God, the triumphant (angels and saints in heaven), militant (the living) and suffering (souls in purgatory) join forces in prayer in the hope that we will all someday be together in heaven especially today on All Souls Day. We can not deny the fact that we live in an imperfect world but in it also came forth a glorious array of men and women, the saints whose feast day we just celebrated yesterday. I do believe that we can look after the example they left behind and ask at the same time their intercession in order for us to truly live the life of Jesus the way they did. The life of the Blessed Mother and the saints although they generally represent a life of sacrifice and sorrow from the world's point of view is in truth victorious and triumphant. You know why? I believe that they have learned the secret enclosed in today's gospel. By this time we may have experienced and witnessed a lot in life already to know that today's gospel is the best thing we ought to do. No one in this world can get away from problems and sorrow in life. Life here on earth is as imperfect as it is. We can not expect to live a life of perfect peace and happiness here on earth but we can surely make the best out of what we've got right here and now if we are to follow these words below in the gospel. There is really nowhere and no one else to go to but the Lord. We should have realized this by now if we have learned our lessons well. In times past when we have forgotten to surrender to God and depended more on our strength, skill and intelligence, we have seen the difference and the worst in the outcome of our actions. In whatever we do, for as long as we are not violating God's commands we must not forget to lift up everything to God in prayer and He will clearly show us the way. Why, because God said, come to me who you labor and heavily burdened… Our Lord looked at the people around fighting heavy battles, losing, carrying great burden and running out of strength. Sometimes life gets us down and causes us a tiredness of body and weariness of soul that no amount of sleep can rectify. On such occasions we hear Him say “Come to me let me help you carry your burden. Of course the problem with us is that we’re carrying burdens that we were never intended to carry. The burdens and the problems belong to Him. He is in charge of the world, not us. We can not solve problems on our own. We must realize that He alone can solve problems we could never solve. When Moses met God in the burning bush, Moses asked God “What is your name and whom shall I say sent me?” He said My name is “I am” not I was nor I will be but I am. God lives in the eternal now where it is neither past nor future. If we are going to realize that at this very moment God sees us not only at this lovely day He created but He sees us already dead, buried, judged and safely home with Him forever for the ecstasy that He has planned for us. He sees us now as we are worrying and fretting about a future that may never come. Moses told the Lord, who am I to go to pharaoh. But God was with Moses as He is with us. He said I shall be with you and He was with Moses, as He is with us, too. In the Angelus we say behold the handmaid of the Lord… These are the words of our Lady which she said and meant. Though, she has no idea what the Lord has in store for her, she allowed God to do what He has in store for her. Can we also say the same and mean it? God has a plan for us and that plan is filled with love. The Lord said I am meek and humble of heart. He has no ego problems like we have. We must realize that the most difficult problem is preoccupation with self. When we go into a room and try to impress everybody we come out and think how we fair in ourselves. We just have to let go. He wants us to work with Him in helping other human beings. The yoke is the 2 metal piece ring that links 2 animals.  It’s what happens to us when we give our help to the Lord, not what happens to whom we have helped. If we are blinded with selfishness we fail to accept the plan God has for us. Our desire to thank God is our gift and adds nothing to His greatness. Did we ever stop to think that the only thing that our Lord asks of us is humility. He said, learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for your soul. But we listen so easily to the father of lies. We imagine to find joy in what we pray in flattery, in the applause of the crowd and in riches. But what is humility? What is this vague, ethereal, intangible, supernatural virtue? It is simply the truth. The truth shall set us free.  And the truth about us is that apart from God we are nothing. We have nothing, we can do nothing. We have a body but we can not control it. We do not know when it will die. We have a mind but the bursting of a tiny blood vessel will make us imbeciles forever. We have a heart that can love but at times we have no control over it. It is hard, cold and unresponsive to the needs of others. But there is a positive side about this which is beautifully described by Father Faber, in Frederick William the English poet who became a Catholic after Cardinal Newman. He said, “There are some thoughts which however old they are, are always new. Either because they are so broad that they are never thoroughly learned or because they are so intensely practical that their interest is always absorbing. And such thoughts are for the most part very common thoughts. They require no peculiar keenness of vision for no one can fail to perceive them. They are like the huge mountains visible to everybody on the plain below. Now among such thoughts we may reckon that thought which every child would know that God loves each one of us with a special love. This is one of the most common thoughts in our religion and yet when we come to look steadily at it we find it very hard to believe. God does look at us in the mass and the multitude as though we stand single and alone before His judgment seat one day but before the eye of His boundless love. This is our faith.  This is the faith in which we must live and die. St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippians that this mind be in us which was in Christ Jesus who although he is God emptied Himself taking the form of a servant (Philippians 2,6-11). Christ divested Himself of His dazzling beauty and glory and he was lost in the crowd and he was thought to be Mary’s boy and Joseph’s son. We are asked to empty ourselves of all that is false of all that is ignoble , all that is unreal so that we may become filled with Christ. Because nature abhors a vacuum and so does grace. We must be filled with something. Tragically we are filled with all kinds of desire, we want to be applauded, be promoted, we want to be consulted and we want to be loved. We want to be preferred to others. Look at all the fears that fill us that stifle us and paralyze us. We are afraid of sickness, growing old and of death. We are afraid of the thought of what comes after death. Don’t we remember Shakespeare, “To sleep for a chance to dream, what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil must give us pause to that undiscovered land from whose no traveler returned…” John the Baptist gave us our ideal, I must decrease and He must increase (John 3:30). All the foolishness, unreality intolerance, the selfishness and all the sin that is in us must decrease so that we must fill the vacuum with our Lord who wants to share our life. He wants to be part of the trivia that make up our waking hours. Whatever happens to us happens to Him and He wants us to let Him share because only then will we find the rest that we pray. Things, places, circumstances and people are really interwoven by God in our lives in a very special way as if creating a wonderful picture and scenario. Like an intricate and beautiful artwork that is embroidered or woven into the fabric of our lives for us to witness, appreciate, get a message and draw inspiration and strength from. A long time ago St. Francis cried out loud, “He comes to His own today and receives Him not.” And so we live lives that are restless, confused, frustrated and unfulfilled because we do not share our lonely life with Him. So the prayer we learn as children that is said all over the world among Christians should be our prayer now, Oh Jesus meek and humble of heart make our hearts like unto Thine. Matters of the faith are very difficult to accept and understand for some people for they will always question and rationalize things. There are some things that can not be explained and we simply have to pray to God to reveal them in our hearts. This is why Jesus in today's gospel emphasized the importance of being like the little children. We, grown ups are always caught up in the cares and concerns of this world that we sometimes forget  who really is in charge of everything and tend to overpower God. The same way a child entrusts everything to his/her parents we, too should learn to trust that God our Father will take care of us. We can learn a lot from the children who are full of trust and confidence in their parents. If we will only learn the secret of the childlike then we can surely acquire the wisdom of God. If we always maintain in us a high level of confidence in God who is our loving Father then we are never far from achieving it. May we acquire the trusting attitude of the children and continue to discover the wonders of God’s love. As Catholics we have this great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus which symbolizes the great love of God. Our Catholic practices can be found in the bible. God has made a covenant with His people and has been fathering us in order to bring us together into His loved flock in heaven. The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is widespread all throughout the world. We are body and soul and need the external festivities. We have to remember that it's one thing to celebrate feasts and it's another to live His great love and make it alive in our daily lives. It has to be more than a mere devotion and celebration. We encounter people who have a condescending and sneering attitude towards popular devotion of the Catholic Church and consider them as meaningless routines. We are reminded through these devotions that there is no material or event in our lives that can not be directed for the greater glory of God. Although sometimes we come to a point when these practices and devotions that lift us up simply become like magic and opium for our troubles and miseries. We fail to grasp the essence of these devotions and treat them like the hypocrites in prayer and the pagans with some superstitious beliefs. Some Catholics fall into the trap of looking at these as a never fail prayer. Sometimes there is a magical or manipulative misuse like an abracadabra. It should not predispose us to a ritualistic behavior and must not lead us down to the path of nowhere. Although the absence of it may appear as we are like those idealists that once saved we are always saved so there is no need for such devotions. We may fall into the dangerous scenario as if we are putting God to the test. These devotions should be a means of communication between God and His people. God is not telling us to do away with these things but rather do it with a sincere and repentant heart. It should blossom into a relationship that is pictured in today's gospel. God is continuously searching for us and wants to bring us together in a family of love. Our devotions should develop in us a confidence to draw near to God as He invites us in today’s gospel. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 11:25-30

25 At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. 28 Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”