Sis Pat Pua shared to me before about an experience she had
way back in the Philippines
when she wasn't in the Charismatic Renewal yet. She said she was at that time
still grieving over the loss of her mother and adjusting to married life and
relocation to the hometown of her husband. She said that during her time of
grief she had a vision of her dead mother wearing a brown habit and clothes
like that of St. Anthony of Padua .
I learned from a talk a long time ago when I was still new in the Renewal about
the spiritual war which could be found in Ephesians 6:10-20. The presence of the
spiritual army of evil in the heavens could take the form of dead loved ones or
even be disguised as holy and divine. Those spirits could take advantage of the
present state a person is in which could be grief and be used against him/her.
There is really a need to always anchor ourselves firmly to God and not be
easily deceived which is exactly what Paul is telling and warning us in today's
1st reading. Another incident that I am reminded of from today’s 1st
reading is the day that marks my anniversary year here in the US . It so happened that at that
time I was exactly on my 3rd year and it mentioned this phrase, “…remember
that for three years, night and day.”
Looking back at all those years, I must say that I will never forget
every single day and night of it. Even if I do, I can resort to my personal
journal or reflections which I have started in 2007. The experiences I have
been through, brought my faith to depths, heights and lengths that I never
could have thought or imagined possible up to this very day. Amen. Hallelujah!
Acts 20:28-38
...savage wolves will come among you, and they will not
spare the flock. 30 And from your own group, men will come forward perverting
the truth to draw the disciples away after them. 31 So be vigilant and remember
that for three years, night and day,...
I grew up without a father because he died when I was barely
3 years old. My nanay (mother) was the only one who practically raised us up
when we were still very young then. With all that we've been through, I can never
ask God for more, for He was with us every step of the way just as nanay had
said and believed when she was still living always emphasizing God's special
care to orphans and widows. This should remind us why we must always be hopeful
in His divine providence. Aren't we all blessed to have a God and Father who is
our Savior and Redeemer. There are still more to be thankful about and it made
me realize that if we will only be focusing more on the goodness and blessings
that God send our way then there is really no more reason for us to be afraid
or be discouraged. There is no doubt that God will always come to our rescue
and will never forsake nor abandon. We all go through different situations and
circumstances in life. Some of them do not make any sense. if we fail to
acknowledge the power of God moving in it. There are numerous things that we
can think, focus and decide on but there’s only one thing I am sure of. We’ve
got to acknowledge that God’s power remains to be above all things no matter
what it may seem to be. These experiences we have been through should bring our
faith to greater depths, heights and lengths that we never could have thought
or imagined possible. We can associate today's psalm with the first beatitude
which is, "Blessed are they who are poor in spirit theirs is the kingdom of God
In our Catholicism study in St. Martha the speaker cited an
example why we Catholics look up highly and venerate Mama Mary. He took
Monalisa the famous and considered one of the masterpieces if not the greatest
work of art of Leonardo Da Vinci. He said that Mama Mary is a reflection of
God's greatness and His greatest masterpiece or creation. He explained further
by citing another example of the moon getting its brightness from the sun.
That's the true basis of Mary's greatness that some people even us Catholics do
not realize so well. Our veneration and devotion to Mary is a way of
worshipping God since we confess to the power of God manifested in the Blessed
Mother. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 68:29-30, 33-35a, 35bc-36ab
R: Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
28 [29] Show forth, O God, your power. the power, O God,
with which you took our part; 29 [30] for your temple in Jerusalem let the kings bring you gifts. (R)
32 [33] You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, chant praise to the Lord 33
[34] who rides on the heights of the ancient heavens.
We can not discount the fact that evil is lurking in this
world and temptations never stop to assail us. Remember that Satan is the
father of lies and have gone to a great extent to lure people to his malice and
schemes. It is evident how we see the world has become today. We tend to change
loyalty and be convinced of the intricate and elaborate strategy of the enemy.
He just doesn’t take things sitting down. He is definitely at work and should
never be underestimated. We already have the victory in our hands but sometimes
we just let it slip by. We’ve got to learn more and more from Jesus and know
who is Master of our lives. Jesus is the hallmark sign of humility. He is
obedient to the Father’s plan to the point of suffering and death. It went as
far as taking up the cross for our salvation. As scriptures say, “Learn from me
for I am meek and humble of heart.” St.
Augustine said that Jesus did not say, learn from me
to do wonders and miracles, heal the sick, cast out devils, raise the dead but
learn of me to be meek and humble of heart. God doesn’t expect the great signs,
wonders and deeds. He does expect meekness and humility from us. Meekness is
the virtue that moderates anger. Humility is so powerfully a Christian virtue
and not as the pagan philosophers believe it to be. It is thinking that God
alone is good and the source of all goodness. He distributes His gifts to all
of us and is the goodness in all that we see. From this point of view we can say
that to sin is being envious of God. When we sin it means we are jealous of
God. It is our will, thinking and the intellect that primarily decides. It is the appetite of the will that keep us
from the moderate striving to reach our goal. We can cross the line from being
the creature and the creator and try to procreate the things that belong to
God. St. Paul
says, that whatever we do, we do it for the name of the Lord. We do it because
He directs, guides and inspires us to do it for His honor and glory and not our
own We have to be void of pride and vain glory. We must not pride and delight
in ourselves of any good deed that the Lord worked through us. Rather what we
own and what is truly ours is our vices and sin. Beware of the wisdom of the
world to have more and more. Jesus tells us to stop running after things and be
anxious about them and always speaking about them. We ought to speak of the Kingdom of God
Jn 17:11b-19
...I do not ask that
you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one...
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