Isaiah 55:10-11
10 Thus says the LORD: Just as from the heavens the rain and
snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making
it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to him who sows and bread to him who eats,
11 so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me
void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.
The considered powerful and mighty of this world is what
appear to be the blessed and favored ones as far as human logic and reason are
concerned. The exact opposite of what Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount
and Plain (Beatitudes) in the gospels. A lot of people find it difficult to
really understand the beatitudes since it contradicts the values of this world
we live in. The poor, weak, hungry and sorrowing are called blessed. This may
not sound acceptable for everybody and would even go around its meaning to get
away with the real issue that Jesus wants us to face. Whatever it may be that's
still stopping us from grasping the wisdom of God let us pray to God that we
will always hold on to His word as He assures daily. Our God indeed is a
perfect God and we must entrust everything to Him without questioning believing that He knows what's
best. We must be aware of the truth that it is by His power that we exist in
this world. We’ve got to have the right heart, mind and attitude. Be poor in
spirit and receptive to the Word of God. It doesn't make sense that despite
these truths that are ever before us we still reject Jesus. Let's admit that we
do it one way or another, knowingly or unknowingly. Pope John Paul II narrated
a story when he was in the hospital for his operation. Just before the surgery,
he went out of his room unnoticed and visited a very sick boy on the verge of
dying. His mother was so depressed that no amount of words was able to console
her. She told the Pope to tell God to go away. The Pope answered her that he
did tell God to go away but He wouldn't listen. He embraced the inconsolable
mother and told her that God knows exactly the place where He needs to be and
that is none other than with her. We should realize that God never leaves nor
forsakes most especially in times of despair. He is always there for us. Our
God indeed is a perfect God and we must entrust everything to Him without
questioning believing that He knows what's best. We must be aware of the truth
that it is by His power that we exist in this world. Have you heard of blind
obedience? Following without knowing exactly why you follow. Take the example
of suicide bombers, who willingly die to spread terrorism. What courage! We
should know that it is always worth it to obey God, obeying and knowing fully
well that it is for our own good. We all have fears in life and sometimes they
drive us to the point of despair. This should not be the case. If we truly
believe with all our mind, heart and soul what today's psalm tells us then
there is no reason for it. We may have encountered situations wherein we were
not able to plan ahead and totally placed us in a very unexpected, uncertain
and insecure position. They just happen suddenly
that we have no time to prepare and really caught us off guard. This has caused
us to feel at a loss. Just imagine how it feels to be blind not knowing where
to go and groping in the dark. But we can be assured that God will rescue us
from all distress and deliver us from our troubles. The wickedness and the
hatred may persist but let us not lose hope and despair because we have a
mighty Savior and Redeemer in our Lord Jesus. This truth stated in today’s
psalm reading should keep us going and do exactly what we are told. The Light
of the World already came and judgment day is coming soon. In fact, judgment is
happening even now. In Deuteronomy 30:15 "Here, then, I have today set
before you life and prosperity, death and doom..." God asked us to choose.
It's got to be one way or another. There should be no mingling or ambiguity. It
is all up to us. We can be assured that if we take God’s side then we’ll
definitely taste and see His goodness. If we will just seek God at all times
then we surely find Him. Let us not turn to anything or anyone else but to God
alone. Let us be firm and wise in our dispositions to really stick to God's
ideals and principles alone instead of the suggestions and insinuations of the
so called wise and learned of this world's standard. For if we do, we'll find
ourselves rescued, saved and truly blessed.
We should always keep our hopes up in the Lord no matter what our situations
are because it can never change the fact that He is God and always in charge
and in control. There are times when we feel forsaken or abandoned but we must
always hold on to the truth that He loves us so much. He would never leave us
in misery. Let us remove all doubts and fears. Nothing should make us feel
afraid for God hears our cry. He will surely carry out what is clearly for our
own good and the best. All we need to do is allow God to work in our lives and
stop hindering His grace to flow in our lives. If there's one big obstacle that
is blocking this flow then it is surely not God. It is time we analyze the
things in our life that continue to build up and shut out God. We don't want
that happening and it's all up to us for the Lord hears and saves us. Although
there are times when we do not have to sweat at all and things just come and
fall into place we also have to know that our life is mostly a product of the
choices we make. Our choices must always be responsible and carefully decided
on. We've got to have a reliable standard for it. One without fail and is sure
to work. Actually there is only one thing that we can surely depend on and that
is the goodness of the Lord. If we always have this in mind then nothing should
stop us to always look at God, listen and follow Him. We should not care so
much about gaining the approval and admiration of men rather than God. Our
focus first and foremost should be to please God and everything else will
follow. Even if it sometimes does not work the way we expected and planned
things to be. We can be assured that the Lord heard, hears and will hear all
our prayers and surely has the best answer at hand in His most perfect time. In
guarding our faith the bible passage from Ephesians 6:10-11 which is about the
armor of God is an important tool. If we read it we will find the only weapon
mentioned in the said bible passage is the sword of the Spirit which is the
Word of God. We should check it once again and be aware of this important
information as Catholic Christians. Last Sunday's gospel was about the
temptation of Jesus wherein the devil also demonstrated his knowledge of the
scriptures. As it is written, we need to stand firm against the tactics of the
devil. We are undoubtedly engaged in this battle every single day that's why we
are in need of a weapon. This reminds us of the importance of knowing the word
of God by heart since it is our only weapon. God never fails. He would always
make things work for our good and rescue us in our distress. I have always
believed in angels even before I got this petal from a healing service with the
image of a cherubim miraculously imprinted on it. It's been a while since I got
it and has served as a testimony of God’s abiding love. I have no doubt in my
mind that God will always deliver me from all my fears. I always keep my rose
petal with me and show it to almost everyone I meet, as a way of propagating
God's goodness to me. I can still remember and will never forget how my mother
used to narrate to us how I was miraculously saved by my angel several times.
First was when I was about 2 months old, and I fell from a height of 2-3 ft
countertop when the nanny after giving me a bath left me for only a second to
get something and upon returning found me already unconscious and lying on the
hard, ceramic tiled floor. I was rushed to the doctor but he told them that if
I fail to regain consciousness within an hour then he said I am gone. To
everybody's surprise I started to cry even before the time is up. Another one
was when I was barely 2 yrs old when I almost got hit by a speeding jeepney. My
parent's house is right beside my grandparent's house which is right in front
of the school where my mother used to be a public school teacher. She said she
was standing in the center of the stage of the school that was why she had a
good view of the things around her even the terrace of my grandparent's house
so she got the shock of her life when she saw me there alone running very fast
heading toward the open gate while a speeding jeepney was coming and looked as
if I would really get hit and it would be too late even if somebody was there
to stop me. She was already screaming from afar together with the other
teachers who saw it and was trying to call the attention of the driver but to
no avail for he didn't even slow down because their screams were of no match to
the loud engine of the jeep. It was just
a miracle that the moment I stepped on the side of the road, I suddenly stopped
and stood very still as if someone was holding me back. She said it was my
guardian angel who held me and prevented me from getting hit by the jeep. I don't remember personally any of those
experiences it was only through my mother's stories that I came to know about
them. But when I was older like in 4th grade I could already remember how I was
spared again from being hurt seriously when the fluorescent lamp right on top
of my head fell on my desk a split second after I stood up and left my
chair. My classmates were really shocked
and were hovering around me and told me that it was really close. One of my
bestfriends, Myrsa got me even more scared of what could had happened when she
said that fluorescent lamps are laden with poison that once it gets broken, the
poison is released and if the broken glass cuts your skin open the poison will
get in and the wound caused by it will never dry up or get healed. From then on
I developed this childlike trust in God and thanked God for saving me from
death. There was another instance in my life as a child when Myrsa and I were
left all alone in school while waiting for our ride home and the deafening
sound of lightning and thunder got me very scared. Myrsa played the role of my
guardian angel when she tried to calm and stop me from crying by telling me
that I should not be afraid because the lightning is the flash bulb of God's
camera. She continued by saying that I should not cry but instead smile for God
was just taking our picture. Myrsa's legendary stories played a role in my
developing a great faith in God. Another funny story was what she told me about
the needle. She said that we must be careful with needles because it will find
its way into our bodies and once it's inside it will go to our bloodstream and
very quickly end up pricking our hearts which can cause us to die right away.
There was one time when I lost a needle and couldn't find it anywhere. I went
to bed very early that day which surprised my mother and was asking me if there
was anything wrong. I decided to myself that I would just wait for my death
silently and not tell anybody. I was praying to God not to give me a painful
death and let me not feel it once the needle pricks my heart. When I woke up
the next day I was so glad that I was still alive and thanked God for sparing me
from death. Those were the early formative years of my faith which started out
in a funny, amusing but definitely amazing way. We all have fears in life and
sometimes they drive us to the point of despair. This should not be the case.
If we truly believe with all our mind, heart and soul what today's psalm tells
us then there is no reason for it. If we will just constantly nourish and fill
ourselves with the words of God in scriptures then there is really no reason
for us to fear rather be always filled with joy. He will never allow us to be
defeated and conquered for He is always there to rescue us. Amen, Hallelujah!
Psalms 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19
R: From all their distress God rescues the just.
...When the just cry out, the LORD hears them, and from all
their distress he rescues them. 18 [19] The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
We should pray the "Our Father" and look at it in
so many different aspects. We have prayed it so often that it's very easy for
us to forget the power of this prayer and what they mean. We should pray it
like we have never prayed it before and take time to really think about what
the words mean. What a wonderful thing it is that Jesus, Himself taught us how
to pray. He told and allowed us to call His Father, our Father. Who does that
make us? What a great privilege and honor to become children of God and call
Him Father. It is so important that we take the time to think about this prayer
and let the words that we say all the time come alive in all different aspects.
He said when we pray say, "your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth
as in heaven" If only we will do the will of God instead of our own
twisted wills then even if we are not yet in paradise it will become very much
like heaven. Again he said, "Give us today our daily bread;" Whenever
we say this we tend to think only of the material needs but St. Thomas Aquinas
said that the spiritual should have a predominance over the material. We've got
to have a love for the spiritual things more than the material things. God
wants us to ask for the material things but He wants us even more to ask for
spiritual things. A temporal thing could have something to do with a job, food,
fulfillment of our ambitions and all sorts of things along with many others.
Spiritual blessings would be the grace of true, deep, loving and humble acts
like faithfulness in marriage and to rear the children. When Jesus said
whatever you ask in my name, God the Father would grant it, He didn't mean for
us to ask something out of vain glory.
To ask in His name means that it has something to do with His purpose of
coming here on earth. It has something to do with eternal salvation and to grow
in His grace. Whenever we ask for something material we should add in our
prayer that it would be God's will but when we ask for something spiritual then
we already know that it is God's will.
Today's gospel and all the readings are telling us that God’s word will
always achieve its end. Pope Benedict
XVI said that Jesus is the definitive and perfect Word made flesh who dwelt
among us. The Word exists before creation, the 2nd person of the Trinity and
everything that exists is willed by God. The very basis of reality is pulled
together because of Him. If we build our lives on this Word we build our lives
on rock. We’re made through and in Him. The fulfillment of creation and this
fullness we are to have finds its true meaning in Him since we come from God.
Verbum Domini, the Word of God precedes and exceeds sacred scriptures. We find
that necessary truth in the sacred scriptures. It renews the Church and gives
life. The Word is the constant source of renewal. When we encounter Jesus
Christ we are renewed. We become His disciples and He gives us His teachings.
He speaks to us and gives us eternal life. In the gospel we read that the
disciples approached Jesus and asked how to pray. Catholics are often accused
of babbling on like the pagans because of memorized prayers. We see that today
Jesus teaches us the Our Father prayer. The misunderstanding with memorized
prayers came from the practices of pagans at the time of Jesus who babble on
while thinking that they can manipulate their gods if they do such a thing. Our
Catholic prayers are not a form of manipulation. When we pray we also seek to
listen and we don’t try to control God in some way. A good suggestion of the
Holy Father is the prayerful reading of the scriptures. We have to spend time
in the scriptures and prayerfully read. It is good to study but we must not neglect
to go to the scriptures in prayers. This is fundamental in spiritual life. The
Word of God is at the basis of all spirituality of a Christian life. We need to
pray and meditate on the scriptures. Apply the scriptures in our life with
perseverance and doing it while believing in and pleasing God. We ask God in
prayer what it means and listen to God. As in Matthew 7, Ask and you will
receive, seek and you will find and knock it will open unto you. We need to ask
from God for the meaning of the scriptures through the Holy Spirit. Pope
Benedict XVI gives a method for prayerful reading in the following. 1. Reading
of the text and find what’s the literal meaning which leads to a desire to its
content, 2. Meditation, know what the biblical text says to us and must ask
ourselves and know what it says to us. 3. What do we say to God? Offer Him
prayers, adoration and speak to Him. 4. Contemplation, is a gift of God. It is
His own way of seeing things which leads us to conversion. We need to know
where we need to change. This is the concrete reality of our life, to conform
our lives to the word of God. Sometimes we are more infected by the worldliness
than we are by the Word of God. God gives in His Word the gift of renewal that
creates within us a truly wise and discerning reality which leads to forming
the mind of Christ that brings about a conversion. God wants to join us in this
journey of conversion and penance. When we take the scriptures in faith it's
like we walk once more with God in the Garden of Eden like in Genesis when Adam
& Eve walked with God in the garden and received the fullness of life. This
is what He wants to give us now that Jesus Himself obtained for us. I love this
quotation that I got from an email, "When God takes something from your
grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive
something better." We should always have the confidence of what today's
gospel is telling us and have no more reasons to doubt. There is an
unexplainable joy in knowing that Almighty God is not unreachable for He is
always with us. All we have to do is just pray wisely. It is in knowing the
words of God that we can always stand firm, confident and unafraid in His
promises in the midst of the chaos of this world. Amen. Hallelujah!
Matthew 6:7-15
7 Jesus said to his disciples: “In praying, do not babble
like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what youneed before you ask him. 9
“This is how you are to pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. 11 Give us today
our daily bread; 12 and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us; 13 and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
the evil.’ 14 “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father
will forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father
forgive your transgressions.”
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