NEVER FAINT NOR FALTER

Today's 1st reading reminds me of an image of God holding the world in the palm of His hands. As Catholics we have always marveled at the image of the Baby Jesus (Santo Nino) holding the world in His right hand. These devotions to the different images attributed to our Lord help us a lot with our faith. It enhances our faith even more and as we look back at all the things in our life make us realize that God has the power to do and undo all things for He is in control of all things. When we are sensitive to God's call and have mastered the art of listening to His voice then we find ourselves being led to the right direction. We are drawn to God closer, even the slightest whisper and simple gesture by our Lord prompt us to turn to His direction and propel us into action according to His plan. Amen. Hallelujah! 

Wisdom 18:14-16; 19: 6-9

...For all creation, in its several kinds, was being made over anew, serving its natural laws, that your children might be preserved unharmed...Over this crossed the whole nation sheltered by your hand, after they beheld stupendous wonders... 

There is a lot to learn from the life of Abraham especially the part when he kept on with his faith in God. He was already of age when God promised him to be the father of all nations. All we need to keep in mind is that our time will come and all we have to do is just continue to trust God in His goodness and mercy and never let go of our faith. Just imagine what Abraham had to go through. If it were us and not Abraham who had fallen into this kind of fate we could have responded and reacted to this situation differently. Are these words familiar to us? I do not deserve to be treated this way. I did not do anything bad for God to punish me like this, as if God is a tyrant that is ready to strike us with every wrong move. Why me and not the others who are a lot more sinful than I am. And all these kind of things that we say without much thought. If we are to look at the life of Abraham very closely we would discover that he never let go of his faith in God despite the seemingly irrational and hopeless situation he went through. Imagine in his old age when his wife Sarah finally bore him a son God asked him to offer him as a sacrifice which meant losing his son. He remained firm in his faith and continued to trust in the word of the Lord. Abraham was tested and found to be true. In our own lives, we too are called to prove ourselves worthy before the Lord in order for all of the blessings to flow freely without any block or hindrance. We don't expect a mango fruit if we planted a banana tree. It is pretty much the same with our lives. If we strive to live up to the expectations of a child of the Lord by giving Him honor and praise then we will surely be not disappointed with the outcome. For God inhabits the praises of His people. Although we have a tendency to forget or become out of focus since we are surrounded in this world we are in by elements most especially the physical ones that make us more inclined to pursue worldly things. We become sidetracked or worse completely off track of the path where God is leading us. Let us live every single day of our life conscious of the wonderful truth that we are God's people and He has made a covenant with us. Almost everybody knows this famous Christian song from kindergarten, “Father Abraham has many children, some of them are small, some of them are tall, all of them are beautiful...” We remain beautiful as long as we keep God's covenant and remain obedient and faithful to God. He is the reason for everything and the source of all good things. Sometimes morbid thoughts enter into our mind and immediately we'd think that it is always the devil who does it but whether it is true or not this thought could be a wake up call and reminder that in worst case scenarios or life and death situations there is always a God ready to help us at any time. All we have to do is call on Him. It is indeed good advice to always look intently on God and find all the joys waiting for us. There is really no doubt that we need to further explore, know and understand our faith. In doing so we have to constantly look to the Lord, seek Him and recall His goodness. Jesus' name is undeniably powerful and beyond measure. Its worth is more than all the riches we can gain in this world. There is really nothing we can find even if we search far and wide, high and low, more than what the Lord can offer. We could go on and on with so many options we are confronted with daily in our lives. There is an endless list of "To Do Things" but what comes first and last is always dependent on our priorities. In deciding on our priorities we have to always involve God in all the things happening around us. We would be so glad to discover that as we place Him in the center of our heart, body and soul He never fails in guiding and directing us. There is indeed great power in the name of Jesus. There is a need to go through the different seasons throughout the year for there is indeed a time and a season for everything. Thus, 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 despite of it all God’s power remains to be above all things no matter what it may seem to be. We should always keep in mind all the wonderful things He has done for us. The Lord will never forsake nor abandon us. In the midst of all the turmoil we inevitably face in our daily lives may we remain hopeful in the Lord who is Almighty, provides for all means and prevails now and forever. Whenever we experience difficulties in life we tend to question God right away and somehow blame Him for what came upon us. Sometimes we come to a point in our lives when we tend to question the will of God in our lives. I have plans and you have plans but sometimes things do not fall into place and ask why things happened the way it did and not the way we planned and expected. We just need to always remember the marvels the Lord has done and always hold on to it. If we live by the word of God which is perfect and remains forever then nothing could go wrong. Our hearts will abound with joy and gladness as we further explore, know and understand about our faith. In doing so we have to constantly look to the Lord, seek Him, recall His goodness, keep our spirits up and make our hearts rejoice like what today's psalm is telling us about. We may have experienced a situation in our life when we encountered a lot of trials and difficulties. Just when we're about to give up and lose hope, suddenly we came across a particular incident or inspiration that perfectly fits or matches our specific problem which gave us this hope and feeling that God knows exactly what we're going through and promises to see us through it. The Lord is telling us is in today's psalm and assures us that He remembers what He has promised and will surely bring about what He said to us that He would do. If God remembers, so must we. Every single day we are confronted with so many challenges in life and we have to be always hopeful that the fulfillment of everything that we have been praying for has come. We should believe that whatever delays or setbacks we are encountering serve as lessons to be learned that benefit our spiritual journey with Jesus. There is a need to go through the different seasons throughout the year before the dawning of a new beginning. There is indeed a time and a season for everything. It has the same message which is hope and victory for after the passion and death of Christ is His resurrection. Amen. Hallelujah!

P S A L M 

Psalm 105:2-3. 36-37. 42-43

R: Remember the marvels the Lord has done!

...And he led them forth laden with silver and gold, with not a weakling among their tribes. (R) 42 For he remembered his holy word to his servant Abraham. 43 And he led forth his people with joy; with shouts of joy, his chosen ones. 

Sometimes we feel that God is slow in answering us despite our constant and persistent prayers since nothing seems to happen. We must keep in mind that God is on our side. "We can stand secure and put our hope in His Holy Word." This is one of the lyrics of the inspirational songs of Renee Bondi entitled, "Back on my feet again" She was at the prime of her life and about to marry her fiance, many years ago when she met a bizarre accident which left her quadriplegic. She kept on with her faith in God. She is now happily married to her husband who never left her side since then, gifted with a 14 year old son, continues to make waves in the Christian recording industry and have been traveling all over in spreading God's word through her testimonies and songs. When we hear stories of people like Renee who encountered mishaps in life but emerged victorious through the help of God, it gives us hope to always go to God in prayer. Just like in today's gospel where a widow did not give up in imploring the judge for a just decision on her behalf, we too, must not falter or faint in praying to God. In our daily circumstances we sometimes meet people like this judge in the gospel who is supposed to protect the interests of those treated unjustly but turned out to be the one making things even more difficult. Today's gospel gives hope to us all who continuously rely on God's goodness, never give up and persevere in prayer. For in the end of it all, God will always look after our welfare. We may have been praying for a particular intention and until now we are still waiting. We should wait patiently and continue to strive although sometimes struggling in our faith in God because He who allowed us to be in such situation will surely see us through it. We have probably heard the story in today’s gospel for quite a number of times already.  It usually leaves us with the wrong impression that we have to be very persistent in our prayers in the wrong sense. There is this tendency to think that God is like this judge in the gospel whom we can gain approval through constant persistence and prodding. As if we can delude and sway God over to our whims and caprices. God does not change, we change. As the song goes, “His works are perfect and all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, good and upright is He.” For a change why don’t we think of the judge as ourselves and the widow as God since He has been persistently following us and never stopped getting our attention. We can be assured that our God is not anything like this dishonest judge from today's gospel. And yet crooked and wicked as he is, he was still able to render a just decision for the widow. Come to think of this bible passage especially the questions that go with it.  Several times in our lives we are confronted with so many hard to deal questions that we simply can't lock it in. It is just like this game show when contestants find it very difficult to answer when the host asks them this question, "Deal or No deal?" They are full of doubt and uncertainty because they can never be sure if they answered right unless the case is opened. But do we doubt God who is all good and perfect not to do more than this judge in the gospel and deal fairly with us? Have we answered the question and are we so sure that we could lock it in? We better be. Amen. Hallelujah!

 

Luke 18:1-8

Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, 'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.' For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, 'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'" The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? 8 I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily...