Everything is grace from God. Nothing in this world
continues to be without God's Almighty power holding it in place. Sometimes we
forget who we really are, where we came from, what we're created and called for
and why we are here in this world and still exist up to this very moment.
Today's 1st reading is a wake up call for the chosen people of God as spoken by
the prophet Isaiah. When we are not in touch with this reality then we might
end up exhausting all our efforts just for nothing. Let us not stray away and
always be mindful of this truth so that we are always connected to the only one
and true source of all powers. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Isaiah 10:5-7, 13b-16
...My hand has seized like a nest the riches of nations; as
one takes eggs left alone, so I took in all the earth; no one fluttered a wing,
or opened a mouth, or chirped!” 15 Will the axe boast against him who hews with
it? Will the saw exalt itself above him who wields it? As if a rod could sway
him who lifts it, or a staff him who is not wood!...
The wisdom of the world is folly to God. No matter how wise
and intelligent a person may be if his or her whole being is not surrendered to
God then all our efforts are futile or will eventually end up for nothing. God
governs all and everything that happens is within His knowledge and will. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Psalm 94:5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 14-15
R: The Lord will not abandon his people.
...And they say, “The LORD sees not; the God of Jacob
perceives not.” 8 Understand, you senseless ones among the people; and, you
fools, when will you be wise? (R) 9 Shall he who shaped the ear not hear? or he
who formed the eye not see? 10 Shall he who instructs nations not chastise, he
who teaches men knowledge?...
Today I am reminded once again of my experience in St. Martha's
Church when I was just new in the parish in 2008. I was so surprised when I saw
the statue of Jesus in St. Martha Church here in West Covina .
It was a first Friday of Feb 2008 when I envisioned this statue of Jesus
with its extended right arm holding His heart on his hand. Tita Piling was with
me then so I asked her if that is a statue of the Sacred Heart because I have
never seen anything like one before, but she simply nodded her head. That was
how I saw it. It appeared to me like He was handing over His heart to me. But
on the day we went for Sunday mass I found out that the image/statue which I
envisioned was not how I saw it on that day with Jesus extending his arm
offering His heart on his hand. To my
surprise when I came closer to the statue, I realized that it is indeed the
Sacred Heart of Jesus but not as I had seen it on the 1st Friday of
that month. The heart of Jesus was not in His hand but on His chest. I was
almost in tears and felt God's love being offered to me as symbolized by His
heart held on His extended hand. A lot of people may find it hard to believe
that I have seen Jesus holding His heart on His extended hand but the eyes of
my faith can not deny it. Matters of the faith are very difficult to accept and
understand for some people for they will always question and rationalize things.
The vision I had of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is quite difficult to believe.
There are some things that can not be explained and we simply have to pray to
God to reveal them in our hearts. This is why Jesus in today's gospel
emphasized the importance of being like the little children. We, grown ups are
always caught up in the cares and concerns of this world that we sometimes
forget who really is in charge of
everything and tend to overpower God. The same way a child entrusts everything
to his/her parents we, too should learn to trust that God our Father will take
care of us. We can learn a lot from the children who are full of trust and confidence
in their parents. I am also reminded of Jude since he is a product of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus miracle. When he was still a little boy, he used to move
and act like his father in many ways. There are certain mannerisms that he got
from his father even as a little boy which are really noticeable. As he was
growing up I noticed that he has this peculiar attitude to his father that I
have mistaken as fear since his father is very strict and very much a disciplinarian.
There was one time when I was so irritated with his father and started venting
out my anger verbally. I never expected that Jude who was very young at that
time would say, "You are always angry at my father." He really
sounded like he was in favor of his father and I never forgot that. Despite the
many times that his father exercised rigid discipline on them which I thought
was too rough, he remained loyal to his father. It made me realize that all the
while what I thought was fear was really respect. If we will only learn the
secret of the childlike then we can surely acquire the wisdom of God. If we
always maintain in us, a high level of confidence in God who is our loving
Father then we are not far from achieving it. May we acquire the trusting attitude
of the children and continue to discover the wonders of God’s love as a perfect
father to us. Amen. Hallelujah!
Matthew 11:25-27
25 At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you,
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.
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