NEVER COMPROMISE

It is very sad that nowadays, people are no longer interested in matters about God the way they are with matters of this world. It could have been a lot more understandable if people who are caught up between the conflict of secular and religious matters would just keep silent or remain neutral about it but what’s worst is that these very people who claim to be believers and followers of God are the very same people who disregard the feast days and the laws of the Church and speak ill about the faith. Sometimes we fall prey into the same trap without realizing it whenever we fail to focus on what’s really most important and essential in life. Today is the last day of the Liturgical Calendar of the Church and tomorrow we will celebrate the 1st day of Advent and the New Liturgical Calendar. Sometimes I wonder why we do not give much attention to such occasions in the Church the way we do when we celebrate New Year. I guess we sometimes lose our sense of priority and direction as to where we should be heading because we are bombarded by the commercialism of this world that our judgment gets clouded. We tend to be slowly and discreetly lured to compromise. If there’s one thing we should keep in mind that is to never deal with the enemies of our faith that can be compared to a beast which is exactly what today’s 1st reading is about. Amen. Hallelujah!

Dn 7:15-27
But I wished to make certain about the fourth beast, so very terrible and different from the others,… He shall speak against the Most High and oppress the holy ones of the Most High, thinking to change the feast days and the law…

These past few days I noticed that the Response (R) for the psalm readings were all the same which could probably due to the fact that we are coming to the end of the Liturgical Calendar of the Church and preparing to usher a new one. I also noticed that on the previous days, non living things and all that is part of nature followed by animals or living creatures of all forms that inhabit the earth are being called to give glory and eternal praise to God. On this last day of the Liturgical Calendar, the most priced creation of God whom He has chosen and destined to be holy are the ones called to give glory and praise. On the last and final day nothing else matters everything in this world will cease to exist. Only those people called (Sons of men), who faithfully responded, finally chosen to be priests and servants of the Lord whose spirits and souls are just and holy with humble heart will remain standing. No other than us, humans whom God has chosen to be the leader of His handiwork are given this privilege and honor to share in His Kingdom which emphasizes the truth that we are God’s beloved and on top of His creation. Amen. Hallelujah!

Responsorial Psalm
Daniel 3:82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
“You sons of men,… “O Israel,… “Priests of the Lord,… “Servants of the Lord,… “Spirits and souls of the just,… “Holy men of humble heart, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”

I could never forget the time when I was watching “Deal or No Deal” on TV and saw this lady contestant who was so full of confidence when she bravely and proudly said that she is going home with a $1,000,000. As the game went on, her confidence started to ebb down when one by one she was opening very high amounts and started to lose the confidence that she had during the start of the show. It finally came to a point when only cases containing very low amounts as low as below $400 and the $1,000,000 were left behind. Her defenses finally gave way and made a deal for $115,000 instead of continuing to play. Only to find out in the end that the case she had chosen really contained the 1 million dollars. It gave me the impression that sometimes we are like that with God when everything seems to be safe and sure we hold on to God’s promise and continue to hope for the best but when the tough gets going that’s when we start to doubt if there’s really something good in store for us if we continue to stick to the Lord through thick and thin. When the lady contestant finally decided to deal she said these words, “I may believe that my case has the 1 million dollars but it may not be so.” She doubted her gut feeling in the beginning. We can not blame her for what she did because she just wanted to make sure that she can at least win something from the game instead of going home with nothing. With regards to our dealings in the matters of our faith we should never make a deal nor compromise for we are 100% sure that we will come out as the winner if we choose God above all. When we engage ourselves in things that we consider worthy of our time and energy then we should always make a conscious effort to examine it if they will lead us to something that draws us away from God. We can do this by always lifting to God in prayer whatever decision we make whether it is big or small. As we do this more often time will come when we will eventually develop sensitivity and an open mind to the will of God. As the saying goes, "Practice makes perfect." At first it may not seem to be relevant at all because people make wise decisions every day and nothing seems to make any difference at all whether it is offered to God in prayer or not for as long as it is the right thing to do. As rational human beings we are all capable of making a logical decision. The big difference lies in the fact that every time we make decisions and develop a conscious act of placing God in the center we strengthen our bond with God. It is just like when we want to involve someone in our life then we eventually develop a close relationship with the person because of the constant interaction that is being formed which eventually leads to a more meaningful relationship. Today's gospel is a warning to all of us not to be lenient about our faith. An evil force is out to destroy this bond and if we are not going to actively participate in keeping it intact then we may easily fall into the trap. We should take every opportunity that comes our way to exercise our faith. As we grow in strength and work our way to developing a strong and spiritually fit soul we make ourselves ready and able to stand firm on that final day. Amen. Hallelujah!

Lk 21:34-36
Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life,
and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”