UNDERLYING REASONS

One of the things that I find strange in people like us most especially here in the US is the fact that we have this tendency to work endless hours to the point of exhaustion to earn a living but end up tired and sick. We sometimes lose sight of what life is really all about. When we work we have to make sure that our goals are clear to us and we get what it is worth. When we work we hope to get something in return for the time, talent and effort we invested in it. Today's 1st reading tells us that death is something we work for and earn every time we offend God since it is the wage of sin. Funny how the word wages is used in this bible passage to emphasize the fact that death is the corresponding wage of something that we work for. Come to think of it, why in the world would we work for something like death? Sometimes we take things for granted, but if we come to think of it we'll find out that it is exactly what we're doing whenever we sin. Why labor for something like death when it is clear that there is something that we don't even have to work for but given to us as a gift. Let us not exchange our eternal life for death and consciously and actively accept the gift. Like any other gift that is being given to us if just left unopened and kept in the closet without finding out what good the gift can do to us then it becomes a useless gift. We've got to be fully aware of this wonderful gift which is already in our hands and just waiting to be opened, used and benefit from. Amen. Hallelujah! 

Romans 6:19-23

... For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

God's instructions are all made very clear for us from the very beginning. Let us no longer stray away from this path and be firm in sticking to it for life. Today’s psalm brought back memories of what I witnessed on television in 2010 when miners in Chile had to be rescued in a mine. Nobody would ever want to be trapped in a dark mine that is 2000 feet below. What caught my attention was the fact that although some of them had been rescued and brought up to the light they were still prevented from exposing their eyes to the light and were given dark shades to wear to protect them. This is what happens when we dare to step into the darkness and stay there too long we adapt to it and wanting to go back to the light instantly could be harmful. Let us not be led into the dark and imbibe it for too long that we find it difficult to adapt to light. Until now, we have no idea who we are and still in a conflict. Look at the things we do and engage in. This is because we don’t understand who we are. We will be judged by God according to our behavior. We should have God in the core of our identity. What builds our confidence? Think about it. This same reason should apply in our relationship with God. If we know and are aware of how we look right before God, then we should have the confidence of a beloved child of the God most high. How can we not be, knowing that we are covered by the most precious blood of His Son Jesus who took all our sins and died on the cross for our sake then we should be the most confident person of all. Remember, we have the composure of a child of God.  Nothing should stop us from behaving in the way He has meant us to be, lifted up on a pedestal as His very dear children. Today's psalm tells us that if we follow the Lord we will not be in darkness and will have the light of life. God is true to His word and we can always hold on to it more than we can hold to our life. Just like any person striving to maintain a good standing in any aspect of life there are some rules to be followed. People nowadays have become increasingly divided, there are the poor and the wealthy and sometimes we see the not so good, arrogant, bad people cheat in order to get money and get away with it. We must always have this hope in God and not be tempted by the evildoers of their taunting that despite the goodness we do we are not getting anything out of our sacrifices. God knows the private conversations and thoughts and He exposes them and records everything. The idea that we can get away with anything we do is not a good idea. God knows our words, thoughts and deeds. Fear of the Lord in a positive way is one of the greatest virtues as in the book of Wisdom. It is stated that it is the beginning of wisdom if it is paralleled with trust that we will not be put to shame. Those wicked people who think that they have a lot of money, power, disobey God and don't use their resources in accordance to God's will can be compared to chaff that can easily be burned. If we have the right relationship with God then we too can be exposed to the heat of God's love like the sun that can make things go on fire but instead of burning becomes a source of healing like the rays of light shown in a monstrance which symbolizes being in God's presence. We should never lose hope nor fall into despair. Whenever we sin, we must not just acknowledge it. The lesson we always have to remember is to have humility to approach Christ as we acknowledge our sins. This should remind us of Peter and Judas, they both sinned and acknowledged it. Peter wept bitterly after denying Jesus 3x while Judas threw away the silver coins that were paid to him. The difference lies in the fact that Peter as the scriptures say, when he wept, looked at Jesus with a heart, humble and contrite, which God would not despise and ran to Mary. While Judas, fell into despair and hanged himself. Thus we remember these things and always run to God with humility and also to Mary, the mother of Christ who will obtain for us true contrition. There is really a need for God's people to always be connected to Him in order to survive whatever is going on at present and what is to come. We've got to always keep ourselves motivated to do all in our power for the glory of God. All other things fade in the background and should not get our attentions any more than we ought to believe that God is our only hope. We may have started at the peak but as time goes by we may have started to lag or worse go on a downward path. Or could have started off but never worked our way up then it's time we get things straight and be focused so as not to lose sight of the unsurpassed and unfading trophy and blessing that await those who are victorious in the Lord. Today’s psalm continues to give us the guidelines we need to live by to truly prosper in the Lord. God assures us that even though life may bring us so many heartaches and pains we can still stand firm and hope that we will have the light of life if we will persevere, not waver nor falter in following the Lord. Let us choose to live in the light rather than stay in the dark.  God gave us the freedom to choose let us hope and pray that we are always inclined to do the will of God in our lives to carry out His plan of prosperity in our life. It has been impressed to me that God has already given us the gift, all we have to do is open it and use it as intended to serve its purpose. Sometimes we remain stubborn in our old ways we don't realize that everything is just within our reach, it's just a matter of committing and deciding what is right before God. We all know that life becomes difficult when it comes to commitments and making decisions but it will always be worth it after all the hard work as implied in the psalm reading. It doesn't matter who or what we are, whether young or grown up, God will always find a way to bless us in various ways. We just have to open ourselves to Him and always draw near to Him and never stray away from His side. The scriptures say it all. We need not hesitate, stall, delay nor look for anything else further but just follow what the scriptures tell us to do. In fact the bible has an acronym which stands for (B) Basic (I) Instructions (B) Before (L) Leaving (E) Earth. Another thing I am reminded of is my son Jude when he was just a little boy aged 6. When my mother was hospitalized I was the one taking care of her during the day and my brother who is the eldest is the one who slept in the hospital at night and stayed by her bedside. When she died we were both not by her side or no one for that matter because she was brought to a different room for removal of water in her lungs and also the time when my brother and I had changed shift. I just arrived home coming from the hospital and had no thought whatsoever that my mother already passed away. I was in complete denial of the fact that she would be leaving us soon during that time, I had always hoped for a miracle and extension of her life although my mother kept on telling us back then that she is ready to go anytime. I could never forget when I was just entering our home, my son Jude suddenly came up to me while holding a bible in his hand and opened a page in front of me with a picture of a tree beside a river and animals grazing on the land. What my son told me was this, "Nanay (Mother) let’s do a bible study." Since I was so tired, I got the bible from him closed it and told him that we'll do it later. But he was persistent he opened the bible again and lo and behold saw the same picture and page that he showed me a few seconds ago. He did it again for the 3rd time and the same page in the bible was showing up. Because of that I was prompted to finally give in to his persistence and read the bible passage underneath the picture. It was exactly the same message in today's psalm reading. After reading it something in me prompted me to say to him that her grandmother is already healed and will soon be coming home to us from the hospital. This is without knowing yet that it was the same time too when she passed away. Later on I realized that it was God's way of telling us that indeed my mother is healed and has gone home although not to our earthly house but to a place of eternal rest and perpetual light, in paradise. Amen. Hallelujah!

P S A L M 

Psalm 1:1-2. 3. 4 and 6

R: Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

1 Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, 2 but delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night. (R) 3 He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers.R) 4 Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes. 

Today's gospel seems to contradict what Jesus came here for when He denies to have come to bring peace, where He announces division and fire. There is really a need for us to not just reflect on the words of God but know the underlying reasons for such statements. This is one of the reasons why I will forever be grateful for those times when I attended the San Lorenzo Bible Study. It is through it that we learn a lot of things that we just don't get from reading the bible. I have always appreciated the generosity of our teachers to impart and share to us their knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus and more. The more here stands for a lot of things like the in between the lines and behind the scenes scenarios that I would have never known but have come to learn about it, that I will forever be grateful of. No matter what situation there is around us, there is only one thing required of us. That is to fully decide for and stand by what God wants us to do. It may be difficult and not in accordance to this world's standard causing you to look queer and different but if it's God's will then it must be the best. God is good and God really provides. I would also like to quote what is written in the Kerygma reflection I read. "Let us seek to imitate this all-or-nothing attitude of Jesus in the way we follow Him as His disciples. Let us live for excellence in obedience to God’s will and never be willing to settle for second best!" We all have a mission in life that we have to fulfill when we were born here on earth. The Baltimore Catechism explains it to us in simple terms. God made us to show forth His goodness and to share with us His everlasting happiness in heaven. To gain the happiness of heaven we must know, love, and serve God in this world. We learn to know, love, and serve God from Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who teaches us through the Catholic Church. In today's gospel, Jesus is full of zeal to accomplish what God has sent Him to do without regard for the manner it is to be carried out. He is detached from the things of this world and is on fire with passion to fulfill God's mission. Sometimes we, too become so restless when we know that there are things we ought to do but haven't done them. Somehow we know this feeling and could very well relate to it. The only difference lies in this question, what are the things we want to accomplish. It would help to consider this powerful statement from Companion which says, THINK: The best way to honor the Lord is by living according to His plan and promoting the Gospel in all that we say and do. In addition to this, is the reflection question from Sabbath. Do you get going even when the going gets rough? Do you find company in the Lord during these times? Do you accept challenges as opportunities to prove your faith in God? By Your grace, Lord, let me not compromise my faith when life gets tough. You are my strength and my shield. Amen. Hallelujah!

                     

Luke 12:49-53

49 Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! 50 There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.