SIGNS, WONDERS AND MIRACLES

We can never deny the truth that somewhere along our life’s road we have encountered a lot of miracles happening right before us that we might not be aware of. God has been very gracious to us in so many ways. The 1^st reading today tells us that as God's children we should always act in righteousness so that we are always open and ready to acknowledge God's gift to us. If we only know fully what's in store for those whom God has chosen or destined to belong to Him then we would come to realize that nothing could be more important than it. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 John 2:29-3:6.

If you consider that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him. See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God... Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.

The psalm reading yesterday is the same as today, so as to confirm that God will always win the battle for us. We should proclaim that God has done marvelous deeds and witness one miracle after another and more to come. I believe that miracles are taking place every single minute of our life because we are victorious in Jesus. Nothing else matters than the truth that we are all loved by God and given the privilege of taking part in His great kingdom in heaven. No one can deny the fact that to all God has been gracious and loving with no exception at all. Amen. Hallelujah!

P S A L M

Psalm 98:1, 3-4, 5-6

R: All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm.

St. John continues to proclaim in today's gospel what he has testified and seen about Jesus. We, too are challenged to be like him as we go on with our daily lives let us attune ourselves to God and listen to His messages that we can no longer deny it, as we confidently proclaim and become living witnesses that God is with us, God is good all the time. A lot of things have happened already and we must not have a single doubt in mind that Jesus is indeed the Son Of God the Most High, through Him all things are made possible. Just as John was able to testify with much conviction and certainty about Jesus so must we, too based on our own personal relationship with Him. Throughout our lifetime, it is inevitable that we all reach a point when we can come up with our own great and unforgettable stories to tell in our journey with Jesus. In this regard we can all stand up in proclaiming out loud the experiences and events that we've been through in the same manner that John did which testifies to the one true God. In all that we do and hope to fulfill in this life may we be like John the Baptist who points to Jesus. We might have heard about it or seen a painting of John with a pointing finger. Today’s gospel is the one being depicted in that painting where John was pointing to Jesus Christ. We may want to ask ourselves this question. Does our life point to Jesus or does it obscure Jesus? Can we say the same thing that John said in John3:30, “He must increase; I must decrease."  We pray for this to actively take place in our lives and truly point to Jesus. Jesus is the 2^nd Person of the Holy Trinity and is one with God the Father and God the Spirit. One God in 3 Divine Persons, Father, Son and Spirit. According to St. Cyril of Alexandria, our question might be this, why did Jesus our God submit to baptism? The answer lies in the fact that He received the Spirit in Baptism in so far as He is also human. The Spirit is already His, in Him and through Him. He received the Spirit for our sake. If we are to reason correctly then we know that He did not receive the Spirit for Himself but for us in Him so that all gifts come down to us through Him. Jesus remained God when He became man. What He was not, our human nature, He assumed so that He receives in, by and through His human nature the Spirit for our sake, benefit and advantage. He is definitely up close and personal for He took our nature to Himself in order to renew our nature in its entirety. In the light of this truth that the Spirit of the Lord is upon Jesus we are called to have a claim on the gifts that are existent with the Holy Spirit. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. We pray that we maintain ourselves in a state of sanctifying grace so that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are fully operative in us.Amen. Hallelujah! 

John 1,29-34.

...“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ ...“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”