The Lord has spoken so many times about His everlasting love and devotion to
us. If we are always focused on this then we will surely emerge victorious in
all our battles in this life. God knows each one of us in a very special way
even before we were born. This truth should make us realize that none of us
came to life by accident or chance. We have all been called for a mission and a
purpose in life. If we live life embracing this truth at all times then we can
be assured that our Creator and God who is a loving Father to all of us would
see us through whatever it is that we are going through right now. There are
times when we wonder how we ever get to certain situations in our life and
where we are right now. Sometimes we just couldn’t put it together or quite
amazed how it all came to be. Being in a foreign land like the US it
feels good to uphold and promote our Filipino values and legacy. If you were born a Filipino then I am sure
God has deemed it best that you become one. Lift your head up high, be proud of
being one and strive to become the best there is. God has called each one of us
from the moment we were conceived in our
mother's womb not only by name but by race. The bottom line here is the fact
that God will never put us through something without seeing us through it. It
is also a consolation to know that every step we make that we have consulted
and offered to God in prayers is well supported and assured by today’s 1st
reading. Our knowledge of God is very important. We should strive to attain a
personal knowledge/relationship of God and His attributes. Hesed is Hebrew for
loving kindness. (In Hos 5:4 it is written, Their deeds do not allow them to return to their God; for the spirit of
prostitution is in them, and they do not know the LORD.) There is no true
"Hesed" without knowledge which is wisdom or true intelligence as not
only the world sees and knows of but is interwoven with life experiences.
Knowledge here is more of deep spousal knowledge akin to marital union of 2
individuals becoming one. True union of no secrets, shared joy and sorrows as
well as oneness of both bodies and souls. Love making (not sex) is a good example
of this. (Gen 2:24 "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and
clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.") Even Jesus in
Mk 2:19-20 compared Himself to a bridegroom. In Ephesians 5: 23-24 Jesus
compares His eternal love for the Church as the love of a husband for his wife.
See also Lk 1:34 when Mary said,"I have no knowledge of a man." and
Jer.1:5 "...before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." This
knowledge is encompassing and strives to reach the height and depth of God's unfathomable
love. God knows each one of us in a very special way even before we were born.
This truth should make us realize that none of us came to life by accident or
chance. We have all been called for a mission and a purpose in life. If we live
life embracing this truth at all times then we can be assured that our Creator
and God who is a loving Father to all of us would see us through whatever it is
that we are going through right now. The unborn is impressed in my heart today
as I read the scriptures and prayed for them in a special way.
For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want.
Romans 7:19 Fr. Dennis gave us a sensible answer as to why St. Paul in his letter to the Romans said
this. With the recent violent killings and crimes being committed that doesn't
seem to make sense we may want to consider why some people resort to such
things and where it all began. Here's an answer, (just one to the so many
answers we can come up with): inside the womb of a woman where a child is conceived
and everything is being planted. Pregnant ladies and soon to be mothers can
benefit from this and should very well take note of the following. 1. Our very
source is God and He is good as stated in Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in
the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you,a prophet to the
nations I appointed you. Isaiah 49:1-6
...The LORD called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he
gave me my name. 2 He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the
shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. 3 You
are my servant, he said to me, Israel,
through whom I show my glory. 4 Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for
nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, yet my reward is with the LORD, my
recompense is with my God. 5 For now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his
servant from the womb,...
But during formation of a child in the womb the flaws and
imperfections in a person arise. Everything we've become is a by product of
what a mother plants in her child while inside the womb. It is the plant love,
hate etc and reap love, hate etc formula. A woman once asked Father why her
child became a kleptomaniac and she was asked to recall her pregnancy and
remembered how she used to love getting things that are color red without
permission. We may not be aware of it but this is where we acquire the
wounds of our soul. What you sow or plant is what you reap. Formation of a
person starts inside the womb and is the foundation of every human person. It's
just like a building if constructed with a weak foundation may crumble and fall
and a tree can be uprooted very easily if the roots are not strong. . 2. Our
guide and solution is to look at the attitude of Mary who is the 1st educator
of Jesus who is conceived in her womb.
We may now say that the missing link is the formation in the womb.
The woundedness of our souls started while we were being formed in the womb. It
becomes a weakness and if left unattended and cared for becomes a wickedness
and could lead to death of our souls. An example is an unwanted child, it
creates wounds in the soul in order to heal we need to realize that we come
from God and know that we are welcome and wanted by God. We must realize that
whatever behavior or attitude we have it is not who we are. If we see some
imperfections and wounds in ourselves that does not seem to conform with a
God/Creator who is all good and perfect then it's not God who made us that way.
People have different attitudes and behavior but let us not lose sight of this,
we are created in God's image and likeness. Let us remove all confusions.
People may think that we are created to be the way we are. We must not forget
that God does not create us to do things that are against His will. When our
1st parents sinned we have acquired concupiscence or tendency to sin but we
must not forget that Jesus redeemed us from sin. It is right to say that we are
saved, and as we continue to be part of this world then we are continuously
being saved and needs to cooperate with the saving grace of Jesus. We can't
deny the presence of sin in this world. We need Jesus in order to overcome sin.
Whatever we did in the past or are still doing now that does not conform to
God's image and likeness we can always live a new life with Jesus. Blessed
Mother Mary, pray for us. Jesus, King of Divine Mercy, we trust in you.
Amen
Here's a prayer that I got from Father Pavone's Pro-Life Rosary meditations.
O Father in Heaven You are the Creator of Life.
Protect all expectant mothers and the babies they carry in their wombs. We pray that those who suffer from the evils of abortion will be open to Your Infinite Mercy and Love. We ask for the conversion of all who fail to respect the gift of human life. Heavenly Father guide our actions to help restore in the hearts of all people, the sanctity of human life. Amen.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph
I love you very much
I beg you to spare the life of the unborn child that I have spiritually adopted who is in danger of abortion.
Mary, Mother of the Unborn protect them.
Jeremiah 1: 1, 4-10
4 The word of the LORD came to me thus: 5 Before I formed
you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to
the nations I appointed you. To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I
command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them, because I am with you
to deliver you, says the LORD.
Let us not forget that our bodies are God's temple and we
should make an effort of maintaining our health at its prime, so that just like
Samson we can have the strength to hurdle whatever is coming our way. There are
many things that we don't understand especially the things that happen to us.
We can always choose to trust that it comes from God. We are His beloved son or
daughter with an awareness that God is fathering us and has brought us into a
family. We should have a childlike fearlessness that we can appropriate and
exercise as we trust God who never fails. In God we find the most secure and
safest shelter. If we will always fill our hearts with gratitude and praise for
God we will realize as we look back and recall that we really have a lot of
things to be thankful to God. Let us proclaim God's goodness and mercy. Our God
is incomparable for He loves us with a love greater than any other. In God we
find the most secure and safest shelter. Let us constantly build our confidence
in God who never fails. There is really nowhere else to go but to Him alone. By
just looking back at our past and present we can only come up with just one
thing which is God is constantly at work and in charge of our lives for as long
as we live. The mention of being called even from a mother’s womb, is one of
the symbols of God’s words. The Word that reaches to the ends of the earth,
penetrates the hearts of people and able to separate soul and spirit. It should be our duty to spread God’s Word.
Evangelization is defined with a very broad meaning and although preaching is
its core there's more to it than just that. It is crucial that we reflect the
values of Jesus. There is the so called "Equipping the Saints". We
need to go through a process to achieve this. We process information in the
mind, it is mind centered since it is a quest for knowledge. Formation is soul
centered, it is a quest for wisdom and go through it by making decisions in the
heart. Transformation is the meeting of mind and soul since it is a quest for
spirituality. Propagation is the fullness of mind, body and soul resulting to
authentic and meaningful faith in action. It is sometimes called
Evangelization. The Balloon Story tells us of a child who saw balloons of
different colors rising up in the sky. The child exclaimed how beautiful it
looked up there with all the different colors. An old man told the child that
it's not the colors that makes the balloons rise up but what's inside of it. As
we become formed and equipped for evangelization we become Good messengers of
the Good News. Furthermore, we need to differentiate between good and great
leaders. A good leader when the company
is doing good, is one who faces the mirror and look back at the reason why the
company is doing well but looks out of the window and to others when the
company is performing bad. On the other hand, a great leader is one who looks
out of the window and point to others as the reason why the company is doing
well but when things are bad, looks at himself and ask what he can do to help.
Jesus is a great leader because when things got really bad for humankind, He
did not point any finger but instead came as man and redeemed us all.
Evangelization should work towards making humanity whole again and free men and
women from things that hinder them from being whole again. We should treasure
the salvation that Jesus has given us. Do away with sin that makes us broken.
Avoid not just sin but the occasions of sin.
When we speak of the 5th commandment which is, "Thou shall not
kill" there is an unwritten command too, that we need to be peacemakers.
There is no peace without justice. We need to fight injustice and unjust
structures.
The Principles of Catholic Evangelization
1. Live the gospel-use words only when necessary. Walk the talk
2. Challenge others by one's example and lifestyle
3. Uphold true values. People first than profit. Embrace peace and justice. A Capitalist value works differently, it upholds profit at all cost.
4. Open our hearts to the saving power of God. From a distance foolishness and wisdom look alike but if we come closer we'll find that foolishness is an open mouth and wisdom is an open mind. In evangelization we need to approach it in a manner of discovery with an element of surprise rather than deciding which means we already have an idea of it. In discovery, God brought us to where we are although not fully revealing but trusting. We discover God and the wonders of His wisdom.
5. Build community
6. Identify and really call injustice as injustice. Accept and handle the truth. Sometimes the closer we are to power the farther we become to truth.
7. Work for a better society. Life is a gift from God but what we make of it is our gift to God. Amen. Hallelujah!
R. (see 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your justice rescue me, and deliver me; incline your ear to me, and save me…3 Be my rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety, for you are my rock and my fortress. 4 O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked. (R) 5 For you are my hope, O Lord; my trust, O God, from my youth. 6 On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength. (R) 16 I will treat of the mighty works of the LORD; O God, I will tell of your singular justice. 17 O God, you have taught me from my youth, and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your justice rescue me, and deliver me; incline your ear to me, and save me…3 Be my rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety, for you are my rock and my fortress. 4 O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked. (R) 5 For you are my hope, O Lord; my trust, O God, from my youth. 6 On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength. (R) 16 I will treat of the mighty works of the LORD; O God, I will tell of your singular justice. 17 O God, you have taught me from my youth, and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
There is a season and a reason. The farmers wait for the
proper and optimum time to plant their seeds, cultivate and harvest. Things can
not be done in a hurry. As in the following bible passages: Acts 17:
26-27...and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions,
so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though
indeed he is not far from any one of us. Psalm 31:14-15..."You are my
God." My times are in your hands;... Hebrews 4:16...So let us confidently
approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help...
We can learn a lot from these words of God and ponder on them before we make
any rush decisions. We have to decide and act on things based on the Word of
God and be guided by them at all times. The seed being spoken of in today’s
gospel is the word of God. There is also a need to till the soil before we can
plant the seed. When I was just a kid I used to pity the farmers who work under
the heat of the sun while plowing the fields. It is clearly etched in my mind
how they guide the plow being pulled by the carabao while their feet sink into
the mud. The same way these farmers prepare the soil for a good harvest we, too
must prepare ourselves in order to become the rich soil that bears fruit. Let
us not waste the seed God has sown in our hearts. If we need to stay under the
scorching heat of the sun and sink our feet into the mushy field of our lives
why not, it will always be worth it knowing that the seed that God has planted
will surely reap a bountiful harvest, Amen. Hallelujah!
…But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a
hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear."
Whoever has ears ought to hear."
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