STRUGGLE

It is a good thing to always live the values of the wonderful story of Joseph. We pass through life in stages and it can come to a point where we may encounter great trial and difficulty or maybe we are already in that stage where we experience a lot of struggles in our daily life. This reminds me of this prayer I got from an email which says, "Stars do not struggle to shine; rivers do not struggle to flow and we will never struggle to excel in life because we deserve the best. Hold on to our dreams and it shall be well with us. Amen." It is also undeniable that it is very much in line and appropriate for the message being conveyed in today's 1st reading. We should always maintain an attitude that is always trusting and full of confidence no matter what our present situation is, be it in a state of harm for we have a God who supports, sustains and supplies all our needs according to His riches and glory. Amen. Hallelujah!

Genesis 49:29-32; 50:15-26a

... Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve his present end,...

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 105:1-2. 3-4. 6-7

R: Be glad you lowly ones; may your hearts be glad!

...Look to the LORD in his strength; seek to serve him constantly...Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the peoples his deeds!

Sing praise, play music; proclaim all his wondrous deeds!

Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!…You descendants of Abraham his servant, offspring of Jacob the chosen one!

The LORD is our God who rules the whole earth.

He remembers forever his covenant, the pact imposed for a thousand generations,

Which was made with Abraham, confirmed by oath to Isaac,

This passage from today's gospel never ceases to amaze me and holds a special meaning in my heart. If we are to really pay attention and look very closely at the message being conveyed to us then nothing else could make us feel insecure of the love, care and mercy that God has for us. When we see birds flying all around us each day it is also a constant reminder for us of what today's gospel is telling us especially the part wherein it is said that even all the hairs in our head are counted. It may seem an exaggeration but that is exactly the point that God wants us to realize. That's how big and deep His love for us is. We definitely can not imagine anyone counting the hair of somebody much more my hair at that time when it grew very long and thick. I had this conviction and determination to not cut my hair yet until the promise is fulfilled. Despite, the inconveniences and discomfort of that experience having a thick and long hair I held on to God’s steadfastness and mercy. What kept me going, though were the several occasions that left me in awe as God demonstrated His faithfulness in a very personal way with regards to this hair promise. I had no doubt that God knows specifically our heart’s desires. Thus it also made me feel good to imagine using my hair in wiping the feet of Jesus and bathing it with my own tears just like what Mary of Magdala did. God loves us so much and by just thinking of that and really feeling it in our hearts can compel us to do anything and realize that nothing is too difficult when done with and for the love of God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 10:24-33

...And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father...