FREEDOM

Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. It's a good thing we have a Good Shepherd in the Lord Jesus who never fails. If He is our Shepherd then that is very consoling. If we look closely around us we can still find good shepherds among us who continue the work of God tirelessly. I am so grateful for the EWTN channel and the people behind it who continue to keep it running. I should say it has become a fold where the people of God can come for shelter and comfort. I believe that we are set apart from the very beginning even before we were born for a specific mission in life. There are times when we feel useless and unworthy when we do not measure up to the accepted truths, perceived and set criteria or popular opinion of the majority but no matter how great or small, significant or insignificant it may seem we must not hesitate to do it. For as long as we've committed to doing and fulfilling it then it becomes an offering of ourselves. Let us take time to spend it on things that give glory to God. The power of praying and fasting stood the test of time. The early christians were practicing it already as they gathered in order to receive guidance and direction from God. Let us make this very first statement in today's 1st reading our main reason and goal to achieve. Amen. Hallelujah!


Acts 12:24 -13:5a
The word of God continued to spread and grow...“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”...



We can give glory and praise to God right from where we are. All we have to do is be faithful to the One and True God. We may not be living in that time of the Maccabees when the Jews were forced to embrace pagan practices. It was at that time when the ruler of the land wanted to eliminate Jewish tradition and replace it with Greek. When they failed to carry this out, Greek ways were imposed by force. This was at the time before Jesus came when Jerusalem was torn down. Anyone who owns a Torah and those who circumcise their children were sentenced to capital punishment. It was period of great struggle and difficulty. A man named Judas Maccabeus became the leader of a Jewish revolt against the repressive policies of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the king of Syria. He led the Jewish people in recapturing their temple from Syrian occupying forces in 164 B.C. preventing the imposition of Hellenism upon Judaea, and preserving the Jewish religion. Those who followed him arose and won in their struggle. The temple was reclaimed and purified from the stain of idolatry. Thus the institution of the Hanukkah, when the temple was rededicated. We have to maintain our fidelity to the Lord. It is in doing this that we truly attain freedom by following and staying in the way of the Lord. We need a Helper in the person of God the Holy Spirit. The Spirit dwelling within us should be unleashed in order to dispel all kinds of darkness in order to see God's face shining upon us. Amen. Hallelujah!



Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
R: O God, let all the nations praise you!
May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us. 2 [3] So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation...




Are you afraid of the dark? I often hear people say and warn others to stay away from the dark. A lot of terrible things happen in the dark that we should always stay under the protecting and guiding light of Jesus. Pagan altars may not be in our midst anymore unlike in those days of the Maccabees. But we have to guard ourselves from this masquerade of these seemingly valid laws and policies against human life. We have to resist it and try to remove this culture of death that has gripped the human race. We have to resist the idea that degrades human life. Our helpless brothers and sisters in the womb are being slaughtered by the millions every day. Abortion has to end. People are being torn apart by the abortion industry. We have to stand up for these rights that are being trampled upon. We can only attain freedom when we serve and do the right thing. We have to be Pro-Life. All these things and efforts make sense only if we are able to stand up for these rights. All people are equal and no one is less than others. Let us not remain in this cloud of deception that segregates, classifies and downgrades people of who we really are. Freedom from this lie is for everyone not only for those who has done what is right but also for those who did wrong as we aim to follow Jesus to eternal life. Amen. Hallelujah!

John 12:44-50
44 Jesus cried out and said: “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, 45 and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. 46 I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. 47 And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. 48 Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, 49 because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”