CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT

It is very enlightening and gives a good feeling whenever we have a chance of talking to people who are full of God’s wisdom and love. Being able to connect with people of the light who really live up to God’s call is such a blessing and gift. Last night I had this opportunity to do just that. I went to the Kolbe Missionary House and had a good talk with Anne. I just realized that if there is one thing I wanted to tell this person after this wonderful visit then it can be found in today’s 1st reading. Amen. Hallelujah!

Romans 15:14-21
14 I myself am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another.

The good news of our salvation which was obtained for us more than 2000 years ago by Jesus Christ on the cross is still being proclaimed to this very day. There is no way we can deny the truth for heaven and earth will fade but God's words will remain. We have to trust, hope and rely on God rather than our own power. Let's face it we sometimes rely too much on ourselves and too little on God. We are troubled about a lot of things when sometimes there's really no cause for it. There are levels of anxiety. Exaggerated anxiety and discouragement are one of the greatest obstacles to holiness. There is a level of anxiety that we just have to trust in God's Grace and Goodness. We should not disturb our inner peace not even momentarily. Life on earth is a great struggle indeed for God's Kingdom. A lot of things can bother and bring us down but we do not have to stay that way. We have to exercise our minds and wills to put our confidence in God. He is the one whom we can totally trust and depend on to save us. God's faithfulness and steadfast love know no boundaries. These compelled me to write daily personal reflections of the readings which I consider as my love letters to the Lord. I can still remember the time when I used to write letters to my close friends. There was one friend of mine whom I exchange letters as often as every week considering that there was no e mail yet and had to send it through the post office. I am sure that we both anticipated the coming of the mailman every single day and had made the bond of our friendship stronger. We should hope to move toward that goal in our relationship with God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalms 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
R: The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
1 Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. (R) 2 The LORD has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. 3 He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. (R) All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. 4 Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; break into song; sing praise.

We should dismiss this wrong notion that if we are holy and pure then we are automatically boring and dull. It is actually all up to us if we want to be this way. Being a child of light should come with all the goodness that goes with it. Instead of blowing out of proportion the real situation we should work our way out to become prudent. Prudence is the ability to make right decisions in complex situations, decisions that lead to the best and right thing. Without this we can be in big trouble. We’ve got to be able to decide in a situation that we’re in what the right thing to do which is the best thing to do. How do we get something done? There are some folks who probably just can’t figure out what to do. There are other folks who look at the problem and they can figure out a solution. It’s a core and they execute that core. It’s practical wisdom. We’ll find in the Book of Proverbs a lot of things about wisdom even in Sirach, Ecclesiastes and all the wisdom literature in scriptures. As the children of this world claim to be full of worldly wisdom so should we children of the light, if we believe and say so, should be full of heavenly wisdom and truly be smart and wise. In today's gospel, our Lord said that the people of this world are much smarter in their dealings with each other than are the children of light. This man was a scoundrel and he was a scoundrel all the way. His god was himself and his ideal was financial security and he served self well all the way. My dear friends what one has to say about this man and the people of this world and what our Lord is trying to get over to us is that they are consistent. Are we? We say we believe in God, not some vague deity above the tower but the God of love who took us out of nothingness in love. Who came down, died for us and sustains us in love. Who has destined us for an eternity of love? Do we really believe in Him? When trouble comes, we wring our hands and furrow our brows. We have sleepless nights and headaches. There is this little piece of doggerel, about the sparrow saying to the robin, “Do you really like to know what motivates those foolish mortals as they rush around and worry so? The robin responded to the sparrow, “I think that it must be they have no Heavenly Father such as one that cares for you and me.” In the official thanksgiving of the priest after mass every morning, there is the use of the Canticle of Daniel, when Daniel calls all creation to praise and worship God, the sun, the moon, the stars, the valleys and the hills. We can find this line that every bird in the sky blesses the Lord. Outside the window in New York where Fr. Leo Clifford lives, birds fly by very often. He said that sometimes one will alight in his window sill and peck the glass in the window to remind him that we neither sow nor spin nor gather into barn and our Heavenly Father takes care of the birds. How much more will He take care of us? We say we believe in eternity but if we examine ourselves, don’t we live as if time were to go on forever. One should think of the little flower saying that there had never been more than 3 minutes in her whole life when she was not thinking of our Lord with whom she was going to spend through eternity. When we say we believe in people that everyone of us is a child of God that we are going to be together in paradise do we realize how we treat people as our brothers and sisters in the Lord? Remember He told us that what we do to them, we do to Him. Sometimes we don’t like others because of our sophistication, because of their background, because of their lack of education. My dear friends we say that we believe in spiritual values, that it isn’t what we have but what we are inside. But look at the way we go to the mall and spend money and buy material things. Where is our conviction? Where is our consistency? Well, my dear friends all that we can do is keep trying and begin again. And then the poem and psalm that we say, after mass everyday is surely true. Oh God, You are my God. For You I long, for You alone my soul is thirsty. My body pines for You like a dry, weary land without water so I gaze on You in the sanctuary for Your love is better than life. On my bed, I remember You, on You I mused through the night for You had been my help, in the shadow of Your wings I rejoice. My soul clings to You, Your right hand holds me fast. Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 16:1-8
...“For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.”