Today is the beginning of Lent. It
is Ash Wednesday. We are called by the Church to a supreme act of obedience to
God the way Jesus did. This is the time of fulfillment to repent and believe in
the gospel. We have to do it now and everyday. Lent brings that message at the
forefront. We are called by the Church as Catholics to take advantage of this
Lenten season to receive God's grace and mercy. Our first conversion is in
baptism when we are made into a new creature. Our 2nd conversion should take place daily,
the act of having to turn from sin and turn to God everyday. This is why we
practice abstinence and fasting as part of our penitential practices that
express our change of heart and conversion during this season. The Liturgical
seasons bring into focus the different mysteries especially the need for
penance and repentance. We are always in need of purification. We should
constantly follow the path of penance and renewal. This is the sign of ashes.
The sign of repentance that reminds us that we are dust and unto dust we shall
return. We are sinners and mortals that are destined to one day die. We are on
a journey and everything we see here is passing. This is the despair of men
when we trust in ourselves and become hopeless without God. We need Him for
conversion. The outward sign we bring to the world is the ashes on our
forehead. We acknowledge Jesus and the power of the cross. We admit that we are
sinners. In doing this, as to acknowledge and admit who we are before God is a
relief. We should know why, as the 1st reading tells us today, the Lord is
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in
punishment. Everything that the
bible tells about God is true. There is no doubt about this but can we truly
testify to this with all our hearts, minds and souls? Are we really convinced
about this truth all the time? If not then we should, because we have the Most
Perfect God whose love for us knows no boundaries. There is no out giving or over
praising a God of Infinite Mercy, Goodness and Love. I guess we can only give
to God and do so much as provided by our imperfect and limited nature. But
since our God is Perfect and Limitless then there is only one solution to that,
to always go back to God who alone can make all things beautiful and perfect.
There is really nowhere to go but to God. This we should have figured out by
now. How come we kept on doing the same old wrongs over and over again? This is
precisely why we have to be reminded always. Amen. Hallelujah!
Joel 2:12-18
12 Even now, says the LORD, return
to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; 13 rend
your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. For
gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in
punishment.
Organizing all my daily reflections since 2007 made it
easier for me to locate and retrieve them. I have found it very rewarding and
beneficial. It has given me the opportunity to access with ease, the insights
and reflections I wrote in the past. Thus paving the way to recall, reflect,
and share it again. In light of the readings today I am reminded of Fr. Alex
Amayin, the associate priest in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. His talk was about
reconciliation which is very much in line with the 1st & psalm readings for
today. It was centered on 4 things which is 1. SIN 2. GRACE 3. FORGIVENESS 4.
RECONCILIATION. He said that the 1st 3 are all a reality but #4 is only a
possibility. There is no doubt that SIN happens but the GRACE of God is always
present and available for us even before we ask for FORGIVENESS. When we ask
FORGIVENESS, God is always ready to give it. RECONCILIATION calls us to true
conversion. We should always find our way back to God and never doubt His
mercy. He cited the example of a snake and caterpillar since both of them
undergoes conversion. The snake sheds off its old skin but comes out the same
while the caterpillar emerges into a butterfly. We can either choose to be the
snake or the caterpillar. Take your pick. The sacred heart of Jesus should be our model and
guide as we strive to live out the call to be a genuine follower of God. “When
we open our heart to the love of God and to others, it makes us capable of
shaping history according to God’s plan.” - Pope John Paul II. In His fourth
apparition to St. Margaret Mary, our Lord revealed His Sacred Heart, declaring:
"Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it spared nothing, even
going so far as to exhaust and consume Itself, to prove to them Its love.” The
center of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the Enthronement of the
image of the Sacred Heart in the home. By the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart,
we link the tabernacle of our parish church to our home, inviting our Lord to
be our constant and most intimate companion. The Enthronement is a way of life. It
means that Christ is King of our hearts, and we desire Him to be present with
us always. In other words, by the Enthronement we signify our desire to make
our hearts and our homes holy, to sanctify our lives in every aspect. God will
not refuse nor turn His back on us if we are truly sorry for our sins and are
willing to mend our ways. Let us not be so naive into thinking that we can get
away with anything and cheat God. Let us be fair and truly square in dealing
with things that concern not just our future but our eternal destiny. Whether
it's heaven or hell, we would have to decide for that not God. If we choose to
do evil then we are surely headed where it's bound but if we remain faithful to
God and all that He represents then we are headed to a place prepared for us by
God in heaven. We are sure to go where our hearts lead us. The problem is that
there is a great propaganda out there. It makes sin appear with all its fun,
excitement and glamour. It makes virtue appear boring, lame, bland and
unexciting. But the truth of the matter is, it’s not. The pleasures that God
created in this world are enjoyed the most by those who don’t abuse them and
use it simply. Who do we think enjoys food most? The person who doesn’t know
how to fast and engorges all the time or a person after a fast experiences a
feast? The virtuous person enjoys life the most. The person who uses creation
and all things according to God’s plan enjoys it the most. It is because
pleasure is God’s idea. All the good things in the world that people want are
God’s idea. Satan can’t invent even one bit of pleasure. But God commands them to be used so
that it leads to life and a part of life is joy. The way to enjoy life is to
follow God’s commands. Life is not all about rules and regulations. God did not
just give us a bunch of rules and regulations that we are supposed to obey like
machines. What we do does not just proceed from who we are but also makes us
who we are. The actions we
engage, the words that we say and the things that we do have an impact on us.
We are making ourselves all the time. God created us when we came out of the
womb, our mothers and father have a great role in that but our creation
continues every single day of our lives. We’re even becoming someone more
beautiful, mature and stronger or someone weaker and more despicable. There’s
no middle ground. We’re going one way or another. Life leads either to heaven
or to hell. That’s what the acts that we commit do. Let us always ask God's mercy
for our sins and repent of it. The Lord said that He is not sent for the well
but for the sick. We have a disease in our souls that if left uncared for can
cause death. We all have a terminal disease called sin, we need a doctor to
give us advice. We have been saved by God but we can lose it just as we can
lose our human life for not caring for it. We go to God who is our Divine
Physician to be healed. He alone can make us whole. God's presence in our lives
is inevitable just like the coming of dawn before the break of day and if we
have mastered the art of loving back God then we become a pleasing sacrifice
before Him. And in his good pleasure makes us prosper, then we find ourselves
rebuilding the walls of our boundaries as we expand our borders. We have this mindset that it pleases
God whenever He sees us going through hardships and difficulties in life. We
tend to equate God to an oppressing tyrant that would pin us down for every
wrong move. Or worst to a slave driver that would not be satisfied unless his
subjects exhaust all their strength to his service. The people during the time
in the Old Testament could borrow a good excuse for having this kind of mindset
because Jesus has not come yet. We who live in this time of the New Testament
do not have a good alibi because God already demonstrated the greatest
expression of His love for mankind when He sacrificed His only begotten son,
Jesus, to suffer and die for our sake. With this truth always engraved in our
hearts and minds we could no longer harbor wrong impressions and mindsets of
our God. Whenever a particular human right is being violated certain activist
groups passionately rally to defend such right that is in question. What about
the right of God? We are so concerned about our own personal agenda and we fail
to realize that we need to address it more than anything else. According to
Pope Benedict XVI, Jus Divinum is the right of God which constitutes the proper
and correct response of God’s creatures such as man to his Creator. This we
ought to realize and take action. We should do all the good that we are
supposed to do to a God who created us. There
is something more to what we see, hear and feel about people. We really
couldn't judge a book by its cover. It's in knowing what is hidden in the heart
that we can truly say for sure what is real. But who can see through our
hearts? Nobody but God alone. What is unknown and hidden from us, God knows. We
may be able to hide from men but never from God. We can only pray to God to
create in us a clean heart. For where our treasure is, there also will be our
hearts. This should all be our prayer, “Change me Oh God, mold me in accordance
to your pattern and plan and not mine” Dirt stain in clothes sometimes doesn't
want to come off even after several times it has been machine washed. There are
really some dirt and stain that do not go away that easily with regular
washing. There is a need to scrub it manually with soap and water so that it
will come out clean. Our souls are just like clothes which are stainable by our
sins. It is a consolation to know that our sins are washable in the blood of
our Lord Jesus Christ. We can always come to Him and acknowledge our sins with
a sincere and repentant heart so He can cleanse us, wipe out our offenses and
blot out all our guilt. There is nothing that could separate us from the love
of God. Let us not be deceived nor dissuaded to believe otherwise. God’s love
is always present and available for us. All we need to do is reach out for it
because God is a gentleman and would never force Himself on us. There has
always been a raging battle between God and satan. Though it has already been
won, satan just won’t give up. He continues to wreak havoc and evil among us in
his desperation to bring misery into our lives and share in his condemnation.
He doesn’t have the tiniest power over us and he can only have it if and only
if we give in to his lies, deceptions and false promises. We need to make this
conscious decision each and every single day for the Lord. We need to purge ourselves
of the impurities of our souls we have to go through a certain process that
will render us with a clean heart. As we strive to nurture a heart that beats
for God alone we also go through a process of cleansing as stated in the psalm
today. God's mercy is greater than any of our sins. If we are to repent and
turn away from our sins then we've got to do it right now and really do it
fast. God sees through our hearts, our motives and intentions. What God wants
of us is to truly acknowledge His great mercy and goodness to us that in doing
so will abound a natural inclination to repent and repair all our iniquities
and lead to a brand new, wholesome and clean Christian in the truest sense of
the word. We need to stand in all humility before God and confess our sins. The
body and soul are good but it demands a need for physical asceticism. We have
to submit our bodies to an act of sacrifice without neglecting that conversion
is first of all interior. Total conversion demands not only expression in works
of penance but also of the heart. God
is able to do anything. All the more should we be full of confidence that He
can create a clean heart and steadfast spirit for us if we truly ask for it. God our Father will never turn His
back on us. Let us get this straight, it is the sin that God hates and not the
sinner. If we are in sin then that's the time we drive away God's Holy Spirit
dwelling in us for it is impossible for God's presence to exist with sin. It's
our call then to respond to the psalm's invitation to rise and go to God or
remain slumped in the mud of sin. Our God will always be the best Father a
child could ever have, the best Brother/Friend and the best Comforter and Guide
all in one. Bottom line, to Him alone shall we go because we don't know that much
and if we don’t then we end up doing one of these things, take for granted,
ignore, forget or neglect the things God is telling us to do. What's worse it
could be all of the above! We get blinded and become preoccupied with a lot of
things that lure us away from doing what God wants us to do. We are deceived
into believing all the lies of this world disguised and packaged by the enemy
in an inviting and convincing truth. We should realize that it is always for
our own good that He commands us to do the right thing. It is not merely to
impose but for us to freely decide for a life lived to the full. There is no
other way to maintain the Holy Spirit dwelling in us but to let it reside in a
clean heart. We drive away
God's Spirit in us if we don't strive to let our hearts remain clean. Today's
psalm is a song that I have come to know and sing by heart without the aid of a
song book. I always love to sing it and hear it being sung most especially by
the choir during mass. It is well for us to not just love to sing it with our
voices but with the sincerity of our hearts. The words "take not your Holy
Spirit from me" made me realize that God has the power to give and take.
The thought of the Holy Spirit being taken away from us is the worst thing that
could ever happen. If we don't feel God's presence in our life anymore and
we've become numb and insensitive to the promptings and guidance of the Holy
Spirit then now is the time to reconnect and realign ourselves to God's Spirit
most especially during this Lenten season. It is important that we always
maintain a clean heart and a steadfast spirit so that we are constantly in the
God's presence. It's not that God loves us any less, no matter what we do He
will always love us. It's just that a Holy and Loving God can not dwell in an
impure heart and spirit. It
is of prime importance that we take extra care in attending not only to our
temporal needs but our spiritual as well. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17
R: Be merciful, O Lord, for we have
sinned.
1 [3] Have mercy on me, O God, in
your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. 2 [4]
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. (R) 3 [5] For I
acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always. 4 [6] “Against you only
have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.” (R) 10 [12] A clean heart
create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. 11 [13] Cast me
not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. (R) 12 [14] Give
me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me. 15 [17]
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
We should not delay in doing any
good thing. Let us not put off for tomorrow what we can do today. A day spent
is past and over but we still have today and we should make good use of it
while we still can. We are called in today’s 2nd reading to be no less than anything or
anyone else for we are ambassadors for Christ. It is through Jesus that we are
now enjoying the gift of eternal salvation, let us not forfeit nor miss this
great opportunity of accepting wholeheartedly this gift that is above any other
and greater than anything that we can ever receive here on earth. Let us seize
the time and opportunity to be the best child our Father could have, the best
brother/sister/friend and most obedient Christian to the inner voice/Spirit of
God dwelling in us. Amen. Hallelujah!
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
20 Brothers and sisters: We are
ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on
behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin
who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
6: 1 Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God
in vain. 2 For he says: “In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of
salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is
the day of salvation.
We should respond to God in a way
that is coming from our hearts and not just our minds alone. If we feel that at
the moment God is not answering our prayers then we ought to be thankful that
God is still giving us all the chances to earn more and receive more in ways
that may not be known or visible to us. It is only right that we work to our
full potentials and give our best to God. We can sometimes work our way out to
win the approval and favor of men, how much more our God who only wants the
best things for us. For God sees everything and nothing is in vain if we offer
all our sacrifices and sufferings to God whether it be known or unknown to
everyone. We can be assured that every single thing that we do for his greater
glory and honor will go back to us in full recompense and to the overflowing
for nothing compares to God's payback. Whatever difficulty we may all be going
through let us always have a good disposition and be very confident of the God
in whom we place our trust that no one would even guess that we are
experiencing something really problematic knowing that God got us covered.
Whatever problems we are encountering at the moment just think that we are on a
fast. Fasting on worries, fears and anxieties causes us not to be troubled and
brings about the fruits of the Holy Spirit due to our confidence in God's
loving providence. We live in a physical world and we can't help it when we
conform to its standard. Though, we must keep in mind what St. Paul says in
Romans 12:1-2 "I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to
offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your
spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by
the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is
good and pleasing and perfect." When we speak of spiritual things we are
sometimes bound to the unseen and hidden things of this world we are in. This
should not discourage us to grow in this aspect because we are assured by the
Lord Himself when He pointed out in today's gospel that whatever we have worked
and done for the glory of God's Kingdom will never go unnoticed before Him.
Nothing is hidden from the Lord. He knows every single thing we do, whether
good or bad, because He knows and sees all. We need not worry about anything at
all, nothing is ever wasted if we entrust all our concerns to God. Though there
are times when it doesn't seem to be the case, for as long as we have strived
hard and done what is expected of us then it doesn't really matter what may
seem to be. What matters most is that God doesn't just seem to be who He is but
is truly, deeply and genuinely who He really is. All knowing, loving and always
act accordingly in the most acceptable time. This is why the gospel warns us
today of the danger of putting on a big show without real change in our hearts.
Interior conversion is primary. If our main goal is that we want men to see our
penance then it is just for nothing. To truly repent of our sins is the start
which is what happens in baptism. We need to change in relation to ourselves,
God and to others. Fasting aids in a change in regards to self. Alms giving is
in relation to our neighbors. Through these things, real growth is experienced
here. If we spend more time in prayer then we can experience prayer growth. It
fights the threefold concupiscence in our being which is a disordered drive to
satisfy the flesh that our culture is so adept in presenting to us. The
distractions that we are confronted with in the form of various entertainments
that make us fall into lust are the tools of satan. This enemy is having a
field day in our culture by bombarding us with these thoughts of wanting to
have more and more. We aim for what seems to be pleasing in the eyes of others
and to be in control. This is pride when we want to be the one who call the
shots. Satan can device all forms of marketing strategies to get our attention
and interest. We need to taper our desires and come to a point when we fast
from it. We need to be open and docile to the Lord. We can begin the day by
looking at the crucifix. We can see Jesus who followed His Father’s will. We
are not out here to accumulate in worldly achievements but rather to follow
more and more God’s will for us. We should turn from evil and reclaim the
filial relationship with God. We can learn much from what Jesus demonstrated to
us especially in the desert when He was tempted. We just surrender and cling to
Him with all our beings. We should never doubt God's perfect timing in
everything that happens in our lives. Our God is a generous God, He will not
withhold from us every blessing so let us always keep in mind that
everything we do for the Lord is never in vain. Amen. Hallelujah!
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
1 Jesus said to his disciples:
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. 2 When you
give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left
hand know what your right is doing, 4 so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 5 When you pray, do not be
like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street
corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received
their reward. 6 But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and
pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay
you...But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you
may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your
Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
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