Today's 1st reading is a prophecy of the plot of trying to put Jesus to death and this is way before the incarnation took place. According to Bishop Sheen the spirit of enmity is not only present when Jesus lived but as long as time endured. There are people who were persecuted and forgotten when they died but the hatred of the world and against Jesus lives on. It is still happening today. This is because He is alive. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Amen. Hallelujah!
Wisdom 2:1, 12-22
1 The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright: 12 “Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. 13 He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the LORD. 14 To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, 15 because his life is not like other men’s, and different are his ways. 16 He judges us debased; he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure. He calls blest the destiny of the just and boasts that God is his Father. 17 Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. 18 For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. 19 With revilement and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. 20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him.” 21 These were their thoughts, but they erred; for their wickedness blinded them, 22 and they knew not the hidden counsels of God; neither did they count on a recompense of holiness nor discern the innocent souls’ reward.
The wickedness and the hatred may persist but let us not lose hope and despair because we have a mighty Savior and Redeemer in our Lord Jesus. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 34:17-18, 19-20, 21, 23
R: The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
16 [17] The LORD confronts the evildoers, to destroy remembrance of them from the earth. 17 [18] When the just cry out, the LORD hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them. (R) 18 [19] The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves. 19 [20] Many are the troubles of the just man, but out of them all the LORD delivers him.
Today's gospel is taken from John or the 4th gospel. Its genuineness is affirmed by the whole character of the narrative. The arrangement of this gospel follows historical order of events and portrayed with precision of eyewitness. Even the most minute subsidiary circumstances are mentioned with a special concern to determine exactly the time of occurrence. It is accepted as one of chief and historically credible sources of knowledge of the life of Christ. The 4th gospel has a high Christology that emphasizes the Divine aspects of Jesus’ identity compared with low Christology that emphasizes human aspects. John’s belief in the preexistence of Christ is very pronounced. According to Frances Hogan, she believes that it was John the youngest of all the apostles who really wrote the gospel. The person behind the gospel have seen and heard Jesus first hand. He came to Jesus as a teenager and seems to know the heart of Jesus instinctively. It was to John that Jesus gave His mother on the cross. John was taught by God's beloved mother, Mary. The book of John is known as the book of signs. The Book of Signs (Jn 1:19-12:50)
The seven signs are miraculous deeds of Jesus that reveal his true identity. They show Jesus bringing different types of people to believe in Him while at the same time provoking many among the Jews to hostility. The author interprets them for the reader by various reflections, narratives and discourses. Many Jews were provoked to hostility on account of the declarations of Jesus which they could not accept as in today's gospel. Signs and symbols are very important to John as it is to us. God is from above and we are from below. From our human level it is very difficult for us to grasp the meaning of things in our life in relation to God. We have to look beyond the physical and understand them better as we go beyond the surface into its deeper meaning. The same is true in our relationship with God, the more we know about Him the better we understand the things in our life. We can look into the things happening in our life and find meaning in it. It becomes symbolic in a sense that God has communicated to us, making us more inclined to do things that are divine. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
1 Jesus moved about within Galilee; but he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him. 2 But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near. 10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret. 25 Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, “Is he not the one they are trying to kill? 26 And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities have realized that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where he is from. When the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.” 28 So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, “You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. 29 I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
NEW MOSES
We read in today’s 1st reading a reference to the stiff necked nature of the Israel people and the contrast as Moses displays a deep friendship with God as he speaks in behalf of his people. The Israel people that thought he’s not coming back and despite of the wonders that their very eyes have seen they had the nerve to complain, gripe and abandon God. They were grumbling against God. It is an apostasy, abandonment and rejection of the faith that they had been entrusted. They forgot the God who had saved them. Somehow this reminds us of ourselves, midway in this season of lent. Here we are in our own desert, we sometimes very quickly think that God has abandoned us. In the middle of fasting, penance and prayer we quickly forget God who has saved us, abandon and reject our faith in our living of life today. We need to remain steadfast no matter how difficult it may seem. We quickly turn aside from the way that God is pointing out. The love that this world can’t imagine and comprehend is not dormant it is the love of God. We tend to set ourselves up to be our own little god and soon turn aside from the way God has pointed out. We need to cry out for mercy to God we need someone like Moses to point out to us our wrong doings. Amen. Hallelujah!
Exodus 32:7-14
7 The LORD said to Moses, “Go down at once to your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved. 8 They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshipping it, sacrificing to it and crying out, ‘This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ 9 I see how stiff-necked this people is,” continued the LORD to Moses. 10 “Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation.” 11 But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying, “Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with so strong a hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent he brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains and exterminate them from the face of the earth’? Let your blazing wrath die down; relent in punishing your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’ ” 14 So the LORD relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people.
Our little gods and idols can not do anything for us. They are useless and stupid things. How foolish we can be as a people of God to do such things and be off track by turning away from where the Lord has pointed out. We have to be in a relationship with the only true God. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 106:19-20, 21-22, 23
R: Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
...Then he spoke of exterminating them, but Moses, his chosen one, withstood him in the breach to turn back his destructive wrath.
Moses is the foreshadowing of Jesus. Jesus is the new Moses that stands between us and God. He reconciles us to God. Jesus is the way, the truth and the light. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 5:31-47
...How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. 46 For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
Exodus 32:7-14
7 The LORD said to Moses, “Go down at once to your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved. 8 They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshipping it, sacrificing to it and crying out, ‘This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ 9 I see how stiff-necked this people is,” continued the LORD to Moses. 10 “Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation.” 11 But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying, “Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with so strong a hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent he brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains and exterminate them from the face of the earth’? Let your blazing wrath die down; relent in punishing your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’ ” 14 So the LORD relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people.
Our little gods and idols can not do anything for us. They are useless and stupid things. How foolish we can be as a people of God to do such things and be off track by turning away from where the Lord has pointed out. We have to be in a relationship with the only true God. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 106:19-20, 21-22, 23
R: Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
...Then he spoke of exterminating them, but Moses, his chosen one, withstood him in the breach to turn back his destructive wrath.
Moses is the foreshadowing of Jesus. Jesus is the new Moses that stands between us and God. He reconciles us to God. Jesus is the way, the truth and the light. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 5:31-47
...How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. 46 For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU
The love of God knows no limits. Today’s 1st reading reminds me of this Tagalog song entitled, “Hindi Kita Malilimutan” which is taken from this very reading. I am a mother myself and I could not imagine forgetting my infants, (I had 2, now fully grown ) or be without tenderness for them and I couldn’t even come close to being perfect. So every time I hear it and basing from this love I have for my sons, I just can’t help feeling that gush of emotion coming from the fact that God has so much more, an immeasurable love for us. Amen. Hallelujah!
Isaiah 49:8-15
...Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.
There is no more reason to doubt what the psalm reading today is telling us. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 145:8-9, 13-14, 17-18
R: The Lord is gracious and merciful.
...slow to anger and of great kindness. 9 The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works. (R) 13 The LORD is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works. 14 The LORD lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. (R) 17 The LORD is just in all his ways and holy in all his works. 18 The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.
The Pharisees persecute Jesus for His healings on the Sabbath. It is a supposed day of rest for them but God is always at work. The call upon us, is to live in faith that God is always at work. In the midst of poverty and difficulty, it seems hard to believe that but God is the fullness of life and always self giving in generosity. The term rest does not apply for there is no such thing as Divine inactivity. John Paul II referred to this rest on the Sabbath as the lingering gaze of God at what has been accomplished. God enjoys looking at what has been achieved like the beauty of creation. Men are invited to rest, especially enjoy communion with God and establish a special relationship with Him. Jesus speaks of these things from this passage and tells us that whoever believes has eternal life and can pass through death to life. This is the beginning of Jesus’ marvelous teachings which is followed by the Eucharist in John 6. He speaks of the fullness of the sacramental life, the gift of the Eucharist. He said that the one who feeds in Him will have life. The Father gives the son the power to exercise judgment. All good deeds will go to the resurrection and the bad deeds for final separation. There is the conquering of evil and those who obey are called to the fullness of life. Jesus emphasizes to us the truth that God is His Father. Only the son knows the father and He comes to reveal the father. God is in eternity and created the world from nothingness. We are called to enter into His world, into his eternity, in fatherhood and sonship. He is revealing the mystery of God and making visible the invisible. The Father gives life and He gave to the Son possession of the life. Furthermore following today’s gospel in John 6, He said that “I have life because of the Father.” He gives us the same life and this is a very profound statement. He is giving us eternal life in the Trinity. There is an eternal activity in the Father in union with the Son and expressed in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They are equal in glory and co-eternal in majesty. He is the beginning and the end but not as we understand it. Jesus is trying to tell us that God is at work, expelling demons and granting healings. The sacramental life is still being performed for us to this very day and still in us through communion with him in the Holy Eucharist, confession and worshipping at mass. This lent we are invited to live it to the fullest of ways because it is still being poured upon us and still at work today. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 5:17-30
17 Jesus answered them, “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God. 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also. 20 For the Father loves his Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. 22 Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to his Son, 23 so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. 25 Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself. 27 And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation. 30 “I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”
Isaiah 49:8-15
...Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.
There is no more reason to doubt what the psalm reading today is telling us. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 145:8-9, 13-14, 17-18
R: The Lord is gracious and merciful.
...slow to anger and of great kindness. 9 The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works. (R) 13 The LORD is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works. 14 The LORD lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. (R) 17 The LORD is just in all his ways and holy in all his works. 18 The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.
The Pharisees persecute Jesus for His healings on the Sabbath. It is a supposed day of rest for them but God is always at work. The call upon us, is to live in faith that God is always at work. In the midst of poverty and difficulty, it seems hard to believe that but God is the fullness of life and always self giving in generosity. The term rest does not apply for there is no such thing as Divine inactivity. John Paul II referred to this rest on the Sabbath as the lingering gaze of God at what has been accomplished. God enjoys looking at what has been achieved like the beauty of creation. Men are invited to rest, especially enjoy communion with God and establish a special relationship with Him. Jesus speaks of these things from this passage and tells us that whoever believes has eternal life and can pass through death to life. This is the beginning of Jesus’ marvelous teachings which is followed by the Eucharist in John 6. He speaks of the fullness of the sacramental life, the gift of the Eucharist. He said that the one who feeds in Him will have life. The Father gives the son the power to exercise judgment. All good deeds will go to the resurrection and the bad deeds for final separation. There is the conquering of evil and those who obey are called to the fullness of life. Jesus emphasizes to us the truth that God is His Father. Only the son knows the father and He comes to reveal the father. God is in eternity and created the world from nothingness. We are called to enter into His world, into his eternity, in fatherhood and sonship. He is revealing the mystery of God and making visible the invisible. The Father gives life and He gave to the Son possession of the life. Furthermore following today’s gospel in John 6, He said that “I have life because of the Father.” He gives us the same life and this is a very profound statement. He is giving us eternal life in the Trinity. There is an eternal activity in the Father in union with the Son and expressed in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They are equal in glory and co-eternal in majesty. He is the beginning and the end but not as we understand it. Jesus is trying to tell us that God is at work, expelling demons and granting healings. The sacramental life is still being performed for us to this very day and still in us through communion with him in the Holy Eucharist, confession and worshipping at mass. This lent we are invited to live it to the fullest of ways because it is still being poured upon us and still at work today. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 5:17-30
17 Jesus answered them, “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God. 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also. 20 For the Father loves his Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. 22 Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to his Son, 23 so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. 25 Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself. 27 And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation. 30 “I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
JUBILEE YEAR
I can never forget what today's reading meant to me. I was just new in the Charismatic Renewal when I had a dream or vision of water coming from all directions. It was the night before the day when I went to mass and found out that it was the 1st reading for the day. These are only a few of the several experiences I had right after my baptism in the spirit. It kept me inspired and always on fire for the Lord. I was told that it was the so called honeymoon stage with the Lord. Yesterday I was just sharing about the degrees or levels of faith and today I am reminded by today's 1st reading of my 1st degree, level or stage of faith experience. Just like all other stages we have to step up or move up the ladder and reach the peak. We have to mature and look beyond the spiritual highs and still keep up with the faith as we go through an all time low, a plateau or the so called spiritual dryness. It is when we can really prove our loyalty to God. As scriptures say, just like gold we are tested through fire. In this journey of life we need to go through a process where we all hope and aspire to bring out the best in us and be the person God has all meant us to be. Amen. Hallelujah!
Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12
1 Then he brought me, Ezekiel, back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the facade of the temple was toward the east; the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He led me outside by the north gate, and around to the outer gate facing the east, where I saw water trickling from the southern side. 3 Then when he had walked off to the east with a measuring cord in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and had me wade through the water, which was ankle-deep. 4 He measured off another thousand and once more had me wade through the water, which was now knee-deep. Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade; the water was up to my waist. 5 Once more he measured off a thousand, but there was now a river through which I could not wade; for the water had risen so high it had become a river that could not be crossed except by swimming. 6 He asked me, “Have you seen this, son of man?” Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit. 7 Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides. 8 He said to me, “This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah, and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh. 9 Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh. 12 Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
In whatever situation and stage in life we are in, we ought to keep in mind that these are all variables. Just like any variable they continue to come and go in our lives. What we need to hold on to is the constant and not the variable. At this point we need to be sure who the constant is. By this time we should have made it clear the the Lord our God is our constant. Amen. Hallelujah!
P S A L M
Psalms 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
R: The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
...There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High. 5 [6] God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed; God will help it at the break of dawn...
This season of Lent should be taken advantage to make the grace of God a mighty river of grace. We should see the source of the grace, Jesus Himself. The grace is not just a vague force. In today’s gospel we see the man waiting for the pool to be stirred. This is a very big pool in fact to this day, 2 churches were built inside the pool to commemorate the very miracle that took place in it and even pagans go there for healing. We find that Jesus does not take the man to the water. It’s the word of Jesus and His authority that heal the man. He is the source of grace that brings about the healing. The man does not come across to be particularly bright because he said that there’s no one to put him in the water. He did not even bother to ask who healed him and has no idea as he doesn’t go looking for Christ. It was Christ who looked for him. It was a sort of ungrateful way to deal with the healing. Jesus not only heals him physically but addresses the state of his soul as He told him to sin no more. He knows the depths of what’s inside of us. We are told also in a way to sin no more, so nothing worse is going to happen. We want that river of grace to flow from Jesus Christ to us so we pray, abstain and fast to intercede for the grace to come to our culture. We need to use our time to seek the word of God and know the gospel better and better so we have the word that heals to bring to our culture. We bring a word of Christ and its power. Not by our own but we bring that grace by the power of Christ. We bring healing to the dryness and deadly state of our culture. In this way the Lord uses us to help transform a culture of life. In a way this connects to this vision of Ezekiel in the 1st reading. This is part of the Holy year of the Jews, a year of God’s jubilee celebration for Jerusalem after 25 years of exile. This is a vision of hope at that time because Jerusalem is still in ruin and the temple is a mess. People can’t offer sacrifice for even the priest was in exile. This huge amount of water gushing forth in a land that’s very much desperate like a desert but later on have trees grow there. This jubilee vision shows how God heals the land of its desert status. It is not only to bring water but to become a permanent spring. The dead sea is 9x as salty as the ocean, meaning it is 27% salt and anyone can die if we drink it. To heal those waters is a great sign of Jubilee. We need an outflow of grace into our culture where so much spiritual life does not grow due to materialism and attitude of people who don’t expect to find God anymore. The grace of God would flow through it and bring about new growth of Christianity. The saltiness of the dead sea is a great symbol that we can see in our culture in which no one idea is any better than another. Christianity is just one idea among many and we see strong forces in our culture. People are trying hard to evangelize and make a revival of paganism and worship of witchcraft. These forces are active and aggressive. In fact it becomes institutionalized as we see a campus minister that practices witchcraft or Satanism. We have to be alert of its salt which is deadly. The good news is that the grace of God is more powerful than they are. The grace that flows from God is more powerful if we are willing to cooperate to fight these forces they can be defeated. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 5:1-16
1 There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. 3 In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. [4] 4 5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” 9 Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” 11 He answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’ ” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” 13 The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. 14 After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, “Look, you are well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. 16 Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.
Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12
1 Then he brought me, Ezekiel, back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the facade of the temple was toward the east; the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He led me outside by the north gate, and around to the outer gate facing the east, where I saw water trickling from the southern side. 3 Then when he had walked off to the east with a measuring cord in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and had me wade through the water, which was ankle-deep. 4 He measured off another thousand and once more had me wade through the water, which was now knee-deep. Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade; the water was up to my waist. 5 Once more he measured off a thousand, but there was now a river through which I could not wade; for the water had risen so high it had become a river that could not be crossed except by swimming. 6 He asked me, “Have you seen this, son of man?” Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit. 7 Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides. 8 He said to me, “This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah, and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh. 9 Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh. 12 Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
In whatever situation and stage in life we are in, we ought to keep in mind that these are all variables. Just like any variable they continue to come and go in our lives. What we need to hold on to is the constant and not the variable. At this point we need to be sure who the constant is. By this time we should have made it clear the the Lord our God is our constant. Amen. Hallelujah!
P S A L M
Psalms 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
R: The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
...There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High. 5 [6] God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed; God will help it at the break of dawn...
This season of Lent should be taken advantage to make the grace of God a mighty river of grace. We should see the source of the grace, Jesus Himself. The grace is not just a vague force. In today’s gospel we see the man waiting for the pool to be stirred. This is a very big pool in fact to this day, 2 churches were built inside the pool to commemorate the very miracle that took place in it and even pagans go there for healing. We find that Jesus does not take the man to the water. It’s the word of Jesus and His authority that heal the man. He is the source of grace that brings about the healing. The man does not come across to be particularly bright because he said that there’s no one to put him in the water. He did not even bother to ask who healed him and has no idea as he doesn’t go looking for Christ. It was Christ who looked for him. It was a sort of ungrateful way to deal with the healing. Jesus not only heals him physically but addresses the state of his soul as He told him to sin no more. He knows the depths of what’s inside of us. We are told also in a way to sin no more, so nothing worse is going to happen. We want that river of grace to flow from Jesus Christ to us so we pray, abstain and fast to intercede for the grace to come to our culture. We need to use our time to seek the word of God and know the gospel better and better so we have the word that heals to bring to our culture. We bring a word of Christ and its power. Not by our own but we bring that grace by the power of Christ. We bring healing to the dryness and deadly state of our culture. In this way the Lord uses us to help transform a culture of life. In a way this connects to this vision of Ezekiel in the 1st reading. This is part of the Holy year of the Jews, a year of God’s jubilee celebration for Jerusalem after 25 years of exile. This is a vision of hope at that time because Jerusalem is still in ruin and the temple is a mess. People can’t offer sacrifice for even the priest was in exile. This huge amount of water gushing forth in a land that’s very much desperate like a desert but later on have trees grow there. This jubilee vision shows how God heals the land of its desert status. It is not only to bring water but to become a permanent spring. The dead sea is 9x as salty as the ocean, meaning it is 27% salt and anyone can die if we drink it. To heal those waters is a great sign of Jubilee. We need an outflow of grace into our culture where so much spiritual life does not grow due to materialism and attitude of people who don’t expect to find God anymore. The grace of God would flow through it and bring about new growth of Christianity. The saltiness of the dead sea is a great symbol that we can see in our culture in which no one idea is any better than another. Christianity is just one idea among many and we see strong forces in our culture. People are trying hard to evangelize and make a revival of paganism and worship of witchcraft. These forces are active and aggressive. In fact it becomes institutionalized as we see a campus minister that practices witchcraft or Satanism. We have to be alert of its salt which is deadly. The good news is that the grace of God is more powerful than they are. The grace that flows from God is more powerful if we are willing to cooperate to fight these forces they can be defeated. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 5:1-16
1 There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. 3 In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. [4] 4 5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” 9 Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” 11 He answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’ ” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” 13 The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. 14 After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, “Look, you are well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. 16 Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.
Monday, April 4, 2011
MOVE BEYOND
Do we have a knowledge of who truly the Lord is as spoken of in today’s 1st reading in Isaiah. The Lord speaks that the things of the past shall not be remembered. This is a passage that needs to be heard when we go to confession. The Lord is all powerful and is a God who means what He says. When He says, I forgive, He means it. Do we really believe and take His word and what He said? If we truly know who God is then we should believe that the things of the past shall not be remembered. He wills to leave the things in the past. Although we may have no concept of how some things are, the devil wants to play with us, until the day we breathe our last. He would taunt us with such questions as, did the Lord really forget our sins? The saints who have moved into a deeper level or increase of faith believe this scripture. Yes we have sinned and offended the love of God to the point of shedding tears for true contrition but we do not fall into the path of taking back the guilt and shame upon us. The Lord has taken it away, He has healed us. The Lord pushes it away and forgives us with the tremendous love, mercy and power of God to forgive sins. But this is what the devil does, he wants to build a wall to prevent us from moving into a relationship with God. The Lord can forgive everyone as long as we take claim of our sins, shed our tears and fix our attention on the love of God. Amen. Hallelujah!
Isaiah 65:17-21
17 Thus says the LORD: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight;
We sometimes think that God does not answer our prayers but He does. Let us not fall into this wrong notion, lose hope and turn into different kinds of addictions which cause so much wasted pain and suffering. This is a wicked age and our life should redeem. Only the Lord our God can bring about this redemption in our lives. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-13
R: I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
1 [2] I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. 3 [4] O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world; you preserved me from among those going down into the pit...“Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me; O LORD, be my helper.” 11 [12] You changed my mourning into dancing;...
In today’s gospel, the royal officer is an example of a person who have exhibited an increase in the level of his faith. One of the fathers of the Church said that there are degrees of faith. This man’s beginning of faith started when his son was on the verge of dying. He hears that Jesus is there so he went and walked from Capernaum to Cana and typically it would take 14 hours to do that. This is the 1st degree, it takes an effort to walk for hours to see the Lord. The next step is when he hears the word although he doesn’t see that his son is healed, he believed. After that, there’s a deepening of faith that comes. When he heard what Jesus said, he realized that there is power in the word of Christ for what he was told he believed and also for the rest of his household. There are moments in our faith when we don’t see but do we truly believe that the word of the Lord is true. We know the words but are we convinced and do we really believe Him? It happens to each one of us, we know that the Lord has the power and we come and turn to Him with all our needs but have we reached to the point when we have increased and perfected our faith. During this period of Lent we are invited to deepen our faith. We can’t stay in the level of our 1st communion level of faith. We need to deepen our relationship with God and it must not remain that way. It is good to look at the level of our relationship with God and see if we have grown mature. We often have an excuse for ourselves. We ought to maintain that relationship with the Lord in the level of a child and yet we are called to mature in that relationship with Him. There is a need to broaden and expand our heart to a greater love. It takes effort and dedication on our part to do this. We must not sound to the Lord as an always, “I need, give me” person who is just concerned about ourselves. God will help us but we have to put our trust in Him. We ask the Lord for assistance and He responds but when we get what we want we forget Him and we don’t go back to Him. This is an immature way of interacting with the Lord. We need deepening of our relationship and to move beyond our current level of faith. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 4:43-54
...Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” 49 The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. 51 While he was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. 52 He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” 53 The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe.
Isaiah 65:17-21
17 Thus says the LORD: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight;
We sometimes think that God does not answer our prayers but He does. Let us not fall into this wrong notion, lose hope and turn into different kinds of addictions which cause so much wasted pain and suffering. This is a wicked age and our life should redeem. Only the Lord our God can bring about this redemption in our lives. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-13
R: I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
1 [2] I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. 3 [4] O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world; you preserved me from among those going down into the pit...“Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me; O LORD, be my helper.” 11 [12] You changed my mourning into dancing;...
In today’s gospel, the royal officer is an example of a person who have exhibited an increase in the level of his faith. One of the fathers of the Church said that there are degrees of faith. This man’s beginning of faith started when his son was on the verge of dying. He hears that Jesus is there so he went and walked from Capernaum to Cana and typically it would take 14 hours to do that. This is the 1st degree, it takes an effort to walk for hours to see the Lord. The next step is when he hears the word although he doesn’t see that his son is healed, he believed. After that, there’s a deepening of faith that comes. When he heard what Jesus said, he realized that there is power in the word of Christ for what he was told he believed and also for the rest of his household. There are moments in our faith when we don’t see but do we truly believe that the word of the Lord is true. We know the words but are we convinced and do we really believe Him? It happens to each one of us, we know that the Lord has the power and we come and turn to Him with all our needs but have we reached to the point when we have increased and perfected our faith. During this period of Lent we are invited to deepen our faith. We can’t stay in the level of our 1st communion level of faith. We need to deepen our relationship with God and it must not remain that way. It is good to look at the level of our relationship with God and see if we have grown mature. We often have an excuse for ourselves. We ought to maintain that relationship with the Lord in the level of a child and yet we are called to mature in that relationship with Him. There is a need to broaden and expand our heart to a greater love. It takes effort and dedication on our part to do this. We must not sound to the Lord as an always, “I need, give me” person who is just concerned about ourselves. God will help us but we have to put our trust in Him. We ask the Lord for assistance and He responds but when we get what we want we forget Him and we don’t go back to Him. This is an immature way of interacting with the Lord. We need deepening of our relationship and to move beyond our current level of faith. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 4:43-54
...Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” 49 The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. 51 While he was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. 52 He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” 53 The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
ARISE, O SLEEPER!
We are all guilty one way or another of being judged or judging others ourselves. This is something that we all do unknowingly, deliberately, just out of habit and without much thought. Today's 1st reading reminds us of not to judge and deal with our fellow human beings by our standard but by God's. Amen. Hallelujah
1Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13
...the LORD said to Samuel: “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.”
We are so caught up with our problems and concerns in life that we become oblivious of God. We do not see the love of God in the midst of these disturbing events. Today's psalm assures that He is the Good Shepherd. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
R: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
...In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; 3 he refreshes my soul. (R) He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. (R) 5 You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (R) 6 Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come.
We've grown so used to our own personal blindness brought by our sins that we simply sit around and not do anything about it. Today's 2nd reading tells us to arise and be children of the light. Amen. Hallelujah!
Ephesians 5:8-14
...Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, 12 for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; 13 but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
Sin certainly has its consequences but Christ has transformed it to our redemption. This blind man in the gospel obeys and sees. The 1st person he sees as he opens his eyes is Jesus. God redeems us from our sufferings and transform it for our good. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 9:1-41
...“Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him and the one speaking with you is he.” 38 He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshipped him.
1Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13
...the LORD said to Samuel: “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.”
We are so caught up with our problems and concerns in life that we become oblivious of God. We do not see the love of God in the midst of these disturbing events. Today's psalm assures that He is the Good Shepherd. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
R: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
...In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; 3 he refreshes my soul. (R) He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. (R) 5 You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (R) 6 Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come.
We've grown so used to our own personal blindness brought by our sins that we simply sit around and not do anything about it. Today's 2nd reading tells us to arise and be children of the light. Amen. Hallelujah!
Ephesians 5:8-14
...Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, 12 for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; 13 but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
Sin certainly has its consequences but Christ has transformed it to our redemption. This blind man in the gospel obeys and sees. The 1st person he sees as he opens his eyes is Jesus. God redeems us from our sufferings and transform it for our good. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 9:1-41
...“Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him and the one speaking with you is he.” 38 He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshipped him.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
A CIVILIZATION OF LOVE
We have a tendency to overlook the ordinary and simple things around us. We must not be impressed with just the extraordinary. Our approach to Christian life should not neglect the day to day and the ordinary things we do. The very thing that is right in front of us is our next good step. This is how we will walk to holiness. We may be in a gloomy and dark situation at the moment but we must not lose hope and put our best foot forward. We do our best and be immensely patient even in times of great difficulty and trial. We imitate Christ in his humanity as he went through his passion and death with the certainty of resurrection. Amen. Hallelujah!
Hosea 6:1-6
...He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence. 3 Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgment shines forth like the light of day! He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.”
The sacred heart of Jesus should be our model and guide as we strive to live out the call to be a genuine follower of God. “When we open our heart to the love of God and to others, it makes us capable of shaping history according to God’s plan.” - Pope John Paul II. In His fourth apparition to St. Margaret Mary, our Lord revealed His Sacred Heart, declaring: "Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it spared nothing, even going so far as to exhaust and consume Itself, to prove to them Its love.” The center of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the Enthronement of the image of the Sacred Heart in the home. By the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart, we link the tabernacle of our parish church to our home, inviting our Lord to be our constant and most intimate companion. The Enthronement is a way of life. It means that Christ is King of our hearts, and we desire Him to be present with us always. In other words, by the Enthronement we signify our desire to make our hearts and our homes holy, to sanctify our lives in every aspect. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21
R: It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
...For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. 17 [19] My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
We are encouraged as Catholics to have the Sacred Heart of Jesus enthroned in our homes. This act of enthronement can bring about a civilization of love. It is in the home where the Sacred Heart of Jesus is that families are encouraged to pray together and bring about love. Something can change in the atmosphere of the home as this devotion is spread and promulgated. We need to go and share this to everybody. This is a means to develop intimacy of the Lord in our homes and enhance our other relationships. It could pave the way for all conflicts to get dissolved. This is a constant reminder that God became man and died for his love for us and our salvation. This relationship will spill over to other relationships. As today gospel tells, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted. We learn from Jesus who is meek and humble of heart. This man in the gospel went home justified while the other did not because Jesus looks at the heart. We should always keep our eyes on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts. It teaches us the lesson of love, goodness, piety and to obtain strength and serenity for an authentic and profound life. “Welcome the presence of the Heart of Christ, entrusting your home to Him. Before the open Heart of Jesus seek to draw from Him the true love that our families need to build up a civilization of love.” (Pope John Paul II). Amen. Hallelujah!
Luke 18:9-14
9 Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. 10 “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ 13 But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Twelve Promises of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
for those who practice devotion to His Sacred Heart
1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death.
5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
9. I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.
12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.
Hosea 6:1-6
...He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence. 3 Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgment shines forth like the light of day! He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.”
The sacred heart of Jesus should be our model and guide as we strive to live out the call to be a genuine follower of God. “When we open our heart to the love of God and to others, it makes us capable of shaping history according to God’s plan.” - Pope John Paul II. In His fourth apparition to St. Margaret Mary, our Lord revealed His Sacred Heart, declaring: "Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it spared nothing, even going so far as to exhaust and consume Itself, to prove to them Its love.” The center of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the Enthronement of the image of the Sacred Heart in the home. By the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart, we link the tabernacle of our parish church to our home, inviting our Lord to be our constant and most intimate companion. The Enthronement is a way of life. It means that Christ is King of our hearts, and we desire Him to be present with us always. In other words, by the Enthronement we signify our desire to make our hearts and our homes holy, to sanctify our lives in every aspect. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21
R: It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
...For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. 17 [19] My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
We are encouraged as Catholics to have the Sacred Heart of Jesus enthroned in our homes. This act of enthronement can bring about a civilization of love. It is in the home where the Sacred Heart of Jesus is that families are encouraged to pray together and bring about love. Something can change in the atmosphere of the home as this devotion is spread and promulgated. We need to go and share this to everybody. This is a means to develop intimacy of the Lord in our homes and enhance our other relationships. It could pave the way for all conflicts to get dissolved. This is a constant reminder that God became man and died for his love for us and our salvation. This relationship will spill over to other relationships. As today gospel tells, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted. We learn from Jesus who is meek and humble of heart. This man in the gospel went home justified while the other did not because Jesus looks at the heart. We should always keep our eyes on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts. It teaches us the lesson of love, goodness, piety and to obtain strength and serenity for an authentic and profound life. “Welcome the presence of the Heart of Christ, entrusting your home to Him. Before the open Heart of Jesus seek to draw from Him the true love that our families need to build up a civilization of love.” (Pope John Paul II). Amen. Hallelujah!
Luke 18:9-14
9 Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. 10 “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ 13 But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Twelve Promises of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
for those who practice devotion to His Sacred Heart
1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death.
5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
9. I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.
12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.
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