It has been a nostalgic couple of days due to the readings.
If yesterday I was sharing about my son, Jude, now it’s Allan’s turn. Today’s
1st reading brings back memories of the time when Allan was still undecided
what course to take and what school to go to for College. At that time he had
several options. It was kind of hard to say what he would finally decide on
since he was still waiting for the results of his other exams in other schools.
Although I had spoken my mind to him and said my piece of advice, I knew then
that he has plans of his own. We see the importance of this story of Samuel
when we come to the so called crossroads in our very own lives. We may all have
reached a point where we should make major life changing decisions. No matter how good and helpful it is to
solicit the good advice and opinion of others in the end we would have to
decide for ourselves. We can not make others decide for us. We would have to
own our actions and make the decision ourselves. Thus it is important that we
establish a living relationship with the Lord. Only in this way can we truly
listen and open our hearts as Samuel did.
Today's 1st reading speaks of Samuel unable to discern God's call right
away and so I spoke the same words of Eli to Samuel to my son, Allan. We may
have other things and plans in mind for our loved ones that don’t fit in their
own. But no matter what they have decided to do and what they have been working
hard for to achieve the bottom line here is to know that it is always for the
best to pray, entrust everything to God and always listen to the instructions
that come from Him. We could almost feel what Samuel felt in today’s 1st
reading because just like any other person who is comfortably lying and
sleeping very soundly through the night of our lives, we never want to be
disturbed. Whatever disturbance and discomfort we may be all going through
right now we must not lose hope and realize that it is through our
deficiencies, imperfections and inadequacies that we continue to seek God. For
only Him can make us whole. There are times when we don't realize that God is
calling us several times and we don't know where to go and what to do. One very
important thing we should do is to respond to Him in the way Samuel did and
find ourselves growing in faith in the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!
1 Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20
1 During the time young Samuel was minister to the LORD
under Eli, a revelation of the LORD was uncommon and vision infrequent. 2 One
day Eli was asleep in his usual place. His eyes had lately grown so weak that
he could not see. 3 The lamp of God was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was
sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was. 4 The LORD called
to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.” 5 He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You
called me.” “I did not call you,” Eli said. “Go back to sleep.” So he went back
to sleep. 6 Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. “Here I
am,” he said. “You called me.” But he answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go
back to sleep.” 7 At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD, because
the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet. 8 The LORD called Samuel
again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am.
You called me.” Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth. 9 So
he said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, LORD,
for your servant is listening.’ ” When Samuel went to sleep in his place, 10
the LORD came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, “Samuel,
Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 19 Samuel
grew up, and the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to be
without effect. 20 Thus all Israel
from Dan to Beer-sheba came to know that Samuel was an accredited prophet of
the LORD.
We need to persevere in prayer so that as we improve and
daily grow in His knowledge and ways then we can easily discern and be more
sensitive of how God speaks to each one of us in a very close and personal way.
We should always listen intently to what God is telling us so we could
effectively carry out what He wants us to do. It is God's will that we engage in
activities that will enrich and deepen our faith in Him. In order to love
someone better we have to know him/her better. The more you know about a person
the more you become close to each other. The same way with God there is a need
to really know more or everything there is to know about God. We must not be
distracted and dissuaded to do otherwise when beset with problems and
difficulties. If we have developed a great sense of confidence and faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ then we can fearlessly and undauntedly do whatever He wills
for us. We've got the very best friend we can ever have in Jesus. All we have
to do is listen to and follow Him. He is the Rising Sun and Light of the world
who came to live with us to direct our feet into the path of peace. Doing God’s will may not be easy but if we
have placed it in the center of our hearts then it will just come naturally as
it becomes the powerhouse or mitochondria of our beings. The transcendent
nature of humanity calls for dialogue and human understanding. In the face of
difficulty and sign of contradiction we should never lose heart. Remember these
words from the gospel, Mt. 5:10-12, “Blessed are they who are persecuted for
the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you
when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you
(falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in
heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Violence is not
overcome by violence. The world needs God. Authentic weapon for peace is
religious freedom as in to practice faith without coercion. Today we remember
the plight of our brothers and sisters throughout the world who suffer greatly
for the faith. We pray that religious freedom will not be eroded for those who
can practice it. We continue to hope in the grace of God for that alone will
suffice. It is also very important that we follow the example of Mary's perfect
obedience to God's will so that we can find delight in following God's laws.
May our Lord show us the path to peace and use us as instruments and builders
of peace. Nothing should ever stop us from doing the will of God for it is
ultimately the best option we've got. If we have developed a great sense of
confidence and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ then we can fearlessly and
undauntedly do whatever He wills for us. Once we've known who God is and what
He is capable of doing in our lives then there is really nothing that should
stop us in saying with all our hearts the responsorial psalm for today. Amen.
Hallelujah!
P S A L M
Psalm 40:2 and 5, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10
R: Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
1 [2] I have waited, waited for the LORD, and he stooped
toward me and heard my cry. 4 [5] Blessed the man who makes the LORD his trust;
who turns not to idolatry or to those who stray after falsehood. (R) 6 [7]
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Today's gospel speaks
of the exact bible passage which a friend of mine considers instrumental in her
healing. She specifically cited this story while praying fervently to God. She
mercifully pleaded to God and called on Him not to deprive her of the healing
she has bestowed on Peter's mother-in-law. At that time, she was already on the
verge of drinking her sleeping medications but was afraid that she also might
develop dependence since she's been on it for quite some time. She was battling
then with not just one but several other medicines prescribed by her doctor
which are all known to cause drug dependence. She had ready the medicine and a
glass of water on top of the table but it was morning already when she realized
that she was able to go to sleep without having to take any medication. Now,
she's is totally free of all these medications. It is through our deficiencies,
imperfections and inadequacies that we continue to seek God. For only Him can
make us whole. Today's gospel is a similar version of the one in Matthew 8. It
is a figurative form of telling us the importance to stay within the confines
and teachings of the Church. It is important to study and learn about our
faith. We need to see the plan of God in Jesus. Notice the difference in
Matthew 8:14-15, “Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law
lying in bed with a fever. “ And also in
Matthew 13:1, “On that day, Jesus went out of the house …” Matthew 13 is all
about parables of the Kingdom of God and the people did not understand Him but
when He went into the house of Peter the disciples understood Him. The house of
Peter signifies the Church, and outside the church there is no understanding of
Jesus’ teaching. When we stand from outside of the Church and the faith there
is no understanding of Jesus and the plan of God. Just imagine ourselves
standing inside the Church and looking at the stained glass windows. We see the
images in detail and in full color but if we are from outside the Church what
we see is darkness, and kind of shadowy unable to see its full color and
detail. This happens when we stand from outside of the faith. The light
illuminates the window and we see clearly from inside the church and believe as
it illuminates the life of Jesus. Only from within the Church can we understand
the mysteries of the Kingdom
of God
He gives pertinent formulations to the faith but also has a
saintly approach. His book, Summa Theologica has 512 questions and many
articles to each question like a debate. He has a style in his presentation of
the faith. It contains a concentrated reasoning in which the human mind is
applied to the mysteries of the faith. He comments on scripture, on the
writings of the pope fathers and especially knew about St. Augustine ’s work very well. We see how he
champions philosophy and reason well. He makes a distinction between Theology
and Philosophy but very much sees philosophy as the handmaid of theology. He
could see this beautiful relationship how faith corrects and even purifies
reason and how reason helps in the deepening and understanding of the faith.
Pope Benedict XVI in his recent reflection on Thomas’ contribution quoted Pope
John Paul VI asking “Thomas our teacher, what lesson can you give us?” He says,
“Trust in the truth of Catholic religious thought as defended, expounded and
offered by him to the capacities of the human mind.” As we are to receive the
faith fully and receive it, it must be reasonable. We must be able to process
and understand it. It’s a mystery, always infinite and beyond us but must be
able to explore it by reason with much confidence in the truth and revelation.
We must have the capacity to use our reason when unpacking the truth. The 1st
part of the Summa teaches of the knowledge of God. He is the beginning and the
end. He is the last end of all things especially rational creatures. The 2nd
part teaches us of the rational creatures and angelic beings that advance
towards God. It tells human beings, how we are to live the moral principles as
we develop a moral theology. It centers on the teaching on grace and how we
need it to find our way back to God and to be turned and transformed in
holiness to be happy in time and eternity. We need that revelation of God’s law
and we also need His grace to be happy. In this life, to find Him and to live
that blessed eternal happiness in the beatific vision. It also cites teaching
on the virtues, faith, hope and love and also 50 more virtues on how to live a
good life. The last part speaks of the saving mysteries of Christ. It presents
to us Jesus, how He saves, the sacraments and the mysteries. God directs us
from within since we are unique in this sense. We are different from animals
and plants and inanimate objects. He directs us to Himself to God as our last
end with our free will choices to move by grace and desire happiness. We desire
joy and fulfillment and we find that in God. Jesus
was very focused on the mission that God the Father has for Him. In the same
way that we must not be distracted and dissuaded to do otherwise when beset
with problems and difficulties. Amen. Hallelujah!
Mark 1:29-39
29 On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon
and Andrew with James and John. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her. 31 He approached, grasped her hand, and
helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them. 32 When it was
evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by
demons. 33 The whole town was gathered at the door.
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