JUST PRAY

We do not dare question people who know better than we do. This will spare us from ending up in or trouble or in shame. Have you ever experienced it before when you thought you knew something but turned out to be wrong and found yourself saying, "I'm sorry, I thought it was this I never knew it was that." sort of thing. It would definitely be best if we will just keep silent and entrust things to the person in charge or in a better position to decide what's best. We can surely benefit from this popular expression, "Look before you leap" to prevent aggravating the situation. We might as well think in the same way when it comes to our faith. If we truly believe that Almighty God is in charge and we have truly entrusted our lives to Him then we should know better than question God's will which is for the ultimate good. Today's 1st reading kind of show how silly Jonah could be and how we too, are guilty of this kind of attitude when we tend to question God. When all we need to do is just pray, wait and see how an All Knowing and Ever Loving God go about it. Amen. Hallelujah! 

Jonah 4:1-11

...But God said to Jonah, “Have you reason to be angry over the plant?” “I have reason to be angry,” Jonah answered, “angry enough to die.” 10 Then the LORD said, “You are concerned over the plant which cost you no labor and which you did not raise; it came up in one night and in one night it perished... 

We have to be grateful to God for He is indeed merciful and gracious in all His ways. He gives us not just one but various options when it comes to accessing the graces He is dispensing and showering upon us. God provides all means in order for us to avail of all the blessings He wants to give us. When things are about to come to an end or maybe has reached its final stages and been waiting for quite a long time already and yet things are still uncertain as to how it will all turn out then we are placed in a very challenging situation as to how we are to react. Whether in despair or continue to hope in the Lord is always a choice we have to make. But oftentimes, things are easier said than done but it is always a consolation to know that we have a God who always show us the way. It is a reality that we have to attend to a lot of things waiting for us to be done. God wants us to become individuals capable of handling things in our lives with balance, in whatever we do, He is always with us.  We may have been surprised by some kind of news from somebody while thinking about a particular concern and even before we can come up with a solution it was already addressed. It is a blessing from the Lord that when times like these come when we are having a dilemma or unable to access of one option there are still other choices left that we can make use of. God never leaves us empty handed, He always has reinforcement and a back up. Let us not lose sight of the Lord who loves us and will always rescue us in our miseries and make us glad. Life is not all about rules and regulations. God did not just give us a bunch of rules and regulations that we are supposed to obey like machines. What we do does not just proceed from who we are but also makes us who we are.  The actions we engage, the words that we say and the things that we do have an impact on us. We are making ourselves all the time. God created us when we came out of the womb, our mothers and father have a great role in that but our creation continues every single day of our lives. We’re even becoming someone more beautiful, mature and stronger or someone weaker and more despicable. There’s no middle ground. We’re going one way or another. Life leads either to heaven or to hell. That’s what the acts that we commit do. Virtuous acts build in us strength. The word virtue comes from the word manly which is strength and power. Virtue is a habit that makes it easy and pleasurable to do the right thing. Golden virtue isn’t always easy. It is hard. But what is vice, it is a habit that makes it easy to do the wrong and evil thing. Let’s take exercise as an example. People make it their New Year’s resolution and people who go to the gym noticed that it’s packed on January but they’re gone by the 3rd week. If we’ve ever engaged in an exercise program for the first time, we know that we feel bad, tired, exhausted and wake up sore. This is because we do not have the habit of exercise. We have not trained and our bodies are not used to it. It hurts and it’s hard the first time we work out. If we persevere past the first few weeks and developed a habit of regular exercise then we end up getting used to it and become easy that when we don’t exercise we feel bad. What happens is that we build up the power or the virtue. We’ve conditioned ourselves so that it becomes second nature to us. If we want a progressive course we need to do something hard. No pain no gain. The next time we work out we add up a little bit more since we are stronger. We can move forward and grow in our ability to lift weights. This is the deal. The actions we do have an impact of what we are. It’s like when we start lifting weights we start to change and look different. We look like someone who has strength, power and endurance. This is the point, God is about building champions. The goal of the Christian life is to build champions. Well, not necessarily athletic champions but spiritually. A real champion in every aspect of life. God wants us to be strong, loving, wise and to have the power to live. It’s not so much what we do that counts but it’s who we become. That’s what the commandments, teachings and God is all about. Nowadays, a fatal disease is no longer fatal but just a life threatening disease if left uncared for. Modern Science has come up with several interventions to combat these diseases. When we don’t feel well, we consult a doctor for advice on how to care for ourselves. An example could be hypertension, before people just die of it without prior treatment but since the dawn of anti hypertensive medicines and proper care to maintain a good blood pressure there has been significant improvement on such cases. The same with our souls we have a disease that if left uncared for can cause death. It would be better to think of our souls as such. It’s easier to be receptive to the gospel if we consider ourselves lost. We have been saved by God but we can lose it just as we can lose our human life for not caring for it. We all have a terminal disease called sin, we need a doctor to give us advice. Our souls need a Divine Physician and consult the sacred scriptures in order to know the things to follow. The sacraments serve as the medication that we can compare to medicine from the doctor that we don’t understand how it works. It is the same with the sacraments although we may not understand fully how it works just like how medicines work to cure our diseases. In the spiritual life our physician is Jesus Christ, He tells us what to do on how to be healed. We must not follow quacks and pseudo scientists. We must trust our souls not to quacks but to God. We follow the saints who have lived their life in an exemplary nature. We should also follow the example of the great men in the bible who never doubted God's goodness and mercy. In this way we become free of the serious symptoms of the sicknesses of the soul like pride, covetousness, envy, lust, sloth, anger and gluttony. We seek the truth and the truth will make us free. Amen. Hallelujah!

P S A L M 

Psalm 86:3-4. 5-6. 9-10

R: Lord, you are merciful and gracious.

3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for to you I call all the day. 4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. (R) 5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call upon you. 6 Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer and attend to the sound of my pleading. (R) 9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship you, O Lord, and glorify your name. 10 For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds; you alone are God. 

Today's gospel tells us that God won't neglect us and always provide for all our needs. My elder son, Jude when he was still a young boy was so difficult to feed. He prefers to eat all the junk, sweet and empty in nutrition food. In order for him to eat the right kind of food we would resort to all kinds of strategies but would often end up in disagreement because he never seem to understand why I needed to force him to eat the right kind of food instead of the type of food he prefers to eat at all times. Now that he's older, I need not resort to the old tactics I used to do just to feed him. He can now understand the principle of proper nutrition, I guess, and I hope that he has learned the values of eating good and nutritious food. God in the same manner remains as patient and steadfast in His love for us. God won't neglect us and always provide for all our needs. The gospel also mentions a man who is very persistent in asking for something from his friend. We should praise and thank God because the gospel assures and gives us new found strength and confidence that whatever we have been praying for a long time already has been heard by God. We just have to continue lifting everything to God unceasingly. We must always have that attitude of hope and expectant faith in our God the Father in heaven. We must believe that our persistent prayers to God will bear fruit. God is merciful, loving and concerned over our own welfare that He continues to be the perfect Father and parent to us always. Several years ago, my younger son, Allan requested something from me which I am not fully capable of providing by myself. As I look back and recall all the things that took place and upon reading today's gospel it made me realize that every single step involved in it is indeed a testimony that we have a God who make all things possible. After all the things that happened within that period, from people who extended a lending hand, to the circumstances and events that went along with it which made everything fell into place up to the time when it has been declared officially that Allan has finally got a hold of it, one thing is sure, we have a Father in heaven who loves us more than we'll ever know. These memories are very significant in the sense that whenever I talk with my sons, I always emphasize to them the truth of the message and reflection of today’s gospel. When we deal with problems which we have been bothered for years we sometimes just have to let go and let God and before we know it they are already resolved. God has indeed provided us every possible means in order for us to live a full and happy life. I believe that if we always come to God in prayer He is always ready to answer us. It should be emphasized, what Padre Pio said, that prayer is the best armor we have, it is the key which opens the heart of God. Prayer is something that we can make use of at all times, we only have to will it, whatever, whenever, wherever we may be. God goes all the way in fulfilling everything for us even teaching us how to pray. The truth is there is really nothing more God can give us that He has not given to us, for He has already shown and taught to us the most important thing for us to do which is pray. It is one of the most important tools to always be attuned to God. We all have to pray. When we have access to the heart of God then we can hear the beating of His heart and synchronize our own hearts to His and make beautiful rhythm together. It is when we follow where God leads us that we create a harmonious relationship with God. When the heart of God speaks and we listen then we will never go astray. Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 11:1-4

1 Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread 4 and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.”