SPIRITUAL LAUNDRY

We are urged to avail of every possible means in order to become holy. Let us always remind ourselves of how Jesus lived here on earth and do our best to follow His example. Amen. Hallelujah!

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3a, 14-17

...15 Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught,...16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement and good hope through his grace, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word.

We should always be prepared for the day when we will come face to face with God. Every single day should be lived as if it's our last. How easy it is to put ourselves in the center of the universe. We are not the center of the universe, God is. We are just here on earth for a few fleeting years. 70 if we are strong in which to serve God. St. Theresa of Avila said to never waste a moment in time because she knows that every moment in time can secure heaven. When all is over and the battle has been won as in Revelation, God's name will be written in our foreheads and it will never be night again nor will we still need lamp or sunlight again because the Lord is our Light. There are so many things in life that worry us every day. We encounter people and circumstances that disturb our peace. We can't help but be stirred up and sometimes lose our focus. The truth is there is nothing that should bother us at all. We've got to hold on to the truth always that God is on top of everything. We have to be perfectly aware of the fact that the Lord has the whole world in the palm of His hand and will surely rule it with justice and constancy. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 96:10, 11-12, 13

R: The Lord comes to judge the earth.

10 Say among the nations the LORD is king. He has made the world firm, not to be moved; he governs the peoples with equity. (R) 11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and what fills it resound; 12 let the plains be joyful and all that is in them! Then shall all the trees of the forest exult. (R) 13 Before the LORD, for he comes; for he comes to rule the earth. He shall rule the world with justice and the peoples with his constancy.

Sometimes we are too focused and disturbed about something that we tend to forget the more important or essential thing. The gospel for today is telling us exactly that. We should always put God in the center of everything we do. Or we should always keep in mind that Jesus knows all our motivations and intentions. Whenever we act on it we should be able to confidently say that Jesus is very pleased with it. We should be able to honestly and confidently admit to God that our actions are based on what is truly pleasing to Him. In today's gospel, Jesus tells us to cleanse ourselves of all impurities that stain our souls. As our physical bodies need daily baths to keep us clean, we must not neglect to bath our souls with spiritual soap such as doing what is good in thoughts, words and in action. Stay away from wrongdoings that can stain us and hard to remove we may need to use spiritual bleach instead of just soap. When we launder our clothes we also use fragrant softeners the same way with our spiritual walk with the Lord. Let us always transform our hearts hardened by our sins into hearts of flesh. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 23:23-26

23 Jesus said: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. But these you should have done, without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.”