ST. JUDE & ENGR. JUDE

Hannah reminds me a lot of myself when I was pregnant with my son, Jude. And in the same way, Eli reminds me of St. Jude Thaddeus. Just like Hannah I was weeping and praying before the Lord for the life of my unborn son. I religiously attended the novenas of St Jude in Mendiola near Malacanang Palace. And again just like Hannah I also made a promise. I prayed to God that if he will be gracious to me through my child I will name him after St. Jude if he will come out as male, since I have asked him to intercede for me in prayers.  God indeed answered my prayer since I gave birth to a healthy and normal baby boy. What's most interesting is that I went past my due date for several days and his birth fell on a Thursday which is the day of devotion for St. Jude in the Philippines. There was a foreword in Companion written about today's 1st reading which says: "Hannah places her situation before the Lord and Eli also prays for her. She ultimately conceives a son. It was not God’s plan that she remains barren. She need not have worried about her situation. And what a son will be born to her — one of the greatest of the Old Testament seers and guides of Israel. Samuel will become not just a blessing for Hannah but all the people of Israel." It has been 24 years since then and the Lord continues to bless my son, Jude. He graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering in De LaSalle University and is now presently working as a Process Development Engineer. I continue to hope and pray that someday my son, Jude will be just like Samuel as he become the person God has meant him to be. Sometimes we wonder why God is not answering our prayers in the way we wanted or expected things to happen. Today's 1st reading could make us think why some people end up doing things differently and unexpectedly the way we would normally do. Who would have done or even thought of doing what Hannah just did. When she prayed for a child, God granted her prayer and gifted her with a son, Samuel but she ended up offering him back to the Lord and left him in the temple. If we will just look at the narrow picture of this event then we might miss what Hannah was able to see and understand. We may not fully comprehend what life may bring us but we can always learn a lesson from this great woman in the bible who was able to overcome the natural tendencies of this world and did what is most pleasing to God. We should examine ourselves if we will be able to respond to the blessing or favor granted in the way Hannah in today's 1st reading responded. Sometimes we regard God in the way that will best suit our needs and desires we fail to see the unbounded goodness of God that is not limited to the specific request we are praying for. Hannah's gratitude to God exceeds the desire for what she prayed for. We could learn from this kind of attitude especially when we are praying to God for something to come or happen. In the story we found out that she was asking for a son and when God granted her prayer she gave it back to God. Where's the logic there? She should not have asked in the first place we may think. We're missing the point here if we think of it this way. Hannah teaches us to attach to God more than anything else. We must learn the art of detachment to all but God. In praying to God she acknowledged that God is generous, powerful, loving and will always provide what is best for us. She knew from the very beginning that we can never out give God. In giving back to God she ultimately learned the art of letting go of even our greatest desires to give honor to God. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Samuel 1:9-20

9 Hannah rose after one such meal at Shiloh, and presented herself before the LORD; at the time, Eli the priest was sitting on a chair near the doorpost of the LORD’s temple. 10 In her bitterness she prayed to the LORD, weeping copiously, 11 and she made a vow, promising, “O LORD of hosts, if you look with pity on the misery of your handmaid, if you remember me and do not forget me, if you give your handmaid a male child, I will give him to the LORD for as long as he lives; neither wine nor liquor shall he drink, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”...Eli said, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” 18 She replied, “Think kindly of your maidservant,” and left...the LORD remembered her. 20 She conceived, and at the end of her term bore a son whom she called Samuel, since she had asked the LORD for him.

I love this prayer that I got from an email it says, "Stars do not struggle to shine; rivers do not struggle to flow, and you will never struggle to excel in life because you deserve the best. Hold on to your dreams and it shall be well with you. Amen." We simply have to keep on trusting that God will do for us what He has promised and said that He would do.

There is nowhere to go but to God. If we are confident in God's Divine Providence and constantly and consistently pray for God's guidance and protection and decide to act at all times for His greater glory then there is nothing that should ever make us want for anything for God is in control, He provides for all our needs and knows what's best for us. God calls the shots. In other words there is no use arguing or going against an All Knowing, Powerful, Holy, Merciful and Loving God. Do we still dare to contradict such a God whose steadfast love for us extends to the heavens? There is no use resisting His love. We just have to give our heart totally in return. We all have plans and we sometimes are caught unaware or worst end up disappointed when things do not come out the way we expected it. We should never lose heart because God can always turn anything into a blessing. Whatever plans we have in life it is best to surrender and offer them up first to the Lord knowing that we're better off that way. When everything is said and done we can claim what is stated in today's psalm for as long as we trusted the Lord's words to us against all odds. Nobody can really ever fully understand the wisdom and the ways of God. It is mind blowing and unimaginable. There is really nothing that God will not do for us if it's for our ultimate good. Therefore, we should continue to proclaim, "What an awesome God we have!" Amen. Hallelujah

1 Samuel 2:1. 4-5. 6-7. 8abcd

R: My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.

...I have swallowed up my enemies; I rejoice in my victory.” (R) 4 “The bows of the mighty are broken, while the tottering gird on strength. 5 The well-fed hire themselves out for bread, while the hungry batten on spoil. The barren wife bears seven sons, while the mother of many languishes.” (R) 6 “The LORD puts to death and gives life; he casts down to the nether world; he raises up again. 7 The LORD makes poor and makes rich, he humbles, he also exalts.” (R) 8 He raises the needy from the dust; from the ash heap he lifts up the poor, To seat them with nobles and make a glorious throne their heritage.”

We find that the word teaching is used twice in today’s gospel. From this we draw emphasis on the fact that Jesus is a teacher. We know that the Jews have rabbis and whenever one states a particular teaching it is common practice to give reference to one as source of authority. But Jesus teaches in a different way. He conveys a new teaching and teaches with authority. His words are straight forward and without reference to anyone else but Himself for He is authority. His message is to repent and believe which is a fulfillment of the Old Testament. There are 2 things that are classic to authority first it is confrontational and second it is a defense. An example of this is when Jesus drove out an evil spirit. He demonstrated His authority through the exorcism. He said something and proved it with His actions. When Jesus said the Kingdom of heaven is at hand it is to confront and destroy the kingdom of darkness and sin. The confrontation is a violent one just as Jesus commands the evil spirit to be quiet and come out of the possessed person.  But the evil spirit as a form of defense responded by saying, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? ? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!”   This is a strategy of the inferior to show control and put responsibility to the superior. The demon also recognized Jesus as the Holy One but it has no authority. It may know His name but it has no control for God is stronger than the one that is in the world. One of the reasons they possess people is to distort the image and likeness of God. The evil one’s last ditch effort can be seen in the fact that he is telling Jesus that he knows Him to try to wield control but he has no power.  We have to keep this in mind always. The evil one will always assert authority in our lives and confront us with what he knows about us. We need to read and know the gospels because they are authoritative words. In doing so we become filled with His authority and by His authority we help bring the world to God. This we have to remind ourselves and do many times and over and over again. Jesus is up and above everything and nothing is beyond His power. Thus our faith in Jesus should also go beyond our recognition and amazement of Him but rather go further than what the unclean spirit and the onlookers did. We should all lead a life which testifies to God's greatness. God is the Supreme authority over all things and we as His faithful followers have the same power in our hands all in accordance to His great love and care for all of us. There is really no doubt that God is the only Power that we need and will ever need. Let us not be left behind in claiming these truths in our life since even the unclean spirits themselves can not deny it, how much more, us Christians who proclaim loyalty and faithfulness to our God? Let us be challenged to make a difference. There are always two sides of a pole. It's either we go one way or the other. Today's readings have been very clear on who we really are. The most precious creature that God ever made. Do we know who we are? It is up to us to live up to who God made us to be or not. The choice is ours to make. Amen. Hallelujah!

Mark 1:21-28

Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, and on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. 23 In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; 24 he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!” 25 Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” 26 The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. 27 All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” 28 His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.