LIFE WITH MEANING

For as long as we stand by the principles and values of God then we can never be wrong. God knows our every thought, motive and intention and if we act on it based on what is just, true and peaceful then we will never be disturbed. The commandments do not limit freedom but rather protect it. We have to realize that the more we disobey the more we become bound and become a slave of sin. If we follow the full extent of the 10 commandments we become truly free and without any fear. Let us be very careful in our commitment to follow God by not altering or obscuring the true intent of God's law. We should not look at the 10 commandments as something that is meant to make life difficult for us but instead be considered a perfect gift to mankind. A gift that is meant to be valued and used as intended. It is important that we become fully aware of it and be doers not just hearers of the word of God to maintain and sustain our purity. Amen. Hallelujah!

James 1:19-26
Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. 22 Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. 24 He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like. 25 But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts; such a one shall be blessed in what he does... Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

We see people who repeatedly commit the same mistakes over and over again. And yet they never learn anything from the lessons that go with it. The frightening truth about this is the fact that they prefer to be disturbed and miserable not because they love misery but because they prefer to stay in the dark. Jesus has a standing invitation to us in John 12:35, "Jesus said to them, "The light will be among you only a little while. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where he is going." It is a choice and decision that we alone can make. It’s not surprising to know that most of us think that God doesn’t want us to have fun. It’s like all the things that we want to do with our friends that are interesting and exciting when we were young, were against God’s commandments. It may seem like we have to settle for less. What’s worse is that all the faithful Catholics get less out of life. This is part of the propaganda way back in the Garden of Eden. God gave us a magnificent paradise wherein there is perfect intimacy and no shame with each other. In the Garden they have everything they need but gave just one limit, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is very interesting because God said, “Don’t do this because you will die.” The reason why God commands us something is because He is a loving Father who cares for us. He wants us to have the best. But then came the serpent, it didn’t create Adam & Eve, nor gave the garden or anything at all. All the serpent gave was a lie and told Adam & Eve not to listen to God or they’ll lose out and won’t become like God. They were made to believe that God is holding out something from them and is actually their rival because God doesn’t want them to have what He has. So instead of trusting the one who gave them everything, they trusted a stranger. They disobeyed God and listened to the liar. They were hooked into a downward spiral of destruction. This is what sin is all about. It is a trap. It is disguised as an apparent good because the fruit looks good and desirable but it ends in disaster. The relationship with God is messed up and so creation turned against them, thorns and thistles appear and things in life become hard. This is what sin does, it seemed small but it gets out of control. Things get worse and worse and there are broken lives everywhere. This is the reality about sin, we are draining life out of ourselves unless we recognize the one true source of life. The problem is that there is a great propaganda out there. It makes sin appear with all its fun, excitement and glamour. It makes virtue appear boring, lame, bland and unexciting. But the truth of the matter is, it’s not. The pleasures that God created in this world are enjoyed the most by those who don’t abuse them and use it simply. Who do we think enjoys food most? The person who doesn’t know how to fast and engorges all the time or a person after a fast experiences a feast? The virtuous person enjoys life the most. The person who uses creation and all things according to God’s plan enjoys it the most. It is because pleasure is God’s idea. All the good things in the world that people want are God’s idea. Satan can’t invent even one bit of pleasure. But God commands them to be used so that it leads to life and a part of life is joy. The way to enjoy life is to follow God’s commands. Life is not all about rules and regulations. God did not just give us a bunch of rules and regulations that we are supposed to obey like machines. What we do does not just proceed from who we are but also makes us who we are. The actions we engage, the words that we say and the things that we do have an impact on us. We are making ourselves all the time. God created us when we came out of the womb, our mothers and father have a great role in that but our creation continues every single day of our lives. We’re even becoming someone more beautiful, mature and strong or someone weaker and more despicable. There’s no middle ground. We’re going one way or another. Life leads either to heaven or to hell. That’s what the acts that we commit do. Heaven is the realization of being a champion. In heaven we will be glorified magnificently. We will live forever with strength, power and beauty sharing a new humanity with Jesus. When everything is over and done, we look forward to God's reward of endless worth as we emerge as the champion who is victorious then we shall live on the holy mountain of the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5
R: Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord.
2 He who walks blamelessly and does justice; who thinks the truth in his heart 3 and slanders not with his tongue. (R) Who harms not his fellow man, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor; 4 by whom the reprobate is despised, while he honors those who fear the LORD. (R) 5 Who lends not his money at usury and accepts no bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be disturbed.


If we will just make a journal, review and try to reflect on it then we would be amazed at how God interconnects the thoughts and insights that naturally arise from the daily readings. We would be able to look at things with meaning and know that He allows things to happen to us for a reason. He will make all things beautiful in our lives and everything is revealed to us in His perfect time. We should always be full of hope and master the art of waiting patiently for the Lord with complete trust in His goodness and mercy. Today's gospel speaks of a blind man whom Jesus did not heal instantly but was first led outside the village, placed spittle on his eyes and laid hands for the 2nd time before his sight was restored totally. He was also given a specific instruction to follow after the healing took place. This means a lot of things. It is overwhelming, the way God speaks to us in so many different ways. If He wills it then He could instantly heal the blind man but there is a reason why Jesus chose to heal him in various stages. The same thing in our lives, we have to go through a process, stages or whatever you may want to call it when things don't happen immediately or turn out the way we expected it to happen. What's most important is that we follow the way of Jesus and faithfully obey what He is telling us to do. Surely, just like the blind man we will definitely restore very clearly and totally what we've lost and even more and be assured that the blessings we've been waiting for will surely come. Amen, Hallelujah!

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 8,22-26.
When they arrived at Bethsaida, they brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on him and asked, "Do you see anything?"
Looking up he replied, "I see people looking like trees and walking."
Then he laid hands on his eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, "Do not even go into the village."