The love of God knows no limits. The song, “Hindi Kita
Malilimutan” (“I will never forget you” in English) is taken from today’s 1st
reading. I am a mother myself and I could not imagine forgetting my infants, (I
had 2, now fully grown J) or be without tenderness for them and I couldn’t
even come close to being perfect. So every time I hear it and basing from this
love I have for my sons, I just can’t
help feeling that gush of emotion coming from the fact that even if a mother
forgets and be without tenderness for her baby, God does not forget and does
not cease to love us with an immeasurable love. This also reminded me of the
dream I had about my mother. It happened several years ago but it is still
clearly etched in my mind. I was in a hurry to leave and she just stopped me
right there and gave me a tight embrace. It was so real I could almost feel her
arms around me and my arms embracing her back. Once again I felt the love and
care that my mother used to shower on us when she was still living. This was
somehow preempted by what my son, Allan did a week before the dream when all of
a sudden he sent me a baby picture of him and his kuya (elder brother). In
fact, I still have it in my Yahoo messenger and even made it my profile picture.
Every time I look at it, it makes me smile and brings back pleasant memories of
the times when I used to care for them when they were still very young. It was
also at about the same time when I saw on Facebook Lindsay’s open declaration
of her love to her dad (Kuya Babette) who was celebrating his 1st
death anniversary at that time. These related and uniform flow of events
happening one after the other steadily built up or triggered feelings and
emotions only a loving mother/parent and beloved child can feel. It made me
even more aware of the wonderful feeling that makes the bond of a mother/parent
and child bring joy to our hearts. What made this experience even more
meaningful to me is the fact that this bible verse in today's 1st reading
speaks of the same great love of a mother for her child. Though it may seem
great and awesome enough, we are still assured of the greatest love ever known.
Amen. Hallelujah!
Isaiah 49:8-15
...Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for
the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.
There is really none like our God. We can have all the
things that this world can offer but in the end we will still be wanting and
not satisfied if we do not have God in the center of our life. The Lord has
always been faithful and not a single moment would He ever not be. We should
have the confidence always of a beloved child of God and the honor of being on
top of God's creation. The Lord is always ready to extend His help and shower
His blessings on us, His people. The question is, are we willing to accept His
help and stay within the circle of His blessings? This question is very
critical and sometimes left unanswered, neglected and taken for granted. When
we choose to continue in the path that does not lead us closer to God the
answer is clear, it is a no. When we direct our actions in things that draw us
closer to God then it is a yes. If this is so true for us then we ought to do
as the psalm reading today tells us. All our thoughts, words and actions should
reflect how great our God is. As humans we tend to downplay God's role in our
life because we subject our experiences to human terms and conditions. We are
still bound by the limitations of this world we are in and we can't help it. We
sometimes just go with the flow and get carried away by the pressures imposed
to us by our present and existing situations. Today's psalm tells us that we
owe God more than just plain courtesy for His goodness. Whenever we watch box
office hit super hero movies, news about it spread like wildfire and the
promotion for it is international that almost everybody around the globe gets
to know about it and watch it. If only we can devote that same fervor and
enthusiasm in spreading word about the greatest Super Hero of all times, Jesus
and make a decision to watch His life unfold and be part of our own, then we
can someday be a part of God's great Kingdom in Heaven. Sometimes we might even
have to come to a point when we look and sound strange for others or even suffer the ridicule of not
just others but the very people who comprise our circle of close family,
relatives and friends. What matters most is that we ought to give God what He
rightly deserves, to be extolled and praised forever. Amen. Hallelujah!
R: The Lord is gracious and merciful.
...slow to anger and of great kindness. 9 The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works. (R) 13 The LORD is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works. 14 The LORD lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. (R) 17 The LORD is just in all his ways and holy in all his works. 18 The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.
The Pharisees persecute Jesus for His healings on the
Sabbath. It is a supposed day of rest for them but God is always at work. The
call upon us is to live in faith that God is always at work. In the midst of
poverty and difficulty, it seems hard to believe that but God is the fullness
of life and always self giving in generosity. The term rest does not apply for
there is no such thing as Divine inactivity. John Paul II referred to this rest
on the Sabbath as the lingering gaze of God at what has been accomplished. God
enjoys looking at what has been achieved like the beauty of creation. Men are
invited to rest, especially enjoy communion with God and establish a special
relationship with Him. Jesus speaks of these things from this passage and tells
us that whoever believes has eternal life and can pass through death to life.
This is the beginning of Jesus’ marvelous teachings which is followed by the
Eucharist in John 6. He speaks of the fullness of the sacramental life, the
gift of the Eucharist. He said that the one who feeds in Him will have life.
The Father gives the son the power to exercise judgment. All good deeds will go
to the resurrection and the bad deeds for final separation. There is the
conquering of evil and those who obey are called to the fullness of life. Jesus
emphasizes to us the truth that God is His Father. Only the son knows the
father and He comes to reveal the father. God is in eternity and created the
world from nothingness. We are called to enter into His world, into his eternity, in fatherhood and sonship.
He is revealing the mystery of God and making visible the invisible. The Father
gives life and He gave to the Son possession of the life. Furthermore following
today’s gospel in John 6, He said that “I have life because of the Father.” He
gives us the same life and this is a very profound statement. He is giving us
eternal life in the Trinity. There is an
eternal activity in the Father in union with the Son and expressed in the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They are equal in glory and co-eternal in
majesty. He is the beginning and the end but not as we understand it. Jesus is
trying to tell us that God is at work, expelling demons and granting healings.
The sacramental life is still being performed for us to this very day and still
in us through communion with him in the Holy Eucharist, confession and
worshipping at mass. This lent we are invited to live it to the fullest of ways
because it is still being poured upon us and still at work today. In the 15th
century, Plagianus came up with this ideology which came to be known as Plagianism.
It states that man is basically good and don't need God. We all know that this
is not totally right. In the 16th century, Protestantism came about with this
general thought that man is basically bad, we need God. Later on, the likes of
St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas introduced in their teachings the presence
of original sin which states that there is an in between in these 2 opposing
thoughts. In the process we've come to know that we have the free will and
commit personal sins. God loves us so much that's why He wants the best for us.
He shows us the right way to go and tells us, " If we want to be redeemed
we need to cooperate and participate in the redemption. Though there is only
one Savior in Jesus Christ, redemption is a two way process and not one way as
most people think. We are all co-redemptors and for that matter stakeholders of
our salvation. We have a choice, God respects our decisions and has given us
the free will to decide. So what's your choice? It isn't a tough one after all
for no one can give us a better option because God is the best choice. Amen.
Hallelujah!
John 5:17-30
17 Jesus answered them, “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God. 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also. 20 For the Father loves his Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. 22 Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to his Son, 23 so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. 25 Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself. 27 And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation. 30 “I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”
17 Jesus answered them, “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God. 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also. 20 For the Father loves his Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. 22 Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to his Son, 23 so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. 25 Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself. 27 And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation. 30 “I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”
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