At this time of great distress in the Philippines in the aftermath of the terrible monster storm, Yolanda we can't help but think hard and tend to question why it happened. We may have been
praying for God's guidance, nonetheless, some things happened not according to
our expectation, much to our dismay. We must realize that things happen for a
purpose according to his divine will. We should believe that those who trust in
God shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with Him in love:
Because grace and mercy are with His holy ones, and His care is with the elect.
When we experience trials and hardships in life we sometimes lose our peace and
become doubtful. We succumb to needless worry and anxiety without realizing
that it can never solve our problems at all. There are times when we end up regretting what we should and shouldn't have done. But to a person who clings to God, there will always be no regrets because everything work out for the good to those who love and serve the Lord. It's easier said than done, others may say but I always believe that we have to go through a certain process, just like gold we are tested through fire in order to prove that we are indeed the children of God. We should instead shift our
thinking to what today's 1st reading is telling us that we should keep our
hopes up since it is through these afflictions that we can prove ourselves true
believers of a Strong, Mighty and Immortal God who can make all things
beautiful. Amen. Hallelujah!
...But they are in peace. For if before men, indeed, they be
punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; Chastised a little, they shall
be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As
gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them
to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart
about as sparks through stubble;...
The considered powerful and mighty of this world is what
appear to be the blessed and favored ones as far as human logic and reason are
concerned. The exact opposite of what Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount
and Plain (Beatitudes) in the gospels. A lot of people find it difficult to
really understand the beatitudes since it contradicts the values of this world
we live in. The poor, weak, hungry and sorrowing are called blessed. This may
not sound acceptable for everybody and would even go around its meaning to get
away with the real issue that Jesus wants us to face. Whatever it may be that's
still stopping us from grasping the wisdom of God let us pray to God that we
will always hold on to His word as He assures daily. Our God indeed is a
perfect God and we must entrust everything to Him without questioning believing
that He knows what's best. We must be aware of the truth that it is by His
power that we exist in this world. We’ve got to have the right heart, mind and
attitude. Be poor in spirit and receptive to the Word of God. It doesn't make
sense that despite these truths that are ever before us we still reject Jesus.
Let's admit that we do it one way or another, knowingly or unknowingly. Pope
John Paul II narrated a story when he was in the hospital for his operation.
Just before the surgery, he went out of his room unnoticed and visited a very
sick boy on the verge of dying. His mother was so depressed that no amount of
words was able to console her. She told the Pope to tell God to go away. The
Pope answered her that he did tell God to go away but He wouldn't listen. He
embraced the inconsolable mother and told her that God knows exactly the place
where He needs to be and that is none other than with her. We should realize
that God never leaves nor forsakes most especially in times of despair. He is
always there for us. Have you heard of blind obedience? Following without knowing exactly why you
follow. Take the example of suicide bombers, who willingly die to spread
terrorism. What courage! We should know that it is always worth it to obey God,
obeying and knowing fully well that it is for our own good. We all have fears
in life and sometimes they drive us to the point of despair. This should not be
the case. If we truly believe with all our mind, heart and soul what today's
psalm tells us then there is no reason for it. We may have encountered
situations wherein we were not able to plan ahead and totally placed us in a
very unexpected, uncertain and insecure position. They just happen suddenly that we have no time
to prepare and really caught us off guard. This has caused us to feel at a loss.
Just imagine how it feels to be blind not knowing where to go and groping in the
dark. But we can be assured that God will rescue us from all distress and
deliver us from our troubles. The wickedness and the hatred may persist but let
us not lose hope and despair because we have a mighty Savior and Redeemer in
our Lord Jesus. This truth stated in today’s psalm reading should keep us going
and do exactly what we are told. The Light of the World already came and
judgment day is coming soon. In fact, judgment is happening even now. In
Deuteronomy 30:15 "Here, then, I have today set before you life and
prosperity, death and doom..." God asked us to choose. It's got to be one
way or another. There should be no mingling or ambiguity. It is all up to us.
We can be assured that if we take God’s side then we’ll definitely taste and
see His goodness. If we will just seek God at all times then we surely find
Him. Let us not turn to anything or anyone else but to God alone. Let us be firm
and wise in our dispositions to really stick to God's ideals and principles
alone instead of the suggestions and insinuations of the so called wise and
learned of this world's standard. For if we do, we'll find ourselves rescued,
saved and truly blessed. We should
always keep our hopes up in the Lord no matter what our situations are because
it can never change the fact that He is God and always in charge and in
control. There are times when we feel forsaken or abandoned but we must always
hold on to the truth that He loves us so much. He would never leave us in
misery. Let us remove all doubts and fears. Nothing should make us feel afraid
for God hears our cry. He will surely carry out what is clearly for our own
good and the best. All we need to do is allow God to work in our lives and stop
hindering His grace to flow in our lives. If there's one big obstacle that is
blocking this flow then it is surely not God. It is time we analyze the things
in our life that continue to build up and shut out God. We don't want that
happening and it's all up to us for the Lord hears and saves us. Although there
are times when we do not have to sweat at all and things just come and fall
into place we also have to know that our life is mostly a product of the
choices we make. Our choices must always be responsible and carefully decided
on. We've got to have a reliable standard for it. One without fail and is sure
to work. Actually there is only one thing that we can surely depend on and that
is the goodness of the Lord. If we always have this in mind then nothing should
stop us to always look at God, listen and follow Him. We should not care so
much about gaining the approval and admiration of men rather than God. Our
focus first and foremost should be to please God and everything else will
follow. Even if it sometimes does not work the way we expected and planned
things to be. We can be assured that the Lord heard, hears and will hear all
our prayers and surely has the best answer at hand in His most perfect time. In
guarding our faith the bible passage from Ephesians 6:10-11 which is about the
armor of God is an important tool. If we read it we will find the only weapon
mentioned in the said bible passage is the sword of the Spirit which is the
Word of God. We should check it once again and be aware of this important
information as Catholic Christians. In the gospel about the temptation of Jesus
the devil also demonstrated his knowledge of the scriptures. As it is written,
we need to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. We are undoubtedly
engaged in this battle every single day that's why we are in need of a weapon.
This reminds us of the importance of knowing the word of God by heart since it
is our only weapon. God never fails. He would always make things work for our
good and rescue us in our distress. I have always believed in angels even
before I got this petal from a healing service with the image of a cherubim
miraculously imprinted on it. It's been a while since I got it and has served
as a testimony of God’s abiding love. I have no doubt in my mind that God will
always deliver me from all my fears. I always keep my rose petal with me and
show it to almost everyone I meet, as a way of propagating God's goodness to
me. I can still remember and will never forget how my mother used to narrate to
us how I was miraculously saved by my angel several times. First was when I was
about 2 months old, and I fell from a height of 2-3 ft countertop when the
nanny after giving me a bath left me for only a second to get something and
upon returning found me already unconscious and lying on the hard, ceramic
tiled floor. I was rushed to the doctor but he told them that if I fail to
regain consciousness within an hour then he said I am gone. To everybody's
surprise I started to cry even before the time is up. Another one was when I
was barely 2 yrs old when I almost got hit by a speeding jeepney. My parent's
house is right beside my grandparent's house which is right in front of the
school where my mother used to be a public school teacher. She said she was
standing in the center of the stage of the school that was why she had a good
view of the things around her even the terrace of my grandparent's house so she
got the shock of her life when she saw me there alone running very fast heading
toward the open gate while a speeding jeepney was coming and looked as if I
would really get hit and it would be too late even if somebody was there to
stop me. She was already screaming from afar together with the other teachers
who saw it and was trying to call the attention of the driver but to no avail
for he didn't even slow down because their screams were of no match to the loud
engine of the jeep. It was just a
miracle that the moment I stepped on the side of the road, I suddenly stopped
and stood very still as if someone was holding me back. She said it was my
guardian angel who held me and prevented me from getting hit by the jeep. I don't remember personally any of those
experiences it was only through my mother's stories that I came to know about
them. But when I was older like in 4th grade I could already remember how I was
spared again from being hurt seriously when the fluorescent lamp right on top
of my head fell on my desk a split second after I stood up and left my chair. My classmates were really shocked and were
hovering around me and told me that it was really close. One of my bestfriends,
Myrsa got me even more scared of what could had happened when she said that
fluorescent lamps are laden with poison that once it gets broken, the poison is
released and if the broken glass cuts your skin open the poison will get in and
the wound caused by it will never dry up or get healed. From then on I
developed this childlike trust in God and thanked God for saving me from death.
There was another instance in my life as a child when Myrsa and I were left all
alone in school while waiting for our ride home and the deafening sound of
lightning and thunder got me very scared. Myrsa played the role of my guardian
angel when she tried to calm and stop me from crying by telling me that I
should not be afraid because the lightning is the flash bulb of God's camera.
She continued by saying that I should not cry but instead smile for God was
just taking our picture. Myrsa's legendary stories played a role in my
developing a great faith in God. Another funny story was what she told me about
the needle. She said that we must be careful with needles because it will find
its way into our bodies and once it's inside it will go to our bloodstream and
very quickly end up pricking our hearts which can cause us to die right away.
There was one time when I lost a needle and couldn't find it anywhere. I went
to bed very early that day which surprised my mother and was asking me if there
was anything wrong. I decided to myself that I would just wait for my death
silently and not tell anybody. I was praying to God not to give me a painful
death and let me not feel it once the needle pricks my heart. When I woke up
the next day I was so glad that I was still alive and thanked God for sparing me
from death. Those were the early formative years of my faith which started out
in a funny, amusing but definitely amazing way. We all have fears in life and
sometimes they drive us to the point of despair. This should not be the case.
If we truly believe with all our mind, heart and soul what today's psalm tells
us then there is no reason for it. If we will just constantly nourish and fill
ourselves with the words of God in scriptures then there is really no reason
for us to fear rather be always filled with joy. He will never allow us to be
defeated and conquered for He is always there to rescue us. Amen, Hallelujah!
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19
R.I will bless the Lord at all times.
1 [2] I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall
be ever in my mouth. 2 [3] Let my soul glory in the LORD; the lowly will hear
me and be glad.The LORD confronts the evildoers, to destroy remembrance of them
from the earth. 17 [18] When the just cry out, the LORD hears them, and from
all their distress he rescues them. (R) 18 [19] The LORD is close to the
brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
In all the readings for today there is one thing that God
wants to teach us. He wants us to
increase our faith and move on from our baby faith to a grown up one. If before
we are used to just crying out loud and getting our way just like when we were
babies it is time to grow up and mature in our faith. God tells us that
following Him is not always easy but if we persist and persevere then we can
get there. Jesus wants us to realize that we can not always expect things to
happen the way we want it. We are supposed to do the good that we have to do
regardless of our situation. We have to stick with Him through thick and thin.
It is in doing so that we grow and have faith that can move mountains. We often
find ourselves or other people say that life is not fair. But it doesn't really
matter whether life is fair or not since we have a God who is fair who knows
and sees all. Today's gospel tells us that for as long as we know in our heart,
mind and soul that we've done what we're obliged to do and did everything right
in accordance to what God would have wanted it then we should realize that we
are really what the gospel speaks about, "We are unprofitable
servants..." Nothing that we do can benefit God nor add anything to His
greatness and glory for He is already who He is with or without us. The bottom
line is that everything we do for the Lord is really meant for our own good. In
fact, nothing that we ever did for Him is lost, it all comes back to us to the
overflowing more than a hundredfold if we dedicate our service and all that we
do to the Greatest Master for all eternity. We must be aware of the truth that
it is by His power that we exist in this world, it is only fitting for us to be
always humble and upright before our Creator because that's what we are called
for to do. God is the source and reason for everything. We pray that God who is
our Master and King will continue to sustain us, His lowly servants, in the
things that we have committed to do for Him. He's an awesome God! We should
continue to trust God's will in our life and understand that we needed to go
through certain experiences not just in accordance to our own delight and
liking but first and foremost to make us better persons for God. In the end, we
are always at His disposal, a servant and handmaid, for the Lord who never
needed anything from us being God, the ultimate and infinite LORD will always
be a kind and loving master to us all. Amen. Hallelujah!
Lk 17:7-10
Jesus said to the Apostles: “Who among you would say to your
servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come
here immediately and take your place at table’? Would he not rather say to him,
‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat
and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? Is he grateful to that
servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you
have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we
have done what we were obliged to do.’”
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