Sis Pat Pua shared to me before about an experience she had
way back in the Philippines
when she wasn't in the Charismatic Renewal yet. She said she was at that time
still grieving over the loss of her mother and adjusting to married life and
relocation to the hometown of her husband. She said that during her time of
grief she had a vision of her dead mother wearing a brown habit and clothes
like that of St. Anthony of Padua .
I learned from a talk a long time ago when I was still new in the Renewal about
the spiritual war which could be found in Ephesians 6:10-20. The presence of
the spiritual army of evil in the heavens could take the form of dead loved
ones or even be disguised as holy and divine. Those spirits could take
advantage of the present state a person is in which could be grief and be used
against him/her. There is really a need to always anchor ourselves firmly to
God and not be easily deceived which is exactly what Paul is telling and
warning us in today's 1st reading. Another incident that I am reminded of from
today’s 1st reading is the day that marks my anniversary year here
in the US .
It so happened that at that time I was exactly on my 3rd year and it
mentioned this phrase, “…remember that for three years, night and day.” Looking back at all those years, I must say
that I will never forget every single day and night of it. Even if I do, I can
resort to my personal journal or reflections which I have started in 2007. The
experiences I have been through, brought my faith to depths, heights and
lengths that I never could have thought or imagined possible up to this very
day. Amen. Hallelujah!
Acts 20:28-38
...savage wolves will come among you, and they will not
spare the flock. 30 And from your own group, men will come forward perverting
the truth to draw the disciples away after them. 31 So be vigilant and remember
that for three years, night and day,...
I grew up without a father because he died when I was barely
3 years old. My nanay (mother) was the only one who practically raised us up
when we were still very young then. With all that we've been through, I can
never ask God for more, for He was with us every step of the way just as nanay
had said and believed when she was still living always emphasizing God's
special care to orphans and widows. This should remind us why we must always be
hopeful in His divine providence. Aren't we all blessed to have a God and
Father who is our Savior and Redeemer. There are still more to be thankful
about and it made me realize that if we will only be focusing more on the goodness
and blessings that God send our way then there is really no more reason for us
to be afraid or be discouraged. There is no doubt that God will always come to
our rescue and will never forsake nor abandon. We all go through different
situations and circumstances in life. Some of them do not make any sense if we
fail to acknowledge the power of God moving in it. There are numerous things
that we can think, focus and decide on but there’s only one thing I am sure of.
We’ve got to acknowledge that God’s power remains to be above all things no
matter what it may seem to be. We can associate today's psalm with the first
beatitude which is, "Blessed are they who are poor in spirit theirs is the
kingdom of God
In our Catholicism study in St. Martha the speaker cited an
example why we Catholics look up highly and venerate Mama Mary. He spoke about
Monalisa the famous and considered one of the masterpieces if not the greatest
work of art of Leonardo Da Vinci. He said that Mama Mary is just like Monalisa
of Da Vinci, a reflection of God's greatness and His greatest masterpiece or
creation. He explained further by citing another example of the moon getting
its brightness from the sun. That's the true basis of Mary's greatness that
some people even us Catholics do not realize so well. Our veneration and
devotion to Mary is a way of worshipping God since we confess to the power of
God manifested in the Blessed Mother. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 68:29-30, 33-35a, 35bc-36ab
R: Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
28 [29] Show forth, O God, your power. the power, O God, with
which you took our part; 29 [30] for your temple in Jerusalem let the kings bring you gifts. (R)
32 [33] You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, chant praise to the Lord 33
[34] who rides on the heights of the ancient heavens.
We can not discount the fact that evil is lurking in this
world and temptations never stop to assail us. Remember that Satan is the
father of lies and have gone to a great extent to lure people to his malice and
schemes. It is evident how we see the world has become today. We tend to change
loyalty and be convinced of the intricate and elaborate strategy of the enemy.
He just doesn’t take things sitting down. He is definitely at work and should
never be underestimated. We already have the victory in our hands but sometimes
we just let it slip by. We’ve got to learn more and more from Jesus and know
who is Master of our lives. Jesus is the hallmark sign of humility. He is
obedient to the Father’s plan to the point of suffering and death. It went as
far as taking up the cross for our salvation. As scriptures say, “Learn from me
for I am meek and humble of heart.” St.
Augustine said that Jesus did not say, learn from me
to do wonders and miracles, heal the sick, cast out devils, raise the dead but
learn of me to be meek and humble of heart. God doesn’t expect the great signs,
wonders and deeds. He does expect meekness and humility from us. Meekness is
the virtue that moderates anger. Humility is so powerfully a Christian virtue
and not as the pagan philosophers believe it to be. It is thinking that God
alone is good and the source of all goodness. He distributes His gifts to all
of us and is the goodness in all that we see. From this point of view we can
say that to sin is being envious of God. When we sin it means we are jealous of
God. It is our will, thinking and the intellect that primarily decides. It is the appetite of the will that keep us
from the moderate striving to reach our goal. We can cross the line from being
the creature and the creator and try to procreate the things that belong to
God. St. Paul
says, that whatever we do, we do it for the name of the Lord. We do it because
He directs, guides and inspires us to do it for His honor and glory and not our
own We have to be void of pride and vain glory. We must not pride and delight
in ourselves of any good deed that the Lord worked through us. Rather what we
own and what is truly ours is our vices and sin. Beware of the wisdom of the
world to have more and more. Jesus tells us to stop running after things and be
anxious about them and always speaking about them. We ought to speak of the Kingdom of God
Jn 17:11b-19
...I do not ask that
you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one...
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