PROMISES

There is really no more denying to the fact that God speaks to us through our daily circumstances. I am reminded of Jonathan, a home health nurse whom I met several years ago. I noticed his hair to be different and he told me that he had it strained and would have it cut later. I didn't expect him to say more but he did. He said that it was because when he and his friends were together during Christmas eve they were making fun of how long and curly his hair had been. It could be a case of peer pressure since he said that he was perfectly happy and satisfied with his God given hair. That was when I wasn't able to help it and voiced out my own personal situation with my hair. I told him how I have made a promise not to cut my hair until such time when what I've been praying and waiting for comes along. And that I've been through the same situation since my friends were also convincing me to have it cut. Thus I would like to share again the reflection of Tess Atienza in Didache (Daily Catholic Inspirational Journal) which is about fulfilling a promise which I can consider an affirmation of what I felt God wanted me to do.

Here it is entitled: Promises

… to fulfill his vows… – 1 Samuel 1:21

My friend met a man on a tour. They became prayer partners, remained close even outside community activities, then fell for each other. But fear kept them from divulging their real feelings.

I knew how much they cared for each other and longed to grow old with each other. But the man had a serious issue. Years before he met my friend, he had consecrated himself to the Lord, much like what a priest vows at his ordination — celibacy, poverty, obedience. How could he marry her?

One Sunday, after giving a seminar to a group of nuns, they went home. She rode a taxi; he crossed the street and waved a hand in goodbye. She never saw him again.

My friend grieved over him. I believe the man did, too. But fulfilling his vows to the Lord was more important than any earthly vow he could make.

In life, we make promises — some we keep, some we break. But nothing should get in the way of fulfilling our promises to the Lord. In a few days, it will be 2009. Are there any promises you have yet to fulfill to God before the year is over? Tess Atienza

REFLECTION:

“Losers make promises they often break. Winners make commitments they always keep.” (Denis Waitley)

Lord, help me fulfill my promises to You.

-end-

At that time I read today's 1st reading and consequently this article in Didache, I immediately remembered what just happened the day before that which made me even more firm in fulfilling to God all my promises. 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. There was a foreword in Companion written about today's 1st reading which says: "Hannah places her situation before the Lord and Eli also prays for her. She ultimately conceives a son. It was not God’s plan that she remains barren. She need not have worried about her situation. And what a son will be born to her — one of the greatest of the Old Testament seers and guides of Israel. Samuel will become not just a blessing for Hannah but all the people of Israel." It has been 23 years since then and the Lord continues to bless my son, Jude. He took up Chemical Engineering in De LaSalle University and will be graduating soon. With this, I continue to hope and pray that someday my son, Jude will be just like Samuel as he become the person God has meant him to be. Sometimes we wonder why God is not answering our prayers in the way we wanted or expected things to happen. Today's 1st reading could make us think why some people end up doing things differently and unexpectedly the way we would normally do. Who would have done or even thought of doing what Hannah just did. When she prayed for a child, God granted her prayer and gifted her with a son, Samuel but she ended up offering him back to the Lord and left him in the temple. If we will just look at the narrow picture of this event then we might miss what Hannah was able to see and understand. We may not fully comprehend what life may bring us but we can always learn a lesson from this great woman in the bible who was able to overcome the natural tendencies of this world and did what is most pleasing to God. We should examine ourselves if we will be able to respond to the blessing or favor granted in the way Hannah in today's 1st reading responded. Sometimes we regard God in the way that will best suit our needs and desires we fail to see the unbounded goodness of God that is not limited to the specific request we are praying for. Hannah's gratitude to God exceeds the desire for what she prayed for. We could learn from this kind of attitude especially when we are praying to God for something to come or happen. In the story we found out that she was asking for a son and when God granted her prayer she gave it back to God. Where's the logic there? She should not have asked in the first place we may think. We're missing the point here if we think of it this way. Hannah teaches us to attach to God more than anything else. We must learn the art of detachment to all but God. In praying to God she acknowledged that God is generous, powerful, loving and will always provide what is best for us. She knew from the very beginning that we can never out give God. In giving back to God she ultimately learned the art of letting go of even our greatest desires to give honor to God. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Samuel 1:20-22. 24-28

… to fulfill his vows…“Pardon, my lord! As you live my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD. 27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. 28 Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.” Hannah left Samuel there.

Have you ever felt so at home in a certain place that you feel like you can stay there for a long time. I did. I have met these people who are so welcoming and accepting and it feels like I can stay with them for the longest time. And to think that these people are the ones I hardly even know, so just imagine how it would feel like dwelling in the house of the Lord as spoken of in today's psalm. We ought to be aware of that big difference always. It is a matter of dwelling in a place where there is eternal life of peace and joy or damnation. Our earthly bodies will naturally yearn for earthly desires which are just bound to last only here on earth. We've got to really get it straightened out and listen to the yearning of our souls which will outlast this world. In heaven we will be glorified magnificently. We will live forever with strength, power, beauty and sharing a new humanity with Jesus. There is no place else we would rather be than in God's dwelling place. We all hope to wear that crown of heaven and take our place in God's kingdom.

We have to go the extra mile always in doing everything in love. For God is love and He is in us. We should also be careful not to taint and mess up ourselves and this is only possible if we take good care of God's dwelling place as suggested in today's psalm. We are the temple or dwelling place of God and this we should know by now and always be aware of. Amen. Hallelujah!

P S A L M

Psalm 84:2-3. 5-6. 9-10

R: Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

1 [2] How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! 2 [3] My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the LORD. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. (R) 4 [5] Happy they who dwell in your house! Continually they praise you. 5 [6] Happy the men whose strength you are! Their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage (R) 8 [9] O LORD of hosts, hear my prayer; hearken, O God of Jacob! 9 [10] O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of your anointed.

Aside from the rules to follow there are also certain criteria to meet in order to qualify for certain games. It is a consolation to know that we have all been pre-qualified through our Lord Jesus Christ to enter into His Kingdom. We are God’s children and the rest is up to us. If we are to live up to this honor and privilege or not is all in our hands. Let us always be faithful to Him, who alone can deliver us. We may have heard stories of how people who died come rushing to be with the Lord and describe the unexplainable joy of being able to see God face to face. Since we are still part of this mortal body we still do not feel the urgency of being with the Lord since we still belong to this world as stated " See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. " That is why we are always continuously struggling between good and evil because technically we are still in this world and somehow attached to it that we should make a conscious effort to always cling to the Lord. But as earlier stated in the bible passage only the clean and pure of heart can stand before Him so we should always guard our actions that each day be an offering to the Lord as we continuously work toward this goal. It is not easy but it is also said that the Lord will bless and save those who love Him. It is with this hope that we persevere in what we do. The 2nd reading for today emphasizes to us the truth and privilege we have as God's children. We must not neglect and forfeit this by always being mindful of the good things that God is continuously showering upon us and strive to really be deserving of the blessings He has bestowed on us. With the confidence of a beloved child of God, we all strive to become like Him in every way. Human parents although imperfect are capable of giving to their children all the best that they could offer. Parents could relate to this and would definitely agree to it. What can our Father in Heaven give to us more than the title, children of God? Today's 2nd reading gets even better by continuously affirming not just me but each one of us as well, who long and hope in the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 John 3:1-2. 21-24

1 Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God 22 and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him...

Sometimes we come to a point when we can not fully understand the things that are happening in our lives but what matters most is to always follow the example of our Blessed Mother. She is one woman whom we can surely rely, depend and follow if we truly want to be closer to Jesus and be able to do what God wants us to do. Who should come to our mind whenever we speak of Mary? Jesus. If it's not the case then we are misled and on the wrong path. Mary brings us closer to Jesus who tells us what to do as we keep all these things in our heart. After all it was in the Blessed Mother's womb that God became man. Literally speaking it was in her womb that He took on the form of a human being and had a feeling, pumping, viable and bloody heart. This is a revealed God who had manifested Himself. Our Blessed Mother carried Him in her womb. We know she pondered the mysteries in her life which is in today's gospel. Poetically speaking even in cross cultures, the human heart has always been seemed as a profound symbol of love, faithfulness, steadfastness, commitment, passion, loyalty, diligence, and the very anchor of the feelings, passions and emotions. When Mary was a teenager we know that she said to Angel Gabriel, "Let it be done unto me according to your word." If we may analyze this very closely, the word "it" in her response made her the Mother of God. At the same time it meant execution during 1st century Palestine if a woman gets pregnant outside wedlock. Her "it" meant that and yet she was willing to take that because of her love, faithfulness, steadfastness, commitment, passion, loyalty, diligence and the very anchor of her balanced feelings, passions and emotions. Then her "it" meant having her baby in a stable, soon her "it" meant her flee to Egypt with Joseph and her baby in the middle of the night. Twelve years later meant losing Jesus in the Passover in Jerusalem as narrated in today's gospel which prefigures about 20 years later, Jesus slain as the Passover Lamb when she witnessed her Son slain while she was standing at the foot of the cross. Eventually her "it" led her to Pentecost with the Apostles, her assumption into heaven and ultimately her coronation as Queen of Heaven and Earth.  Her "it" to Gabriel meant the seemingly negative events in her life before her crowning. But how did she endure all of these elements of sorrow involved in the life of her Son? The answer is her Immaculate Heart, that's how and why she sustained her being a perfect Christian disciple and example. She is a model for our own hearts believing in the words of the Archangel Gabriel, Mary maintained or retained all these things that the profound human heart speaks of and symbolizes. The passion which is the love that is willing to suffer for the other. Think of the Pieta, steadfast at the foot of the cross, or the Stabat Mater (Standing Mother) Traditionally speaking, Mary remained steadfast, she was sorrowful no doubt but never did she fainted nor swooned. She was the standing mother at the foot of the cross. This is an example for us in a time of sorrow. We can also live our "it" whenever our "it" may seem like what Mary endured.  She is an example to us of a heart with a strong balanced emotion. All of us modeled after Mary should be able to say with Mary, "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to Thy word." When we find out the details of this total commitment and what it truly means, we must accept God's grace to be like Mary and to be faithful to our "it" or unconditional commitment to the Lord our God. We have to consecrate our lives to the Holy Family then never ever turn back. Pope Benedict XVI gave an insight with regards to the proper, sincere, authentic and true devotion to popular piety in the Catholic Church especially to Mary, he said that Mary's womb is the place where God was able to gain access into humanity.  We celebrate our personal relationship with Mary because it has fostered so profoundly the ultimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If we have fallen in love with the bridegroom, Jesus we appreciate and honor His mother Mary immensely. Indeed, Mary helps us to love Jesus, to yield to the Spirit and to let "it" be done to us according to God's word. Mary tells us to do whatever Jesus tells us from the wedding feast in Cana in John 2. Mary will never rest until we rest in her Son.  Our relationship with Mary and Joseph focuses us on Jesus because of this we value our relationship with the Holy Family. Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 2:41-52

...“Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 51 He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus advanced [in] wisdom and age and favor before God and man.