Today’s 1st reading suddenly reminded me of Mommy
Clare. She is a Senior Citizen in St. Martha’s Church whom I have already
considered one of my spiritual mothers. Almost 6 years ago, I was spared from
getting into trouble because of her intervention. She was instrumental in
paving the way for something very important that was accomplished which I could
never forget for the rest of my life. I really miss those times when we used to
spend the entire day together and have lengthy discussion about a lot of things
which is always leading to God. It felt like there was no end to it once we
started talking about the mighty and wonderful things the Lord has done in our
lives just as God has done thousands of years ago when He delivered the
Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians. He is indeed the same God
yesterday, today and tomorrow. Amen. Hallelujah!
Exodus 3:13-20
...‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me and said I am concerned about you and about
the way you are being treated in Egypt; 17 so I have decided to lead you up out
of the misery of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites,
Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.’...
There is a lot to learn from the life of Joseph especially
the part when he kept on with his faith in God when he became a slave and was
almost driven to despair when he was tormented by a lot of trials during that
time. All we need to keep in mind is that our time will come and all we have to
do is just continue to trust God in His goodness and mercy and never let go of
our faith. Just imagine what Joseph had to go through. We will never know of
the physical torture and demand of being a slave nowadays. Thanks to God that
slaves are already a thing of the past and no longer existent in today's world.
But more than anything else is the mental torture of the fact that he was well
loved by his father and would have not been in this kind of situation if his
brothers had not done such a horrible and unfair thing to him. If it were us
and not Joseph who had fallen into this kind of fate we could have responded
and reacted to this situation differently. Are these words familiar to us? I do
not deserve to be treated this way. I did not do anything bad for God to punish
me like this, as if God is a tyrant that is ready to strike us with every wrong
move. Why me and not the others who are a lot more sinful than I am. And all
these kind of things that we say without much thought. If we are to look at the
life of Joseph very closely we would discover that he never let go of his faith
in God despite the seemingly desperate and hopeless situation he went through.
He remained firm in his faith and continued to trust in the word of the Lord. Joseph
was tested and found to be true. In our own lives, we too are called to prove
ourselves worthy before the Lord in order for all of the blessings to flow
freely without any block or hindrance. We don't expect a mango fruit if we
planted a banana tree. It is pretty much the same with our lives. If we strive
to live up to the expectations of a child of the Lord by giving Him honor and
praise then we will surely be not disappointed with the outcome. For God
inhabits the praises of His people. Although we have a tendency to forget or
become out of focus since we are surrounded in this world we are in by elements
most especially the physical ones that make us more inclined to pursue worldly things.
We become sidetracked or worse completely off track of the path where God is
leading us. Let us live every single day of our life conscious of the wonderful
truth that we are God's people and He has made a covenant with us. Almost
everybody knows this famous Christian song from kindergarten, “Father Abraham
has many children, some of them are small, some of them are tall, all of them
are beautiful...” We remain beautiful as long as we keep God's covenant and
remain obedient and faithful to God. He is the reason for everything and the
source of all good things. Sometimes morbid thoughts enter into our mind and
immediately we'd think that it is always the devil who does it but whether it
is true or not this thought could be a wake up call and reminder that in worst
case scenarios or life and death situations there is always a God ready to help
us at any time. All we have to do is call on Him. It is indeed good advice to
always look intently on God and find all the joys waiting for us. There is
really no doubt that we need to further explore, know and understand about our
faith. In doing so we have to constantly look to the Lord, seek Him and recall
His goodness. Jesus' name is undeniably powerful and beyond measure. Its worth
is more than all the riches we can gain in this world. There is really nothing
we can find even if we search far and wide, high and low more than what the
Lord can offer.
We could go on and on with so many options we are confronted
with daily in our lives. There is an endless list of "To Do Things"
but what comes first and last is always dependent on our priorities. In
deciding on our priorities we have to always involve God in all the things
happening around us. We would be so glad
to discover that as we place Him in the center of our heart, body and soul He never
fails in guiding and directing us. If we live by the word of God which is
perfect and remains forever then nothing could go wrong. Our hearts will abound
with joy and gladness. There is indeed great power in the name of Jesus. He is
worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. Every single day we are confronted with
so many challenges in life and we have to be always hopeful that the
fulfillment of everything that we have been praying for has come. We should
believe that whatever delays or setbacks we are encountering serve as lessons
to be learned that benefit our spiritual journey with Jesus. There is a need to
go through the different seasons throughout the year for there is indeed a time
and a season for everything. Thus, 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 despite of it all God’s power remains to be above all
things no matter what it may seem to be. We should always keep in mind all the
wonderful things He has done for us. The Lord will never forsake nor abandon
us. In the midst of all the turmoil we inevitably face in our daily lives may
we remain hopeful in the Lord who is Almighty, provides for all means and
prevails now and forever. Whenever we experience difficulties in life we tend
to question God right away and somehow blame Him for what came upon us. Sometimes
we come to a point in our lives when we tend to question the will of God in our
lives. I have plans and you have plans but sometimes things do not fall into
place and ask why things happened the way it did and not the way we planned and
expected. We just need to always remember the marvels the Lord has done and
always hold on to it. If we live by the word of God which is perfect and
remains forever then nothing could go wrong. There is really nothing we can
find even if we search far and wide, high and low more than what the Lord can
offer. We may have experienced a situation in our life when we encountered a
lot of trials and difficulties. Just when we're about to give up and lose hope,
suddenly we came across a particular incident or inspiration that perfectly
fits or matches our specific problem which gave us this hope and feeling that
God knows exactly what we're going through and promises to see us through it.
The Lord is telling us is in today's psalm and assures us that He remembers
what He has promised and will surely bring about what He said to us that He
would do. If God remembers, so must we. Our hearts will abound with joy and
gladness as we further explore, know and understand about our faith. In doing
so we have to constantly look to the Lord, seek Him, recall His goodness, keep
our spirits up and make our hearts rejoice like what today's psalm is telling
us about. Amen. Hallelujah!
P S A L M
Psalm 105:1 and 5. 8-9. 24-25. 26-27
R: The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
1 Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among
the nations his deeds. 5 Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought, his
portents, and the judgments he has uttered. R. He remembers forever his
covenant which he made binding for a thousand generations— Which he entered
into with Abraham and by his oath to Isaac. R. He greatly increased his people
and made them stronger than their foes, Whose hearts he changed, so that they
hated his people, and dealt deceitfully with his servants. R. He sent Moses his
servant; Aaron, whom he had chosen. They wrought his signs among them,
and wonders in the land of Ham
As we continue the
process of living, dying and the hope of resurrecting, we the church of God 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. We have only one Master and Lord, Jesus
Christ. It will save us great pain and suffering if we follow and obey Him.
There is no other way, truth and life but Him. It's inevitable that we travel
through life and take the journey but to choose to travel with or without Him
makes all the difference. It is the wisest thing to do if we choose to be with
Him althroughout for His burden is easy and yoke is light. Be wise. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Matthew 11:28-30
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.”
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