Book of Leviticus 19,1-2.11-18.
The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the whole Israelite
community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy.
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.
We really have to take charge of our lives and be focused on
what we really want. If we want the inheritance of God then let's work our way
to it. He is both Lord of the universe who loves us and would judge us. In the
gospel today it is written that goats would be separated from the sheep. This
is because goats rarely do what they are told to do unlike the sheep they stay
together and follow the shepherd. We have to let go of things that we are too
attached and do something intentionally like alms giving as a form of loving
our neighbor as ourselves. What we do, we don’t do for Jesus according to
Mother Teresa rather we do it to Jesus. Whatever law God has decreed it will
always boil down to love for God and our fellowmen. There was a story of a
young man who inherited a large fortune and decided to just eat drink and be
merry throughout his life. But what he was experiencing in that is depression
and suicidal thoughts which he can’t get out of his dark thinking. Until one
day someone suggested him to see Bishop Fulton Sheen. When they finally met,
Bishop Sheen listened to him and when the young man had concluded he handed to
him in a piece of paper, a telephone #. He was told to call the # and volunteer
there for a year in an orphanage in Mexico . He did as he was told and
after a year came back to Bishop Sheen with his attitude changed. He has
experienced being with the least of his brothers and sisters. It was there that
he experienced the joy and blessing of giving more than receiving. He finally
discovered the meaning of his life and how to grow in love of God and neighbor
completely rather than practice the philosophy of hell where we live in
isolation and just for ourselves. Heaven is a communion with God and eternal
fellowship with all the angels and saints. We are called to that life of
communion right at this very moment so we might as well practice heaven’s
philosophy. Amen. Hallelujah!
Matthew 25:31-46
...'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world... 'Amen, I say to
you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. ' ...He will answer
them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you
did not do for me. '
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