LIVE EACH DAY FOR JESUS

How we live our life in each passing day is a testimony of how we follow the will of God in our lives. There is a need to constantly and regularly connect to God everything that we do. If we make a conscious effort to do this everyday then we'll surely find it easier to obey the things that God wants us to do and be more sensitive in knowing the will of God in our lives. If we will just honestly and sincerely seek God then we will surely find Him. As we do this we will eventually discover a lot of things that we need to know in order to live our faith in accordance to God's will and be able to overcome all trials and difficulties that come our way.  It is really important that we know and follow the instructions of God as in today's 1st reading when God rained down bread from heaven and tested whether the Israelites will follow or not. In the same way when we, like the Israelites believe after witnessing in our lives God's Almighty Power to provide for our need but sometimes still fail to follow instructions given to us by God through the Church and insist on our own perverted thoughts and beliefs. It is our duty to know more about our faith and follow what it teaches us through the Catholic Church. Amen. Hallelujah!

Exodus 16:1-5. 9-15

... “I will now rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not...“This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.”

The Lord has already given us everything we need but we still crave for something else. We sometimes doubt and question God's ability to get us through it all. We tend to resort to means that is of our own and not of God.  Our rationalizing mind gets the better in us when we exclude in the equation the awesome truth of who really God is and what He is capable of doing in our life. Today’s psalm tells us not to forget the works of the Lord. What better way to do that than to keep our eyes focused on the price that God paid for us on the cross and the eternal benefits it has brought upon us. In order to attain this we need to constantly listen to the teachings of the Church. We have to familiarize ourselves to the words of God in scriptures and the mysteries they hold. We have seen and witnessed so much already to even doubt God's goodness. We hope and pray that we will always remember and never forget. Our minds are limited and can not comprehend beyond what can be explained by reason. God gave up His only begotten Son, Jesus and allowed Him to be sacrificed on the cross. This could never be explained by our logical and rational minds especially if we are parents ourselves and have only one child. Who would give up an only child to die a cruel and humiliating death for the sake of another and sinners at that? But God did that and the only reason is His immeasurable and unfathomable love for all of us. Today's psalm teaches a very important lesson and guideline that we should always live by. If we want to maintain our strength and not be susceptible to captivity in the hands of the enemy then we should always remember and not forget the wonderful things that God has done to us. This makes sense because God's works are holy and perfect we can surely rely on it for everything. When the Israelites decided to follow Moses when they were led out of Egypt to the Promised Land and traveled a long time through the desert they discovered that it was not an easy but a wearying and tedious journey. In the same way when we travel through life we encounter challenges that sometimes drive us to despair. However, we can draw inspiration from the readings today. Just like the Israelites we should always have the hope of a new and better life and be assured of the fact that with God on our side we will never be defeated in battle, nor will we be allowed to starve and be fed with bread from heaven. We easily forget things and become preoccupied with so many other things. This happens to most of us and we tend to neglect what is truly essential. Let us not focus on the lesser things but on what should dominate our consciousness and awareness. We should always be alert and not easily distracted and dissuaded by what is going on around us. Nowadays, we tend to just rely on our own strength and understanding because we are living in a very materialistic and advanced world and forget what's most important is to focus on how God can be fully at work in our lives. We have seen and witnessed so much already to even doubt God's goodness. We hope and pray that we will always remember and never forget the works of the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!

P S A L M

Psalm 78:18-19. 23-24. 25-26. 27-28

R: The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

18 They tempted God in their hearts by demanding the food they craved. Yes, they spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the desert?” R. Yet he commanded the skies above and the doors of heaven he opened; He rained manna upon them for food

and gave them heavenly bread. R. Man ate the bread of angels, food he sent them in abundance. He stirred up the east wind in the heavens, and by his power brought on the south wind. R. And he rained meat upon them like dust, and, like the sand of the sea, winged fowl, Which fell in the midst of their camp round about their tents. R.

May we all have a transforming experience all the days of our lives brought and effected by the truth of the victory of Jesus' Resurrection from the dead. Jesus has taken away the obstacle and hindrance for us to enter into new life with Him by His resurrection. Let us not forfeit this benefit and truly believe with the heart and soul of our faith. It seems impossible for somebody to rise from the dead that is why Mary of Magdala got confused despite her being able to witness with her own very eyes the many wonders that Jesus did when He was still with them. There are some instances when we just can't get it. But we should never doubt the truth that God is all powerful and able to do beyond our imagination even though at times we fail to grasp the meaning of some things happening in our lives. Through His resurrection we are able to enter into new life with Him. I can still remember very vividly what Fr. James de Souza preached when I attended his seminar way back in the Philippines more than 20 years ago when the gospel for today was the focus of his teaching. He commended St. John for being the most intimate and affectionate to Jesus. From that time on, I always have this constant hope and prayer that I will grow more daily into that overwhelmingly deep affection of St. John for Jesus to always see and believe Him in order to run and go to Him first. John is the only apostle who did not leave Christ and stayed beside Him all the way to the foot of the cross. He was also the beloved apostle who rested his head at the chest of Jesus during the last supper.  It is him who Jesus entrusted His mother with at the foot of the cross. This bible passage from today's gospel has left a remarkable impression in my memory. He ran as fast he could to be closest to the Lord. It made me think of our attitude towards God. Do we also have the same enthusiasm and fervor as John? And yet he still hesitated and got a hold of such strong emotions and still acted accordingly as dictated by the virtue of prudence. He was full of love and devotion for the Lord but he did not let it get in the way or disrupt the proper order of things that needs to be followed.  He outran Peter in the rush to the tomb where Jesus was buried, but he let the more superior leader of the Twelve enter the tomb first. We can follow the example of St. John’s humble deferment to someone higher, his self-sacrificing and humble disposition vis-à-vis seniority. We should learn from him in the way he conducted himself in such situations, full of love and abounding in grace. He definitely acted the right thing at the right time in all the right places. We should focus and hold on to things that are from heaven above rather than the things of this world. We cling to temporary and material things without realizing that what matters most is the permanent or the gift of eternal life. Mary of Magdala was a woman of the world but she was restless until she found Jesus. The same way with us, we could be experiencing some unexplainable emotions that make us anxious but if we continue to see and experience God in our lives then we are always assured that we are never alone and He will always be with us. All we have to do is follow the example of Mary Magdalene by making a complete turn (180 degrees) from our old ways and decide for Jesus. Let us get this straight, apart from God we are nothing.  We must be able to connect, completely trust and surrender to God every single aspect about us especially those that we are strongly holding on to and consider very important and vital in our lives. We may be clinging on to something for the wrong reasons. Our motivation and underlying reasons whether evident or not should always have something to do with God. Whether it is a minor or major thing it is always wise to align it to God. Our wills should no longer be our own but of God our Father. Let us keep in mind that no matter how imperfect and unlimited our capacities and capabilities are for as long as we put God first in everything we say, think or do in the midst of trials and difficulties then we can surely experience God's resurrection. We have dreams, desires and longings that drive us to action. We sometimes get stuck with the idea that life here on earth is all there is to it. We must look on and move forward to the one ultimate goal that can make all things perfect and beautiful. It is important that we all come to the realization that the fullness of all things is in heaven. Mary Magdalene was in deep grief. She is one of the witnesses that stood by the cross, watched and observed Jesus died and laid in the tomb. Mary was not focused on the resurrection and did not recognize Jesus. Her mind was focused on her assumption that someone has taken Jesus’ body. Whenever we are gripped by grief, anxiety or any strong emotion it has a way of obscuring our vision of God and blinds us from seeing His blessing or presence. When we encounter moments when we are on the verge of weeping and depression we can always remind ourselves that it doesn’t help at all rather we have to stay calm. She did not expect the resurrection, only in the calling of her name that she recognized Jesus. She was warned by Jesus not to cling or hold on because she is being sent to spread the word as Greeks refer to her as the female apostle to the Apostles. She did as she was told, went and announced to the disciples that they too believed and came to faith. Thinking about these things is like we are being given a picture and scenario to broaden our perspective and understanding of the things that are happening in our life. Learn from the experience, be imaginative and creative for better appreciation of the Word of God as we reflect on it. Amen. Hallelujah!

John 20:1-2. 11-18

1 On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”

...Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her.