If we sometimes feel like nothing good is ever going to
happen with our situation to the point of wanting to give up and run away from
it all then we should stop awhile and look at today's 1st reading. Hagar was so
desperate then but God did not abandon her by sending an angel to her who told
her that God has heard and answered her. We, too may feel so oppressed at times
just like Hagar but we can always be assured that God hears and answers all our
prayers. Amen. Hallelujah!
Gn 16:1-12, 15-16 or Gn 16:6b-12, 15-16
...Sarai then abused her so much that Hagar ran away from
her. The LORD's messenger found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring
on the road to Shur, and he asked, "Hagar, maid of Sarai, where have you
come from and where are you going?" She answered, "I am running away
from my mistress, Sarai." But the LORD's messenger told her: "Go back
to your mistress and submit to her abusive treatment. I will make your
descendants so numerous," added the LORD's messenger, "that they will
be too many to count. Besides," the LORD's messenger said to her: "You
are now pregnant and shall bear a son; you shall name him Ishmael, For the LORD
has heard you, God has answered you...
We should always keep in mind that if Moses was able to turn
back God's anger and withhold His destructive wrath how much more Jesus His
only begotten Son who suffered, was obedient to the point of death on the Cross
and gave Himself as ransom to redeem us from all our sins. Let us not forget
even for a second nor neglect this truth every single minute, hour and day of
our lives that we have been ransomed, saved and redeemed by the Precious Blood
of Jesus. Our little gods and idols can not do anything for us. They are
useless and stupid things. How foolish we can be as a people of God to do such things and be off track by turning
away from where the Lord has pointed out. A lot of terrible things happen when we forget. Important
and significant events in our life should always hold a special place in our
hearts. We must not ignore those times when we had those special moments with
the Lord. These will serve as a constant reminder to us and would definitely
help us remain faithful to the Lord. Our memory of this, though very wonderful
to forget may sometimes become dull or fade in the background when we are beset
by the present and daily cares of this world. We may eventually lose the awe
and wonder that we used to feel about it as time passes most especially when we
encounter trials and difficulties. Today's psalm tells us to always remember,
never forget and always tell our story of the goodness of God. Let us
not forget and be mindful always of the love of God. Sometimes when things
don't turn out the way we wanted or expected we get sidetracked by the
realities of this world then we start to immediately or slowly lose sight of
the goodness of God. No matter what our situation is we must not forget that
God saved us, had done great and wondrous deeds and He alone has the power to
make things happen and not happen in our lives. We have to be in a relationship
with the only true God. If there's something we really need to be thankful to
God for bringing us to life at this present time that is the fact that we have
a glorious background that we can always draw strength, hope and inspiration.
We need to focus on this and be aware that we've got so many things in this
present life to look back to and be blessed. The timeline of our salvation
history demonstrates God's persistent and consistent effort to win our hearts
and be in a relationship with us. Not to forget that after Jesus, the saints followed
which added to the color of this long time running declaration and evidence of
God's great love for us. It's been quite a while already that He has been
waiting for our answer much more than a suitor offering his pledge of love to
his lady. We should never doubt any single moment that God is good all the time
and all we need to do is just give thanks to Him no matter what our
circumstances may be. Let us always
remind ourselves of the good things God has done in our lives. Let us always
count our blessings instead of focus on the negative things. We are constantly
reminded in the readings today to always work for the things that win the favor
of God. It's not because of any selfish motive but because what we do is born
out of great love for the Lord. God calls us to repent and live a new life.
There's one very important thing that we should be guided with. We always have
to keep in mind that a repentance born out of fear will never last but
repentance born out of love will last. We should always keep in mind the great
love of God for all of us. Our Lord's
instructions are very simple and easy to understand. It is in the following and
obeying part that we find difficulty in doing. Let us always focus our eyes on
the Lord and remember to follow and keep what the responsorial psalm tells us
if we intend to live a blessed life not just in the beginning but to the end. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 106:1b-2, 3-4a, 4b-5
R. (1b) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
...Visit me with your saving help, that I may see the
prosperity of your chosen ones,
rejoice in the joy of your people, and glory with your
inheritance.
If we really love God then we will listen to His word and
act on His will. The love of God is inseparable to love of His 10 commandments.
The gospel reading for today reminded me of the lecture of Atty. Jess Moya on the Fundamental Catholic Moral Principles.
1. We can never do evil (i.e. "intrinsically
evil") to bring about good. The end never justifies the means, Rom 3:8;
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1753, 1754 & 1756) Examples that
were given are killing to save lives/abortion/euthanasia/artificial
contraception/ethnic cleansing. The error of "Consequentialism"
states that good intention is not enough. We may have the grandest intention
but if your means of attaining it is not good then we should never resort to
doing it at all. The same is true with the error of "Proportionalism"
wherein the good desired outweighs the evil. These are just means that mitigate
the problem and can never be a solution. If worse comes to worst then it can
even aggravate it.
2. The principle of double effect can be applied if a good
act may have evil side effect (CCC 1737) and have fulfilled the following
conditions: good must be willed, must not be the result of the tolerated evil
and good desired must equal/outweigh the evil effect. An example given for this
is a mother who needs to undergo a life saving operation (tumor has to be
removed) while she is pregnant but in the process miscarriaged her baby. The
miscarriage was not intended or deliberate but is just a result of the
operation done.
3. The principle of Totality states that for health reason,
may mutilate, modify or remove an organ or body part. An example is removing a
gangrenous arm or leg in order to save or extend the life of a person or
mastectomy-breast removal due to cancer.
4. We may choose the lesser of Two Evils if the conditions
are: both are unavoidable evils and must not intend the evil outcome. An
example is a pilot left with no other choice but to crash the plane on a school
or a residential house and he has only a few seconds to decide before he ejects
himself and he decided the lesser evil which is crashing the plane in the
residential house.
5. Counseling the Lesser Evil only if we are faced with an
unavoidable evil and the evil outcome must not be intended. An example is if
you are being robbed and instead of being shot with a gun suggested that he
steals everything he/she has just to spare his/her life. To advise a robber to
steal is not good in itself but is a lesser evil if we are faced with an
unavoidable situation of being killed when pointed with a gun.
"God has equipped us with the totality of the means of
salvation and we can overcome with the grace of God." Let us continue to
call on the Lord but be sure to do His will by acting on the words that we
heard from God and be like a man who built his house on rock. There are a lot
of things going on around and within us and it seems like there is no stopping
to the trials and sufferings that come to us if we are to closely scrutinize
every single detail of our lives. But there is always hope in the truth that if
we anchor ourselves to the "Rock" and never let go then we can surely
withstand all the storms that come our way for God is our refuge, rock and
deliverer, we can stand firm. We've got to take every word of God like a
treasure of great worth. It has a value that is beyond measure because it is
capable of bringing us to heights and depths of faith that can not be moved.
Today's gospel speaks of faith that is as solid as rock. Rock formation is a
result of weathering and erosion. It is not an easy process in fact it can take
years and years before it can be formed. Somehow it tells us that it is not a
pleasant one too, if we apply it to our own lives. Just imagine ourselves being
subjected to all kinds of weather in life and going through subsequent erosions
as we strip ourselves of the things that hinder our growth. Just like a rock
formation, it is a process and not something instant. As we go through life and
endure all kinds of weather and be rid of all kinds of baggage that we
needlessly carry and be burdened of then we are set on a path to a faith set
solidly on rock. This we should continue to do in order to enrich our faith
continuously to this point for as long as we live. Today’s gospel is also a
reminder of my mother as I have shared several times already. When she was
still living she told me about this place in America that she consider as most
beautiful, the place where the House on the Rocks is. I have been really
blessed with a mother like my mine and many wonderful people in my life that
have helped me build my faith like a wise man who built his house on rock.
Another wonderful story I could relate with the gospel is about my 2 sons. We
all know that little children especially boys get bored whenever their playtime
starts to slow down and suddenly put to a halt. That was what usually happened whenever my 2 sons and I ended up lying in bed for too long I just can't keep
them there any longer. I had to be more creative in my game plans. I needed to
start with my just lying down in bed activities with them and be very creative.
I had to come up with exciting twists and turns in our games. Just as they were
starting to get out of bed I would immediately tell them to keep still or the
shield that is protecting us might break. Although it was a silly thing to say
and worked only half of the time I am overwhelmed by the fact that today's
gospel scenario when the rain fell, the floods came and the winds blew and
buffeted the house was almost the same picture I was presenting to them. I kept
on telling them to be still because the enemy was hammering our shield and
trying to destroy it but I assured them that the shield surrounding us can
protect us and would not collapse. I guess, God is telling us the same thing
whenever we get bored and impatient with what's going in our life. What we need
to do instead of disturbing our peace is just to deepen and strengthen the
foundation of our faith in God. I just realized now that the game plan I had in
mind back then for my 2 little boys contains the same message that is being
conveyed today about the house built solidly on rock which did not collapse. Let
us be wise by following the path leading to Him and not be led astray for our
sake. Let's build up the solid foundation of our faith and stand firm in the
midst of the trials. Amen. Hallelujah!
Gospel
Mt 7:21-29
Jesus said to his disciples: "Not everyone who says to
me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does
the will of my Father in heaven..."Everyone who listens to these words of
mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The
rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it
did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
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