THE BLIND

The first reading is in accordance to the previous readings wherein God urges each one of us to remain steadfast in Him. We will always be tempted to stray away from the path but no matter what the cost is, we should always stand firm on the solid ground where our faith is built. This reminds me of the time when my husband and I got married at the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church. I was very young then and had just given birth to our 1st born son, Jude so I was advised to take the pills to prevent another pregnancy to follow right away. Although I know about the stand of the Catholic Church with regards to artificial contraception I felt I had no better choice then but to take the pills. It was during my 2nd month of taking the pills that I decided to finally stop it due to a persistent message I heard during the prayer meetings I was attending back then. Nobody knew that I was taking the pills except for my husband that was why I got the surprise of my life when the preacher said this," I know that you know who you are and the Lord is telling you that He is not pleased with artificial family planning." It happened for 3 consecutive prayer meetings and was consistently being said in the end like a parting word for all of us. The preacher didn't even know me personally then. At first, I thought it was just a coincidence but when she consistently said the same message for the 2nd and 3rd time that was when I finally got bothered and gathered all my courage and determination to stop taking the pills. I was determined to just stick to the natural family planning method despite the serious warning of the doctor that an abrupt stop in taking it could cause another pregnancy right away. I am perfectly aware of the repercussions of my sudden decision which somehow parallels the plight of the Israelites in today's 1st reading. Although my situation was a lot less difficult than theirs I felt the same determination and firmness in my heart to stick to my part of the covenant with God. The terrible did happen when immediately after I stopped taking the pills I suddenly missed my period. It was the month of the feast of the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and was more than a month delayed. I can never forget what happened on the feast day (Nov 27) itself when I went to attend mass and was asking Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal to intercede on my behalf because on that very day after coming home I got my period. Amen. Hallelujah!

2nd book of Maccabees 1,10-15.41-43.54-57.62-63.
....Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people, each abandoning his particular customs. All the Gentiles conformed to the command of the king, and many Israelites were in favor of his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath... But many in Israel were determined and resolved in their hearts not to eat anything unclean; they preferred to die rather than to be defiled with unclean food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die. Terrible affliction was upon Israel

Another interesting event I am reminded of is one of the MI (Militia Immaculata) Meetings we had in the past wherein we were asked to introduce ourselves briefly by saying our names, parishes where we belong and the time when we were consecrated to the Mother Mary. I can never forget the date I was consecrated (March 15, 2008) since it was the same date, but in 1995, of my mother's death anniversary but I would rather call it her birth to eternal life. It was highlighted by another significant event which was a dream I had at that same time of my aunt, Tita Edna who also passed away on the same date, March 15 in the year 1992. The dream was quite interesting and very vivid because I saw Tita Edna riding in a van and the moment I saw her I took off immediately and ran after the van which I almost missed if I did not leap and managed to make it to the door of the van from which I almost fell. When I finally made it inside the van, I saw that she was about to eat so I offered her a hand sanitizer and saw that it made her so glad that I had it. She immediately applied it in her hands and thanked me for it. It suddenly gave me the impression that the van could be a symbol of our transportation to heaven. It is very difficult to catch that ride, we have to be always alert and vigilant we might end up missing it and worst never be able catch the ride ever again. That is, if we are too busy with other things we tend to neglect what should we be paying attention to and end up missing out on our ride and get a different ride which instead of bringing us to heaven, be brought to another destination which I guess none of us would like to be. We must always know on whose authority we are basing our actions. It will always help to examine ourselves and really be aware where our loyalty lies. Are we for God or against God or are we just for God in the superficial sense? If we are deeply rooted in Him then we can withstand that horrible day of trial and still find ourselves persevering in our faith. Just the thought of ending up in hell should really make us pray fervently to God the responsorial psalm for today. Amen. Hallelujah!



P S A L M

Psalm 119:53. 61. 134. 150. 155. 158
R: Give me life, O Lord, and I will do your commands.
53 Indignation seizes me because of the wicked who forsake your law. (R) 61 Though the snares of the wicked are twined about me your law I have not forgotten. (R) 134 Redeem me from the oppression of men, that I may keep your precepts. (R) 150 I am attacked by malicious persecutors who are far from your law.


A lot of things that already happened many years ago are all suddenly coming back to me now. The apparitions of the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal to Catherine Laboure is related to the apparitions to St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France. This struck me as very significant information. Aside from the fact that we were married in the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church, our 2 sons are both products of the Lourdes School of Mandaluyong. Our lives are very intertwined with the Blessed Mother in a very special way. I choose to give importance to these things and treasure it very dearly in my heart. Today's gospel speaks of a blind man who was healed by Jesus. He called out to Jesus as Son of David which means that he was able to recognize Him as the Messiah unlike the Jews who remained stubborn in their unbelief. We too, are blind at times of the good things that God has been doing to us since we came to be. Or we may not be necessarily blind but slow in recognizing God in every single turn in our life just like the Jews. I am saying this because of what had been happening to me these last few days which left me in awe of how God can really make things happen and not happen in our lives and how these can just pass by unnoticed or taken for granted if we do not learn from the enthusiasm, determination and most of all faith of this blind man in today's gospel. It also shows us how a blind man gained his eyesight and gave glory to God. This means that blindness can be a barrier to giving praise and glory to God. We may not be physically blind but our souls are. We've got to see not only with our physical eyes but most importantly our souls should have eyes too. In this way we can respond and act in accordance to what is truly essential and lasting. We should always be alert, sharpen our senses just like the blind man who was able to hear that Jesus is passing by, though his sense of seeing is impaired he was able to call Jesus' attention and it did not stop him from drawing Jesus near to Him. We may be broken in some aspects of our life but let us not be stopped in utilizing other faculties in order to receive the miracle of Jesus in our lives. We should continue to seek other means to attain our goals and let us continue to call on Him no matter how big the obstacles are in front of us. Just like the blind man in this gospel, we need to see more clearly and have a glimpse of how to serve a God who is more than enough. Unless we see God face to face, we can never fully understand the totality of who our God is. His infinite goodness to us makes us long to serve Him more but our disabilities like this blind man keeps us from doing so that there is really a need to be persistent and calling out to God all the more no matter how embarrassing and difficult our situation happens to be. We simply should never stop and give up for not even our entire lifetime can ever live up to a Holy, Mighty and Immortal God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 18,35-43.

Now as he approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging, and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." He shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me!" Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, What do you want me to do for you? He replied, "Lord, please let me see." Jesus told him, "Have sight; your faith has saved you." He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.