THE SIGN

I have heard several times already the story of Cain and Abel. It illustrates very well the good and the evil. I guess, in this present time we need not look far and wide in order to see the story of Cain and Abel happening all over again, it may not be in the exactly the same manner but it's quite obvious that people nowadays are easily lured and deceived by the lurking presence of the enemy. If only we become more vigilant and alert then we can easily offset the tactics of the evil one. We are the ones who call the shots, in other words the master instead of the other way around because we emerge as the victor and not the victim by not allowing sin to lord over our lives. We can not run away from the consequences of our wrongdoings. It will always haunt us unless we truly be sorry for it and repair what we have done. It is always for our own good that we avoid sin and do good for goodness and mercy to follow us all the days of our lives. Amen. Hallelujah!

 

Book of Genesis 4,1-15.25.

...The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

but on Cain and his offering he did not. Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen.

So the LORD said to Cain: "Why are you so resentful and crestfallen?

If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master."...

God saves. There is no question about that but we have to also be diligent in fulfilling our part of the bargain. This reminds me of the vow I have made when it was impressed to me way back Oct. 7, 2007 in the reading from Book of Habakkuk 1,2-3.2,2-4. “Then the LORD answered me and said: Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late.”

From then on I've been writing daily reflections that can be read by everybody and to my surprise it has become integrated in my daily activities. As time and days go by, a lot of things started to unfold before me, most especially the enormous message contained in that prophecy in Habakkuk. This has given me inspiration and joy to continue doing it. Definitely God is not asking us to resort to some extreme or out of this world act. The emphasis is on the importance of following the commandments of God and doing what we've got to do. We need not wait any longer and see any further for God wants us to start paying attention to His commandments and apply it in our very own lives in order to make a return for all the good He has done. There are times when we just have to ignore what other people may say or think and continue in the belief that we are God's people and have to be obedient in what He has asked us to do and stay loyal to Him no matter what the cost is. We've got to make things very clear for us. Sometimes we insist on doing things our way and more often than not we end up in trouble. It's about time we realize that there is no other way but the Lord's way. We get the impression that if we do one good thing for the Lord then the rest of our actions are already covered and justified. Well, that's what the enemy wants us to think so we can go on doing our own thing without much care whether is it really pleasing to God or not. Our God is perfectly and wholly good in every aspect and we can't expect Him to yield to a partly good and bad child. Because He loves us, we need to be disciplined in order for us to straighten up. There is this Catholic convert who was raised in the belief that the Catholic Church is the whore of Babylon. When he encountered for the first time listening to the Palestrina, he said that it doesn't sound like it came from hell and sounded much more like what the angels sound in heaven. When he visited for the first time, St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, he figured that the whore of Babylon could not be something this beautiful. He realized and understood that there could not be such a disconnection of what could be so beautiful and what is good and true. He could find all of these elements of goodness, beauty and truth in the Catholic church and what eventually brought him to the faith. The beauty that the faith produces is something that shines throughout more than 2000 years of the Church. We are not supposed to engage in a battle that is not destined to win at all. If we know that we are losing in the first place why pursue it? There are so many battles in life that we have to face everyday but there is no need to fight them all. It is not about us but about God. The only guarantee that we are going to win it through and through is to be sure first which side we are on and make sure that it is God's side. Let our words coincide with our work and action so that men will see and become convinced that we are God's obedient people. Sometimes we say one thing and mean something else. If we can confuse, convince and win people over to our side then we are definitely wrong if we think that we can do the same with God or even get away with it. If there's something we should be doing with our life then that is to be upright before the Lord first and foremost and everything will follow. It is not wise to gain the admiration of men at the expense of losing the approval of God. Nothing else matters more than being upright in the eyes of God. No matter how difficult things may seem to be at present we can always count on God at all times. The Lord hears our cries and supplications. He knows and sees all and He will surely make things right for us. No matter what happens to us we can always be assured of a God who will always look after us and will make sure that we are not taken advantage of. If God is for us, who can be against us? If we respond to His call and faithfully follow His precepts and be the person He has meant us to be then we are assured of His saving power. There are moments in our life when things happen to us and we feel that God is touching us in a special way. It seems so obvious that God is speaking to us in a variety of ways through our situations and circumstances. Today’s psalm reading tells us something very specific. It says that God will not just make us feel that we can somehow conclude that He is trying to communicate something to us but really show and demonstrate to the upright His saving power. There will always be times when we seem to not know where to go. No matter how difficult our situations may be, God will never leave us groping in the dark. All we have to do is to really take into serious consideration the words in today's psalm reading. The present civilization is in decline. There is so much moral decline and decay going on around us. The solution can be found in the psalm today. We have to have self discipline and will power to put a stop to the atheistic society that is on the rise. We need to become an active participant of the on going seminar for self restraint to control our appetites. To not pursue our own selfish good but the common good in order to rebuild our society and witness the saving power of God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalms 50:1, 8, 16-17, 20-21

R: Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.

...“Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth, 17 though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?”...I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.”

In today's gospel the Pharisees ask for a sign. We are sometimes guilty of this because this is something that we also do when we pray. We may not realize it yet but asking for a sign is an affirmation that our wills be done for us, not God’s will. Although there is nothing intrinsically evil about it, we have to be clear that seeking for a sign should not be the motive of prayer. Do we not often times do this when we pray, ask for a sign. The Pharisees look for a sign when they pray because it would give them happiness if God has given a sign. We may then ask ourselves, if God is God then why ask for a sign. He knows all things even before we pray for something because He already knows what we want. God wants us to exercise our faith through our desires that we lift up in prayers so that we can be properly disposed in receiving the answers to our prayers. According to St. Augustine, God is preparing us for the gifts that He extends to us that all lead to happiness because our capacity to receive it is, too small. The desire for God is a desire for happiness. The desire for happiness even in secular things is a desire for God ultimately. The desire for God is written in the human heart only in God can we find the truth and happiness that we all desire for. God never ceases to draw man to Himself even in sin. He always gives us an actual grace and never ceases to call man to Himself. Man is called to communion with God as soon as he comes into being as it is written, from the womb I knew you. God has created man in love and through love and holds him into existence in love. We should entrust ourselves to God our Creator because we are called to intimacy with God. The secret of happiness is to spend moment by moment in the knowledge of this love that God has for us. The care and happiness of human life and not their destruction is the 1st and only object of good government according to a saint. The beatitudes should be our response to this natural desire for happiness. This is natural in origin because God Himself placed it in man’s heart that we seek for happiness. God desires greater things for man. St Augustine said that we all seek to live happily and there is no one who does not ascent to this proposition to look for happiness. What we have to realize is that only God can fulfill it. This is ultimately fulfilled as we finally enter heaven and hold forever the beatific vision of God. The foretaste while on earth and still living is possible in this life through the worthy reception of Holy Communion which is the source and summit of the entire Christian life. We should seek God if we seek a happy life. For our bodies and souls draw life from God. God alone satisfies, St. Thomas said. The beatitudes are at the heart of Jesus’ teaching. They are the handmaids of the 10 commandments and the spirit of the law. As we look to Abraham and God's promise, we see the fulfillment of the promises by the recipient of earthly territory. It is no longer and merely earthly as promised to Abraham but ultimately heaven. The beatitudes depict the countenance of our God. The paradoxical promises that proclaim the human hope are evident in the lives of Mary and saints who are witnesses of the reward that the beatitudes contain. We can see in them the great reward of the beatitudes lived and is extended to our family members. The beatitudes reveal the goal of human existence. The ultimate end of the human act is addressed to the entire humanity. What a gift we have in the beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount. St John Vianney said that the glorious duty of man to pray and to love is where a man’s happiness lie as we contemplate on the beatitudes that help us to pray and love both God and man. There is no need to ask for a sign. The greatest and most genuine sign comes from within, in the depths of our hearts. How can we be so insensitive when all we have to do is feel His love overflowing then we become His sign. Although there is nothing wrong with signs, in fact every single day we are confronted with natural signs that we sometimes overlook and tend to ignore already. Just like the Pharisee in today's gospel after witnessing a lot of miracles performed by Jesus still remained in their unbelief and demanded for more signs which Jesus denied to them knowing that no amount of signs could really make them believe. We, too tend to be like them when we are always expecting things to happen our way and remain in our stubborn ways. We fail to submit to the plan of God in our life when we expect and demand that God would grant and answer all our prayers in the way we want God to answer them instead of the other way around. Anyway, He is the one who is God and knows what's best. Isn't it the case, then so be it. Sometimes we forget who really God is. We tend to resort to compromising with God without realizing that He is Holy, Perfect, Immortal and Almighty and can not be otherwise. We are sometimes guilty of forcing some issues with God thinking that He can yield to our imperfections. We have our own preconceived ideas of how God should be working things out in our life. We forget what the capital G-O-D means and it could not be spelled out the other way around. If we do then we end tying a leash on it and pulling it wherever we wanted to go. Let us be clear on this, that He is God and is the Boss. Let us allow this truth to sink in deeply. Amen. Hallelujah!

Mark 8:11-13

11 The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. 12 He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.