UNWAVERING HOPE

We may not be in the same situation like this martyred family during the time of the Maccabees but we are also called to stand up for our faith in our own little way. The following passages from today’s 1^st reading are statements of bravery of a dying person with a sure hope in God who brings us to everlasting life. It is in this kind of courage that we can see unbelievable acts of faith even in the face of death. They have recklessly abandoned whatever life that is left for them to hold on in this present and tangible world. This is in lieu of their loyalty and unwavering hope in God who can raise them up to live forever and restore whatever has been lost. Amen. Hallelujah!

2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14

We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.” 9 At the point of death he said: “You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever. It is for his laws that we are dying.” 10 After him the third suffered their cruel sport. He put out his tongue at once when told to do so, and bravely held out his hands, 11 as he spoke these noble words: “It was from Heaven that I received these; for the sake of his laws I disdain them; from him I hope to receive them again.” 12 Even the king and his attendants marveled at the young man’s courage, because he regarded his sufferings as nothing. 13 After he had died, they tortured and maltreated the fourth brother in the same way. 14 When he was near death, he said, “It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the God-given hope of being restored to life by him; but for you, there will be no resurrection to life.”

We are the temples of the Holy Spirit. We do not have the Holy Spirit as a birth right but a gift. We are born with original sin and this redemption from sin and the kingdom of darkness is what makes it possible for us to receive of the Holy Spirit. A lot of people in our society like the part that we are temples. We claim that our bodies are temples so we have to treat it well and take care of it by doing exercise. But too often we say that we are temples but we don’t say of what. When we listen to the way we speak we find that we are temples of ourselves. Like the New Agers who consider themselves to be god. We see our bodies as the temple of ourselves because we see ourselves to be god. Each body should be treated with respect since it is the place where God can be worshipped which is derived from the presence of the Holy Spirit. This should be our purpose when taking all the aspects of our body with its wide variety of urges and desires. We can bring it all under the power of the Holy Spirit if only the body is well oriented to the worship of the Holy Spirit.  We've got to be aware of the fact that being a follower of God doesn't mean that we can be spared from all troubles and problems. God did not promise us this but one thing is sure, if we continue to stand by Him and all the things that He represents then we need not be anxious of anything at all for He got us covered. At this present time we can compare our life to a journey. We have been declared victorious and have conquered and overcome everything through Jesus Christ our Lord. And yet we still get distracted by the enemies who convince us otherwise. Let us march on to our victories and seize every opportunity that comes to us every day. We have to have something to overcome before we can become an overcomer, something to conquer before we become a conqueror and a test before we can have this testimony. Let us not lose heart because we are covered and protected by God like the young in the shadow of its mother's wings. Mind God's business and everything else will follow. This is the example that our mother left for us. We grew up always hearing our mother speak of Job's great faith and loyalty to God. She held on to every word of God in the bible and claimed every promise in it especially the one for the widow and orphan. Looking back at all those years our family had to pass through those trials and difficulties of growing up without a father by our side and our mother had to raise us all by herself there is no doubt that she did it because she inclined her ear to God and heard His word. If we are to die this very day, can we proclaim to the Lord with confidence these words in today's psalm? We ought to develop in ourselves the attitude of the saints and martyrs who have no fear of death. This doesn't mean that we have to be masochists and desire for a morbid death. Rather it is all because of the fact that we can firmly stand on the promises of a God who is able to supply us with everything.  For only God who is Himself the author of true happiness can grant us lasting and genuine joy to the full. In this present time when we are still bound to this world we may not be able to fully comprehend the glory that awaits those who live life in the presence of our God and hope in that eternal life  to come but we who are faithful will experience joy in full when His glory appears. There are times when we are being tested by the Lord to a point of almost giving up. But we simply and definitely must not. We are lucky we no longer belong to that time when we have to give up our life to profess our faith. That is why we always have to maximize our capabilities for God, nonetheless, it's not easy, but think of the inspiration that the early Christians martyrs left us to proclaim their faith. Temptations and distractions are everywhere it is so easy for us to stray away from the path to God. When it happens just pray hard to God that He will deliver us from that situation because every single minute of our life counts, let us seize the opportunity to achieve our goals that will bring us to our eternal abode. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of that because the Lord our God sees all good things that we do and let us always focus on that and be conscious that whatever situation we are in now, we can always try to build a life that is anchored on God. We can confidently say these words from the psalm. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15 (15b)

R: Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.

1 Hear, O LORD, a just suit; attend to my outcry; hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit. (R) 5 My steps have been steadfast in your paths, my feet  have not faltered. 6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my word. (R) 8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings. 15 But I in justice shall behold your face; on waking, I shall be content in your presence.

We’ve got to straighten up some things about God. Who He is and what He wants for our life. What is our picture of God? It’s not surprising to know that most of us think that God doesn’t want us to have fun. It’s like all the things that we want to do with our friends that are interesting and exciting when we were young is against God’s commandments. It may seem like we have to settle for less. What’s worse is that all the faithful Catholics get less out of life. This is part of the propaganda way back in the Garden of Eden. God gave us a magnificent paradise wherein there is perfect intimacy and no shame with each other. In the Garden they have everything they need but gave just one limit, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is very interesting because God said, “Don’t do this because you will die.” The reason why God commands us something is because He is a loving Father who cares for us. He wants us to have the best. But then came the serpent, he didn’t even create Adam & Eve, nor gave the garden or anything at all. All the serpent gave was a lie and told Adam & Eve not to listen to God or they’ll lose out and won’t become like God. They were made to believe that God is holding out something from them and is actually their rival because God doesn’t want them to have what He has. So instead of trusting the one who gave them everything, they trusted a stranger. They disobeyed God and listened to the liar. They were hooked into a downward spiral of destruction. This is what sin is all about. It is a trap. It is disguised as an apparent good because the fruit looks good and desirable but it ends in disaster. The relationship with God is messed up and so creation turned against them, thorns and thistles appear and things in life become hard. This is what sin does, it seemed small but it gets out of control. Things get worse and worse and there are broken lives everywhere. This is the reality about sin, we are draining life out of ourselves unless we recognize the Lord our God who is faithful. It is also a big help to us if we always keep in mind the ff. verses in today’s 2^nd reading. Amen. Hallelujah!

2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5

...Finally, brothers, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified, as it did among you, and that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked people, for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you, you (both) are doing and will continue to do. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.

Our amazement of God must never stop instead it should continue to build on top of each other every single day. We may not see it but we are blessed with circumstances and events that are very appropriate and timely for our situation if only we will always look to God and truly ask, seek and knock at the door of God’s heart. The daily mass readings do not fail to inspire and encourage us. If we commit to taking time and effort to reflect on them we will be surprised to find the treasure that lay hidden in it. The bible passage from today's gospel speaks of marriage. It tells us that marriage is very legitimate and could be availed of several times without violating any Church laws for as long as there are no impediments to it. In fact it is considered as one of the 7 sacraments in the Church. What's important here is the fact that just like any other sacrament, we should keep in mind that it is a covenant not just between 2 people who love each other but with God  most of all. In the event that marriage came to an end we could still have something to hold on to that is not bound by anything in this world nor in our life after death. It should remind us that we must always put God in the center of everything. In all our relationships and commitments, it is the one with God that will persist to the end and through eternity. Time will come when everything in this world will cease to exist and nothing in it will matter anymore to us the way we used to feel and think about it. Although it may all seem unimaginable at this time especially for us who are still bound to this world and still attached to it, it can help us a lot if we reflect carefully on what Jesus said in today's gospel. Let us all strive to attain a deeper understanding of the message being conveyed to us and be deemed worthy to attain to the coming age. Just when we thought that a lot of things seem to be unanswered, let us not forget that God in His ultimate intelligence is capable of answering everything we can ever imagine, that we should never doubt His greatness encompasses all that is concrete or abstract so let us not dare to question His will in our lives. We are all looking forward to that one unsurpassed, unequaled and endless glory of being in union with God. There is life after death. Just when others may think that death is the end of everything and nothing else follows, for those of us who believe in the resurrection, we hope to discover on that dreaded day for unbelievers that it is just the beginning of new and eternal life with God in heaven.  Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 20:27-38

...Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; 35 but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise...