DOUBTING GENERATION

We are being encouraged in today's 1st reading to bear witness to Jesus. It is said that great favor was accorded to the apostles and there was no needy person among them. This is such an ideal set up for everyone who wants prosperity and who wouldn't aspire for something like that. It may sound so simple but if we will look closely at what is stated, our witnessing should be one with GREAT POWER. It is imperative that we don the armor of God in Eph. 6:10-18. ("10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.") Amen. Hallelujah!

Acts 4:32-35
...With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them,

According to Fr. Joseph Koterski a Jesuit priest and a professor in Fordham University it helps to always have GRACE. G stands for Gratitude, R for Respect, A for Account (have an accounting of the things we have done whether good or bad), C for Charting (to chart our course of action in order to see where we're going) and E to Entreat the Lord for the energy and enthusiasm He has been giving us in this life. We need to always think of the things we are grateful for. It will help us examine our conscience and live a holy life that is fitting for a people of God. Amen. Hallelujah!


Psalms 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
R: Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.
…Let those who fear the LORD say, “His mercy endures forever.” (R) 13 I was hard pressed and was falling, but the LORD helped me. 14 My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior… This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it. (R)

In relation to the need to put on the armor of God, there are 3 steps to victory in spiritual warfare.

1. Define the enemy. Know that the enemy could be blatant or subtle. It could be disguised in the form of lies, a force that leads us away from Christ, or a person/desire that makes us act in contrary to Christ. The subtlety of the enemy can be compared to this strategy, a frog placed in a pot of water on a stove top that was being slowly heated until it boiled to death. The frog could have easily jumped out of the pot if it was placed there when the water was already boiling.

2. Determine the desires of the enemy. Its desire is to get the people against each other. This is so, in order to lure us to sin and by distorting the real face of sin to make us believe that we are not committing it at all.

3. Do the opposite. If what we are doing leads us to sin then do the opposite. If we feel like answering back or gossiping about a person then don't.

We are also warned not to cling to spiritual experiences to the point of losing sight of the purpose of these spiritual delights which is to allow us to have a deeper faith and hope in God. It should work as transmitters of spiritual growth. The only spiritual and temporal benefit that we should gain from it most importantly should bring us to the knowledge and love of God. The primacy of love is emphasized in Lk. 10:19-20 which say "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." If we've become so inordinately attached to the gift it can lead to inappropriate use. According to St. John of the Cross there are dangers in using the gift since we can be susceptible to vanity, vain glory or worst demonic manipulation. Let us not forget that for the gifts to work there is a need for detachment and always be docile to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Everything is for the greater glory of God. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 John 5:1-6
...For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, 4 for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith

The gospel today is about the story of "Doubting Thomas" which is also the story of each one of us. One time or another we can not deny that we've been like Thomas, too. We also doubted God in our own personal lives sometimes even without knowing it through our words and actions. Our experiences at times are mostly occasions that lead us to doubt. We all come to a point in our lives when our faith is greatly tested. But just like those holy and faithful souls including Father Abraham and the rest of our ancestors in the Old Testament whom the church said were in limbo before the coming of Jesus Christ, who waited and were rewarded with Heaven we, too should be hopeful that our time will come. Instead of dwelling on the negative we should realize that despite the locked doors in our lives God always stand in our midst and give His peace. We should be thankful to God for the several occasions in our life when we encountered difficulties for those were times when we discovered that God never left us. These experiences that cause fear and pain sometimes make us turn away from God and doubt Him. This is very common nowadays as we see people live their lives as if there is no God. Today's gospel is very appropriate for the kind of generation we have right now, a doubting and unbelieving race of people who no longer believe anything without first seeing. In the encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI entitled, "Spe Salvi" we are asked to nourish our faith, hope and love through prayer, unity of our own sufferings to that of Jesus Christ and belief in the reality of judgment. We are so blessed to have Pope Benedict XVI who was a teacher before he became pope. This present generation can definitely benefit from his papacy and has still a lot to know before we can profess the words of Thomas with the same love and conviction. Amen. Hallelujah!

John 20:19-31
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” 24 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.