We should value our friends with all our hearts. They are
God's gifts to us. It is through them that we feel the love of God for us. A
true and faithful friend is the manifestation of God's friendship for us.
Praise and thank God for such friends that He brings to our life. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Sirach 6:5-17
...A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one
finds a treasure. 15 A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his
worth. 16 A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God
finds; 17 for he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend will be like
himself.
“Don't trust too much, don't
love too much, don't care too much because that "too much" wiil hurt
you so much...” This is a quotation I came across on Facebook. It somehow
answers the part where we have to hurt so much. We use our mind to sort out
what is true. God has given us the intellect, will, passions and emotions.
Sometimes our emotions lead and carry us away in the search and to discern the
truth. Our mind can seek the truth and our will can choose the truth freely.
After the fall of our 1st parents, even if we know what is right we
have been infected by the malice of the world and our will have become
weakened. Our emotions play a big role in our will. This is why it should be
properly directed. Our emotions go up and down and it is not the proper gauge.
Some relationships should not just be built upon a bunch of good feelings. It
is a very dangerous basis for love. We need to ask the question of truth and
get a hold of our emotions so that we can put our relationships in proper
perspective. There are so many
things that we are worried about but only one thing is needed and we have to be
sure that we pick the best option. We need not confuse ourselves by even
considering the options that the world enticingly and seductively present to
us. Does this song sound familiar? "Gusto kong bumait pero di ko
magawa." (I’d like to be good but I just can’t) Because we are still in
this world and its laws dominate us it
is indeed hard
to serve the law of
God. But we are constantly reminded that
if we only
make a stand on which side we are
then God will deliver us. There is only one thing needed and we have to choose
the best part. We have to do things according to God's statutes and precepts
which is the only sure way to live a happy and abundant life first here on
earth and then for eternity. There is one thing we need to do. Let
us always focus on Jesus and follow the example He has left for us to live by.
What a friend we have in Jesus. He is never amiss on anything. Let us not
hesitate to reach out to Him for in Him we find a true friend who is ready to
help us. If we come to Him at all times for guidance and direction, He will
always be there to take our hand and lead us to the right path. The Lord knows
exactly what's in our hearts. There are times when people judge us based only
on what they see but what matters most is that we are right before God. The
truth is that we ought to realize by now that only God can deliver us from all
evil and there is no one else to whom we can go but to Him. The Lord has
promised and He will fulfill. This should give us so much joy and peace in
knowing this. There is no doubt that God in His goodness surely sheds light,
giving understanding to the simple in times of affliction. We need to always
hold on to God at all times and never lose hope in Him. We just got to hold on
tight! No matter what happen let us always keep in mind that God fulfills all
His promises. It may not be right away and could be later but He will surely
reveal things in His most perfect time. We've got to realize that there is no
love greater than the love God is offering us. We need to make sure that what
we sought and yearn for, is what should bring us genuine riches, true delight
and the most precious treasure which the world can not give and only God can
bring about. Just imagine ourselves walking in the dark without knowing what we
are stepping on and where we are headed. It is very difficult there is no doubt
about it. We need light to guide our steps and show the way. We have to realize
that loving God means obeying with all our heart. Have you experienced waking
up or going to bed at the same time everyday? It's because of the circadian
clock or the rhythmic biological cycles that happen or recurring everyday in
us. Let us pray to God that we develop in ourselves an instinct and discipline
to naturally follow His commands like the circadian clock. The time to act is
now. Let us seize every opportunity to know the Word of God while we still can.
1. Do we see God as the Primary agent? God is the Primary Agent of Evangelization. It is not about us but about God.
2. Do we see Evangelization as everyone's responsibility?
We must not end up like the
3. Do we communicate God's love?
4. Is total human betterment part of the ministry?
5. Do we respect other traditions?
God does not take sides. There is an equal opportunity for all but we have to make sure that we are on God's side. We need to rid ourselves of any triumphant or arrogant attitude towards people of other faith. The Abrahamic religion has a common denominator which is belief in God. We are not the sole professor of truth. We need to listen for God's revelation from others, too not only from us.
6. Does our love go beyond Catholic borders?
The
7. Is our approach ecumenical?
We do not have the monopoly of God because the Good News has no border and dealt with a common faith.
8. Do we use all available media?
The best media is our own life, no need for TV. The example of how we live our life is the best means to evangelize. Walk the talk.
9. Do we fully utilize existing groups like ministries that renew and energize members?
10. What is our total image?
We've got to maintain a wholesome image unlike the Crusaders, though they were able to convert many to the faith, the spread of the Good News was carried out using the sword. We must take extra care in projecting the right image as Good Messengers of the Good News. We can't just take one passage and take it as a whole, we have to consider the entire scriptures. It must be read within the living tradition of the Church. It is written in the Church's heart in the very essence of who Jesus is. The analogy of faith and inner harmony should co-exist and take all of them together as a unity. To take just one part of the truth and depend solely on it for everything else to unravel would end up in heresy and find ourselves outside the truth. The depository of faith is entrusted by the apostles to the whole of the Magisterium of the Church. This task of giving an authentic teaching of the depository of the faith is given to the living successors of Peter who is the Pope and the Bishops in our Catholic Church. We must have the guidance of the Holy Spirit with the Magisterium of the Church. If the Church is not a Divine institution it would have crashed 2000 yrs ago. Living tradition and sacred scriptures are the means to transmit the faith. We need to know this to understand how God's plan works through things revealed by God to us and recalled by faith.
Another interesting event I am reminded of is one of the MI
(Militia Immaculata) Meetings we had in the past wherein we were asked to introduce ourselves
briefly by saying our names, parishes where we belong and the time when we were
consecrated to the Mother Mary. I can never forget the date I was consecrated
(March 15, 2008) since it was the same date, but in 1995, of my mother's death
anniversary but I would rather call it her birth to eternal life. It was
highlighted by another significant event which was a dream I had at that same
time of my aunt, Tita Edna who also passed away on the same month, March 24 in
the year 1992. The dream was quite interesting and very vivid because I saw
Tita Edna riding in a van and the moment
I saw her I took off immediately and ran after the van which I almost missed if
I did not leap and managed to make it to the door of the van from which I
almost fell. When I finally made it inside the van, I saw that she was about to
eat so I offered her a hand sanitizer and saw that it made her so glad that I
had it. She immediately applied it in her hands and thanked me for it. It
suddenly gave me the impression that the van could be a symbol of our
transportation to heaven. It is very difficult to catch that ride, we have to
be always alert and vigilant we might end up missing it and worst never be able
catch the ride ever again. That is, if we are too busy with other things we
tend to neglect what should we be paying attention to and end up missing out on
our ride and get a different ride which instead of bringing us to heaven, be
brought to another destination which I guess none of us would like to be. We
must always know on whose authority we are basing our actions. It will always
help to examine ourselves and really be aware where our loyalty lies. Are we
for God or against God or are we just for God in the superficial sense? If we are deeply rooted in Him then we can
withstand that horrible day of trial and
still find ourselves persevering in our faith. Just the thought of ending up in
hell should really make us pray fervently to God. Today's psalm teaches us the way to always be
attuned to God's Spirit in order for us to truly see the word of God, as the
light shining like a lamp for our feet. If we really want to be truly happy
then there is just one thing we have to always do that is to always keep
ourselves blameless before the Lord. We can never run away from the probing
eyes of God because nothing is hidden from Him. We sometimes have this
impression that our God requires impossibilities from us. We misinterpret and take
things in a different way whenever we hear of rules and regulations to be
followed. The decrees of our Lord are not meant to make things difficult for us
nor do they burden or tie us down. This is the deception and we should start
looking at it the right way. Just imagine life without God's decrees to guide
us, it would be very disorderly and chaotic. It's like driving in the freeway
wherein one can just go his or her own way without any regard for any traffic
rules and regulations. Real freedom is the ability to follow God and being
totally free of the grasp and hold of sin that brings death. Some sins bring
instant death but others just like cancer slowly creep in and before we know it
has already eaten us up whole. God loves
us so much that He has given us His decrees because it is in following them
that we become totally free and live. The only way to true freedom is by
following God's commands. In doing this we become free of the bondage of sin
and live a power filled life based on the Truth. We should believe that if
there is someone in and out of this world who is most reasonable, just, fair
and at the same time loving, caring, slow to anger and rich in kindness that is
no other than our God. One thing for sure, if He requires us something, He will
definitely equip us for it because it is written, "I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me." If we commit ourselves to following
God then we will surely be blessed. Allow me to use the word "luck"
or "swerte" in Tagalog in lieu of any other more appropriate word
like blessed or pinagpala in Tagalog since I have always been hearing this word
being used very often by some people in reference to certain situations within
the broad context of this word. I just couldn't help but share it, first and
foremost due to some personal circumstances. We often hear people say to
another who is about to embark on something challenging, “good luck” If the
word luck may have been associated with whatever negative meaning then consider
it excluded from here and out of context for the mean time. Let's just say we
would like to broaden the scope of our vocabulary. This is to further drive the
point or message in today's psalm and is actually the catch here. This is to
come up with an induction that following the law of the Lord is just as
synonymous to being blessed, lucky, swerte or pinagpala or any other word that
we could closely associate with this. It is not very easy to lead a life like
that of the saints who followed the example of Jesus. Ignorance is not an
excuse. We should always seek to enrich our knowledge about God so that we will
continuously grow in our faith. Our world is ever changing with all the new
technology coming up, it's so surprising that whatever is considered the latest
and gold standard today may not hold true the following day. If there's one
thing we should rely and hold on to in this very dynamic world of ours, then it
should be something constant and enduring.
It gives us great consolation that we have a God who is true to His
word. We may have heard it but we haven't learned yet. It is a lifelong journey
and quest to know God better. Nothing can be more rewarding than having great
peace in our lives. We can make this possible by adhering to God’s law and
committing to following it in word and deed. It will always be well for us to
consult the scriptures that shed light and give understanding. We've got to
make sure that what we sought and yearn for, is what should bring us genuine
riches, true delight and the most precious treasure which the world can not
give and only God can bring about. It is only right that we follow the law of
the Lord if we are really for God then our works should follow us and testify
to who we really are. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 119:12, 16, 18, 27, 34, 35
R: Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
12 Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes. (R) 16
In your statutes I will delight; I will not forget your words. (R) 18 Open my
eyes, that I may consider the wonders of your law. (R) 27 Make me understand
the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds. (R) 34
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart.
(R) 35 Lead me in the path of your commands, for in it I delight.
God's laws and commands are always perfect. There is no
doubt about it. We just have to follow what He tells us to do and we will see
as we go about with our lives that there is no other way we would rather have
it. There are times when we question and wanted to have things our way but
there is no other way. We'll just have to trust God no matter how difficult
things may seem to be for in the end we will see that only Jesus can make all
things beautiful. We should trust not ourselves but rather trust Him for He is
most able to do it. If God said so then we should know better than to disobey.
Actually this kind of thinking and belief has a tendency to make us react
negatively. It's not because obeying God entails a lot of hardships and trials
but in truth our human nature is inclined to rebel whenever we are being told
by someone of what to do. We sometimes assert our independence in the wrong
way. It would help us if we first assess the situation before we react. If
somebody not trustworthy or not knowledgeable tells us something it would
really benefit us if we just ignore and let the words that our left ear heard
just pass through our right ear. We should be careful in dealing with other
people and could really help if we lessen our interactions with them. But if
our God speaks to us about something then we can never question the credibility
of His words because He is a God who knows best. And if we are hoping and
looking forward to a life of peace and joy we just better have to take His word
for it and be like the children. Children have the gift to just receive and let
their minds go to a place where adults don’t. They have the ability to animate
things and have joy. They are always intently listening and receiving. This is
the key to having access to the continuous existence of the flow of grace. If
we look at the world around us and hear the news of what’s happening then we
could lose hope if we listen to everything that’s going on around us. Unless
we’re grounded in faith we could not survive it. We should pray that we
continue to mature as Christians. We have always come to mass and witness in
the altar what priests are doing all over the world. We have to come into touch
with the reality that the Holy Eucharist, the Most Blessed Sacrament is what’s
redeeming the world. The world is fragile and unstable. We need to be around
this table in the altar for constant infusion of God’s life and grace. This is
our life, destiny and future. We need to be grounded in this truth and be able
to say that we are stable in our relationship with God. We need to have a
conviction in this world that the Lord is present to us in the altars of
sacrifice. The Lord Himself established this act of worship that contains
incredible power. We need to be grounded to our faith in the Eucharist and
truly enter completely for us to be nourished and strengthened. It should not
become just an act of routine. If this happens then this could be very sad and
empty of its true meaning. Being grounded to the truth of the Eucharist could
really change our faith and belief and therefore bring forth change in our
lives. We always go to mass but our act of worship in the Eucharist table
should change us for the better. We have to believe that the Lord is working in
our lives whenever we come to receive the Eucharist. This should be firmly
based on the stability of the truth that God is really present for us. It is
like when we run in the sand and mud, we become unsteady because it is
unstable, our feet can sink. We need stability in order to stand. We need a
firm ground to walk on and find something to anchor ourselves to. We look at a
child's heart that is fully grounded. We need to follow its example so that no
matter what we see in our experiences, the trials and the tests, if we’re
grounded and stable we can always surrender our life to God and live in peace.
We have to be firmly grounded on the truth of the Lord's presence in the
Eucharist in order for a fountain of joy and excitement to burst forth from us.
This is in the knowledge that something new is going to happen each time we
receive Him in the Eucharist. Let us pray that we be like children and utilize
our inventive hearts so as to enter into an act of worship and believe. We are always confronted with the greatest
temptation of not entering into the act of worship and know in our hearts and
minds that God is present completely in this Most Blessed Sacrament. We have to develop this attitude that the
Eucharist is indispensable and what’s most real and powerful for us. We need to
be able to say that this is what matters most to us. In doing so we can make
decisions that needs to be done and say, "Here I am Lord here is what I’ve
done help me to be better tomorrow." Amen. Hallelujah!
Mark 10:1-12
...“Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and
dismiss her.” 5 But Jesus told them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts he
wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made
them male and female. 7 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are
no longer two but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, no human
being must separate.” …
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