We should pursue God’s wisdom rather than this world’s. If
we are not careful in making this choice then we would have to suffer the
consequences of our actions. On the other hand we can be assured of the
wonderful things in today’s 1st reading if we are to make the right choice.
Amen. Hallelujah!
Sirach 4:11-19
Wisdom breathes life into her children and admonishes those
who seek her. 12 He who loves her loves life; those who seek her out win her
favor. 13 He who holds her fast inherits glory; wherever he dwells, the LORD
bestows blessings. 14 Those who serve her serve the Holy One; those who love
her the LORD loves. 15 He who obeys her judges nations; he who hearkens to her
dwells in her inmost chambers. 16 If one trusts her, he will possess her; his
descendants too will inherit her. 17 She walks with him as a stranger, and at
first she puts him to the test; fear and dread she brings upon him and tries
him with her discipline; with her precepts she puts him to the proof, until his
heart is fully with her. 18 Then she comes back to bring him happiness and
reveal her secrets to him. 19 But if he fails her, she will abandon him and
deliver him into the hands of despoilers.
“Don't trust too much, don't
love too much, don't care too much because that "too much" wiil hurt
you so much...” This is a quotation I came across on Facebook. It somehow
answers the part where we have to hurt so much. We use our mind to sort out
what is true. God has given us the intellect, will, passions and emotions.
Sometimes our emotions lead and carry us away in the search and to discern the
truth. Our mind can seek the truth and our will can choose the truth freely.
After the fall of our 1st parents, even if we know what is right we
have been infected by the malice of the world and our will have become
weakened. Our emotions play a big role in our will. This is why it should be
properly directed. Our emotions go up and down and it is not the proper gauge.
Some relationships should not just be built upon a bunch of good feelings. It
is a very dangerous basis for love. We need to ask the question of truth and
get a hold of our emotions so that we can put our relationships in proper
perspective. There are so many
things that we are worried about but only one thing is needed and we have to be
sure that we pick the best option. We need not confuse ourselves by even
considering the options that the world enticingly and seductively present to
us. Does this song sound familiar? "Gusto kong bumait pero di ko
magawa." (I’d like to be good but I just can’t) Because we are still in
this world and its laws dominate us it
is indeed hard
to serve the law of
God. But we are constantly reminded that
if we only
make a stand on which side we are
then God will deliver us. There is only one thing needed and we have to choose
the best part. We have to do things according to God's statutes and precepts
which is the only sure way to live a happy and abundant life first here on
earth and then for eternity. There is one thing we need to do. Let
us always focus on Jesus and follow the example He has left for us to live by.
What a friend we have in Jesus. He is never amiss on anything. Let us not
hesitate to reach out to Him for in Him we find a true friend who is ready to
help us. If we come to Him at all times for guidance and direction, He will
always be there to take our hand and lead us to the right path. The Lord knows
exactly what's in our hearts. There are times when people judge us based only
on what they see but what matters most is that we are right before God. The
truth is that we ought to realize by now that only God can deliver us from all
evil and there is no one else to whom we can go but to Him. The Lord has
promised and He will fulfill. This should give us so much joy and peace in
knowing this. There is no doubt that God in His goodness surely sheds light,
giving understanding to the simple in times of affliction. We need to always
hold on to God at all times and never lose hope in Him. We just got to hold on
tight! No matter what happen let us always keep in mind that God fulfills all
His promises. It may not be right away and could be later but He will surely
reveal things in His most perfect time. We've got to realize that there is no
love greater than the love God is offering us. We need to make sure that what
we sought and yearn for, is what should bring us genuine riches, true delight
and the most precious treasure which the world can not give and only God can
bring about. Just imagine ourselves walking in the dark without knowing what we
are stepping on and where we are headed. It is very difficult there is no doubt
about it. We need light to guide our steps and show the way. We have to realize
that loving God means obeying with all our heart. Have you experienced waking
up or going to bed at the same time everyday? It's because of the circadian
clock or the rhythmic biological cycles that happen or recurring everyday in
us. Let us pray to God that we develop in ourselves an instinct and discipline
to naturally follow His commands like the circadian clock. The time to act is
now. Let us seize every opportunity to know the Word of God while we still can.
1. Do we see God as the Primary agent? God is the Primary Agent of Evangelization. It is not about us but about God.
2. Do we see Evangelization as everyone's responsibility?
We must not end up like the
3. Do we communicate God's love?
4. Is total human betterment part of the ministry?
5. Do we respect other traditions?
God does not take sides. There is an equal opportunity for all but we have to make sure that we are on God's side. We need to rid ourselves of any triumphant or arrogant attitude towards people of other faith. The Abrahamic religion has a common denominator which is belief in God. We are not the sole professor of truth. We need to listen for God's revelation from others, too not only from us.
6. Does our love go beyond Catholic borders?
The
7. Is our approach ecumenical?
We do not have the monopoly of God because the Good News has no border and dealt with a common faith.
8. Do we use all available media?
The best media is our own life, no need for TV. The example of how we live our life is the best means to evangelize. Walk the talk.
9. Do we fully utilize existing groups like ministries that renew and energize members?
10. What is our total image?
We've got to maintain a wholesome image unlike the Crusaders, though they were able to convert many to the faith, the spread of the Good News was carried out using the sword. We must take extra care in projecting the right image as Good Messengers of the Good News. We can't just take one passage and take it as a whole, we have to consider the entire scriptures. It must be read within the living tradition of the Church. It is written in the Church's heart in the very essence of who Jesus is. The analogy of faith and inner harmony should co-exist and take all of them together as a unity. To take just one part of the truth and depend solely on it for everything else to unravel would end up in heresy and find ourselves outside the truth. The depository of faith is entrusted by the apostles to the whole of the Magisterium of the Church. This task of giving an authentic teaching of the depository of the faith is given to the living successors of Peter who is the Pope and the Bishops in our Catholic Church. We must have the guidance of the Holy Spirit with the Magisterium of the Church. If the Church is not a Divine institution it would have crashed 2000 yrs ago. Living tradition and sacred scriptures are the means to transmit the faith. We need to know this to understand how God's plan works through things revealed by God to us and recalled by faith.
Another interesting event I am reminded of is one of the MI
(Militia Immaculata) Meetings we had in the past wherein we were asked to introduce ourselves
briefly by saying our names, parishes where we belong and the time when we were
consecrated to the Mother Mary. I can never forget the date I was consecrated
(March 15, 2008) since it was the same date, but in 1995, of my mother's death
anniversary but I would rather call it her birth to eternal life. It was
highlighted by another significant event which was a dream I had at that same
time of my aunt, Tita Edna who also passed away on the same month, March 24 in
the year 1992. The dream was quite interesting and very vivid because I saw
Tita Edna riding in a van and the moment
I saw her I took off immediately and ran after the van which I almost missed if
I did not leap and managed to make it to the door of the van from which I
almost fell. When I finally made it inside the van, I saw that she was about to
eat so I offered her a hand sanitizer and saw that it made her so glad that I
had it. She immediately applied it in her hands and thanked me for it. It
suddenly gave me the impression that the van could be a symbol of our transportation
to heaven. It is very difficult to catch that ride, we have to be always alert
and vigilant we might end up missing it and worst never be able catch the ride
ever again. That is, if we are too busy with other things we tend to neglect
what should we be paying attention to and end up missing out on our ride and
get a different ride which instead of bringing us to heaven, be brought to
another destination which I guess none of us would like to be. We must always
know on whose authority we are basing our actions. It will always help to
examine ourselves and really be aware where our loyalty lies. Are we for God or
against God or are we just for God in the superficial sense? If we are deeply rooted in Him then we can
withstand that horrible day of trial and
still find ourselves persevering in our faith. Just the thought of ending up in
hell should really make us pray fervently to God. Today's psalm teaches us the way to always be
attuned to God's Spirit in order for us to truly see the word of God, as the
light shining like a lamp for our feet. If we really want to be truly happy
then there is just one thing we have to always do that is to always keep
ourselves blameless before the Lord. We can never run away from the probing
eyes of God because nothing is hidden from Him. We sometimes have this
impression that our God requires impossibilities from us. We misinterpret and
take things in a different way whenever we hear of rules and regulations to be
followed. The decrees of our Lord are not meant to make things difficult for us
nor do they burden or tie us down. This is the deception and we should start
looking at it the right way. Just imagine life without God's decrees to guide
us, it would be very disorderly and chaotic. It's like driving in the freeway
wherein one can just go his or her own way without any regard for any traffic
rules and regulations. Real freedom is the ability to follow God and being
totally free of the grasp and hold of sin that brings death. Some sins bring
instant death but others just like cancer slowly creep in and before we know it
has already eaten us up whole. God loves
us so much that He has given us His decrees because it is in following them
that we become totally free and live. The only way to true freedom is by following
God's commands. In doing this we become free of the bondage of sin and live a
power filled life based on the Truth. We should believe that if there is
someone in and out of this world who is most reasonable, just, fair and at the
same time loving, caring, slow to anger and rich in kindness that is no other
than our God. One thing for sure, if He requires us something, He will
definitely equip us for it because it is written, "I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me." If we commit ourselves to following
God then we will surely be blessed. Allow me to use the word "luck"
or "swerte" in Tagalog in lieu of any other more appropriate word
like blessed or pinagpala in Tagalog since I have always been hearing this word
being used very often by some people in reference to certain situations within
the broad context of this word. I just couldn't help but share it, first and
foremost due to some personal circumstances. We often hear people say to
another who is about to embark on something challenging, “good luck” If the
word luck may have been associated with whatever negative meaning then consider
it excluded from here and out of context for the mean time. Let's just say we
would like to broaden the scope of our vocabulary. This is to further drive the
point or message in today's psalm and is actually the catch here. This is to
come up with an induction that following the law of the Lord is just as
synonymous to being blessed, lucky, swerte or pinagpala or any other word that
we could closely associate with this. It is not very easy to lead a life like
that of the saints who followed the example of Jesus. Ignorance is not an
excuse. We should always seek to enrich our knowledge about God so that we will
continuously grow in our faith. Our world is ever changing with all the new
technology coming up, it's so surprising that whatever is considered the latest
and gold standard today may not hold true the following day. If there's one
thing we should rely and hold on to in this very dynamic world of ours, then it
should be something constant and enduring.
It gives us great consolation that we have a God who is true to His
word. We may have heard it but we haven't learned yet. It is a lifelong journey
and quest to know God better. Nothing can be more rewarding than having great
peace in our lives. We can make this possible by adhering to God’s law and
committing to following it in word and deed. It will always be well for us to
consult the scriptures that shed light and give understanding. We've got to make
sure that what we sought and yearn for, is what should bring us genuine riches,
true delight and the most precious treasure which the world can not give and
only God can bring about. It is only right that we follow the law of the Lord
if we are really for God then our works should follow us and testify to who we
really are. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 119:165, 168, 171, 172, 174, 175
R: O Lord, great peace have they who love your law.
...for them there is no stumbling block.
Jesus in today’s gospel tells His disciples not to prevent
those who drive out demons in His name. Although they are not part of their
group, they are not doing something against them. Sometimes we get offensive
and instead of attracting people to the faith we tend to drive them away. We
can not claim to know everything so it is better to just give people the
benefit of the doubt or not judge them outright and just entrust them to Jesus
who definitely knows best. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Mark 9:38-40
38 John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out
demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow
us.” 39 Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a
mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. 40 For whoever
is not against us is for us.”
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