...Ezra read plainly from the book of the law of God, interpreting it so that all could understand what was read. 9 Then Nehemiah, that is, His Excellency, and Ezra the priest-scribe [and the Levites who were instructing the people] said to all the people, “Today is holy to the LORD your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep” — for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law.10 He said further, “Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our LORD. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the LORD must be your strength!”
It always pays to be watchful and alert at all times.
Although we sometimes fail to measure up due to our own shortcomings or could
be the doing of another, God assures us in today's psalm that if we fall into
the trap of the enemy we can always repent with a deep remorse for our sins and
resolve to make the precepts of the Lord the joy of our hearts. In doing so, we
find ourselves naturally restrained from sin and maintain our innocence. It is
so hard to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord if we do not know exactly
how to go about with it. It's just like when we have to comply to certain
requirements in school and follow the standard set by it. We need to have a
pattern or outline from which we can base our work. Just as it is so in other
things, the more we are all in need of God's precepts. The absolute bedrock of
spiritual life is to follow the 10 commandments. We are sometimes misled into
thinking that when we have a type of prayer then we think that we already have
a spiritual life. We’ve got to have the humility to admit that God is smarter
than we are and we need to follow and obey what we are told in the 10
commandments. We should be totally and absolutely convinced that He knows best.
Satan uses half truths and half lies in his devilish tricks. Satan’s claims
seem to come true in one level. Take the example of our 1st parents
after eating of the forbidden fruit their eyes were opened and did become in
one sense like God. The fallen angels made their free choice by radically and
irrevocably rejecting God so in turn they seduce and mislead Adam & Eve. It
was through sin that humanity was afflicted by death. Because of one man’s
disobedience many were made sinners. When tempted in the Garden, Adam failed to
remain faithful to God and His commands. Jesus, the New Adam, is God’s servant
totally obedient to the Divine will. Jesus is the devil’s conqueror and takes
back the plunder. What the devil has stolen from us, Jesus has recovered for
us. Pope Benedict XVI commented about what the Lord experienced in the desert
and said that at the heart of all temptations is the act of pushing God aside
because we conceive Him as secondary. It is an act of constructing our world
with our own lights and building our own foundation and setting God aside as an
allusion. Temptations come in many varied forms but one thing is sure, it does
not invite us to directly do evil because it is too blatant and would outright
turn us off. It is very subtle and yet an act of pushing God’s commands aside
and placing the devil’s temptation as primary. If we want to remain victorious
throughout life, we have to keep Him in the center of our life and hold on to
His words which are Spirit and life. God’s ever present help can be found in
the scriptures. It's just like a soldier going to battle wearing the armor of
God. It never fails and always there to defend and protect from the snares of
the evil one. So always take up our sword which is the word of God. God's
perfect word can refresh the soul. Have you ever wondered really how it feels
to be refreshed? Whenever we take a shower or a warm bath and put on clothes
that are well fitted and comfortable it refreshes our body. It could also be whenever
we go to a place where we can unwind, relax, be away from the tensions,
stresses, noise and turmoil of the fast paced lives that we lead and just
appreciate the beauty of nature that surrounds us and the peace and quiet it
offers to our tired bodies in order to be more in touch with God's voice in us.
It is so refreshing it gives our minds and hearts a better view and perspective
of how to live our lives. The same thing with our souls, we should always keep
it clean, healthy and clothed with maximum security, protection but comfortable
enough we don't even know it's there. Like it has become fused in us, there's
nothing more right than following and obeying the law of God. Today's psalm
reading guides us on how we should go about with our lives by always keeping in
mind God's laws. None of us is perfect but through our imperfections we can
always run to God for help and guidance. He will never refuse nor forsake us
for He can only love and care for us. There are people who have alienated
themselves from God and we can’t just force them to go back. God does not do
that, it’s not how the Lord works, instead we pray and pray for them. If we
wait long enough and adhere to God’s precepts then we will finally obtain joy
in our hearts. As water prevails over the rock throughout the course of time so
does the Holy Spirit that is continuously flooding or washing over the man’s
heart. The Holy Spirit moves in and
continues to work upon us and tenderizes us. The song entitled, "Your
Words Are Spirit and Life" by Bernadette Farrell was impressed to me. It
is a beautiful song that I have always loved to sing and I just realized that
the words of this song are taken from this psalm which made me start singing
it. Well, we just have to fully discover what the words of God can make us do.
When things get out of hand we have no one to blame but ourselves for God is
surely not lacking in everything that He has given us for our own welfare. We've
got everything we need because there's nothing more that God could and should do
for us that He has not done. All we have to do is completely trust and obey the
judgments of the Lord. GOD'S LAW MAKES US LIVE A VIRTUOUS LIFE (CCC 1803
"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if
there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.") May we
truly recognize the genuine and precious treasures that we should all strive to
achieve and work for which is none other than these things spoken of in today's
psalm. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15
R: Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
7 [8] The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. (R) 8 [9] The
precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the command of the LORD is
clear, enlightening the eye. (R) 9 [10] The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring
forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true, all of them just. (R) 10 [11]
They are more precious than gold, than a heap of purest gold; sweeter also than
syrup or honey from the comb.
Jesus
Christ came to this world more than 2000 years ago. I believe that nothing about
the life of Jesus was left to mere chance or by accident because everything in
His life happened for a reason in fulfillment of His mission. He came to make
all things right. This mission is also ours. I quote the words which I heard from
the Filipino telenovela entitled: "May Bukas Pa
Brothers and sisters:As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. Now the body is not a single part, but many. You are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it
Today's gospel speaks of the very first words that Luke wrote in his mission to write about the life of Jesus. He emphasized the fact that he, too have taken on this mission just like the others who were before him and were eyewitnesses and had investigated accurately and written everything down in an orderly sequence for the benefit of other believers like us. This is very true and reliable after having been able to learn much more about Luke in our bible study. He is truly a man of God who dedicated his life to the Word of God. His life's work and achievement as a learned and highly educated scholar has benefited people of all generation most especially Christian believers up to this present time. It was a great privilege to not only familiarize ourselves with the Word of God but the person of Luke who wrote the gospel. This has helped me understand better his writings and developed a deeper affection for the gospel of Jesus. Just like Luke we are all called to work diligently and remove all the hindrances and obstructions in fulfilling what we are called to do. So that even if we are all long gone and passed away we are assured that our missions are over and done. Amen. Hallelujah!
Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21
1 Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, 3 I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received
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