There are many distractions all around us. Whether we admit
or not, we too succumb to it and sometimes fail to act in accordance to what is
right. We need to know what our priorities are in life. It is of prime
importance that we know what needs to be on top of our list because everything
else will come second and just trail behind. What we focus on grows. Today's
1st reading leaves us with a very important word of advice that we really ought
to take seriously and act on. Amen. Hallelujah!
Acts 6:1-7
...the Twelve called together the community of the disciples
and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.
3 Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit
and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, 4 whereas we shall devote
ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Nothing is hidden from God and everything is known to Him.
It pays to always consult our plans to God in prayers and everything we intend
to do we should lay down before Him and seek His approval. He will never
deprive us nor withhold from us the answers that we seek. If we sometimes
forget these and tend to stray away from the right path then we should always
be aware that everything that we say, think and do must always have reference
to God our Creator. It may have happened to most of us when we get disappointed
at how we still miss something so quickly despite our close watch. We sometimes
end up confused and discouraged when things don’t happen the way we expect it
despite our accurate and strict monitoring. We even ask ourselves how it could
have happened. We may have heard and seen some terrible and frightening things
in our life but we should always hold on to the truth that no matter how
horrible the things that are happening around us they don't change the fact
that our Lord is God and always in charge and in control. It doesn't matter
that much how we think and feel but what matters most is how to feel and think
just like God. We can always rely and depend on it, 100%, fail proof and
success guaranteed. We should place our trust not in men or in things but in
God alone. What is wisdom to men is folly to God. The Lord did not promise us
to be totally problem free but He gave His assurance that He will always be our
Savior and Redeemer. God's power is beyond our full comprehension. He is Holy,
Mighty, Immortal and Infinitely Great. Did it ever occur to us how all these
things that surround us, from the skies, to the mountains, plains, the seas,
the wind, all the heavenly bodies above, the things down below, all the
creatures of the earth especially us, human beings came to be. Not a single
theory about creation could suffice and would ever satisfy the wonders and
marvelous things that God has done. Just thinking about all these things should
make us always put our hope in Him, feel confident and assured that we are safe
under His care, to help us from all our problems and shield us from all harm. It
is a consolation to know that we are constantly assured by God especially in
today's psalm to never doubt His power and goodness. His loving eyes is always
upon us not leaving us for a single moment nor removing his stare even with a
wink of an eye. It feels good to know that someone's eyes are upon us and
looking after us. When we come to a point of despair and feel like things are
not getting better, we ought to remember always that we are God's people and we
are His own. We have to realize this one most important truth that we should
all subscribe to, which is to constantly align ourselves and conform to the
will and plan of God in our lives. Let us ask the Lord to lead us to the right
path and decisions that we may work toward the building of God’s kingdom here
on earth. We should not give room to any doubt, fear,
anxiety, impatience, irritability, hatred, sadness, iniquity, unfaithfulness,
disloyalty, pride and loss of self control. Let us not choose to give in to
these. They are all characteristics that should not be found in a people the
Lord has chosen to be His own. Our present situation may not be a
perfect picture yet but we should all rejoice and be glad knowing that God was
the one who chose us first and He will carry us through. All we have to do is
just trust that the Lord will carry out with perfection all His plans for us no
matter what situations or circumstances may arise in our midst. When God
created this world and everything in it including us, He did not ask permission
from anybody. It means that He has chosen us to be His own and not the other
way around. This is the reason why the fallen angels/demons are so jealous of
men. We are indeed special in the eyes of God for it is written in Gen 1:26, "Then
God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have
dominion..." We are not just chosen by God to be His own even before
everything came to be but we are on top of His creation. Let us never lose sight of this wonderful plan that God has
for all of us. We may not be seeing it right now, having doubts about it, not
paying attention to it or unable to commit to it. Whatever it may be, these are
all hindrances that prevent us from gaining access to the goodness of the Lord.
Never allow ourselves to miss out on this privilege that is accorded to all of
us as the children of God. God chose us first and it is only right and fitting
that we choose Him too. If we always focus on the Lord and put His words in our
presence at all times then we can be assured that we have a lamp unto our feet
that is lighting our path. We have to entrust all our cares and worries to the
Lord for He can do better things for our lives than all our works combined. No
matter how hard we try to succeed in what we do if it's not in accordance to
God's plan then nothing will ever come out of it. We may succeed in one aspect
but we will never be totally at peace for in the end it will always be the will
and plan of God that will prevail. We just have to acknowledge that we are
sparing ourselves of all the trouble and heartaches if we will just be obedient
and completely trust in the Lord's plan. Let us truly be wise in the
real sense of the word rather than of the world and not forfeit all our
benefits from the Lord. We all have our personal
plans and designs and we may not be able to fully understand what is going on
at the present time. It is not easy for the wisdom in the eyes of God is
foolishness to the world but what's most important is that we should always consult
everything to God first, just believe and surrender everything to Him for He
knows best. We have to realize this one most important truth that we should all
subscribe to, which is to constantly align ourselves and conform to the will
and plan of God in our lives. The power of God knows no limits and we can
always rely on Him for anything that we are in need. Let us rely on God's power
and completely trust Him to bring to fulfillment everything that He has
promised. Just like the Blessed Mother Mary, who is Queen of heaven and
earth, we too are destined for victory and royalty. If only we live out the
example of her obedient life and carry Jesus in our hearts. Let us not lose
hope and have faith in the Master Plan and Grand Design that God has for all of
us. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19
R: Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in
you.
...Upright is the word of the LORD, and all his works are
trustworthy. 5 He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the LORD the
earth is full. (R) 18 See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness, 19 to deliver them from death and
preserve them in spite of famine...
The covenant in Mt. Sinai is
compared with the new covenant in Christ as in Mt. Zion Mt.
Sinai Mt. Sinai Jerusalem ,
we approach the saints. We have a communion with them as in Rev 5:8 When he
took it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before
the Lamb. Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense,
which are the prayers of the holy ones. The elders have golden bowls of incense which
are the prayer of the saints who are so close to God’s throne. They set our
prayers on fire and release its full power. Jesus is the New Moses, seals the
covenant in His own blood. We come with our prayers and ask the saints to pray
for us. Christ is the one who forgives our sins, the saints can not do
that. His sprinkled blood, speaks more
eloquently than that of Abel’s blood as it cried out from the earth for
justice. The blood of Christ cried out mercy and forgiveness of sins. This is
what Christ’s blood cries out for. The imperfect can’t enter heaven. God made
them perfect which is all part of this New Jerusalem. God answers prayers
through intercession of saints and angels and through the mediation of Christ
with His sprinkled blood. Believe, believe and believe! It has been the
constant message of God to us. Amen. Hallelujah!
1Peter 2:4-9
Beloved: Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human
beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones,
let yourselves be built into a spiritual house
to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it says in Scripture: Behold, I am
laying a stone in Zion ,
a cornerstone, chosen and precious, and whoever believes in it shall not be put
to shame. Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without
faith: The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone, and A stone that will make
people stumble, and a rock that will make them fall. They stumble by disobeying
the word, as is their destiny. You are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a
holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Today's gospel is very appropriate especially when we grieve for
the
loss of a loved. It confirms and is a consoling truth for us who believes in
Jesus, the Son of God. For those who do not, then life would all be meaningless
in the end. If this present life that we have in this world is the only thing
we hold on to then we are the most pathetic people ever known. There is a great
schism going on daily within our midst, of people who know, believe and live
the truth and those who do not. Those who are in between do not exist or are
considered gone as the Lord said in Revelation 3:16, "So, because you are
lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." It's one
or the other. I just hope that all of us have a clear, genuine and broad
understanding of this mind blowing but awesome reality and live it in our
lives. We must thank God for all the people He sends our way and uses to be
instruments of His love, care and concern. We look at every single day as very
significant because of the circumstances and events that make possible for us
to still live the following day. It is a testimony and constant reminder of
this bible verse in today's gospel and assurance that He is always mindful of
us, His most precious creation. We are the child of God and God the Son lives
in us. Everyone can sing “I am special”. As stated in Psalm 8:2-9 ...What is
man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care
for him? You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with
glory and honor. You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting
all things under his feet. All sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the
field, the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea, and whatever swims the
paths of the seas.” God created us especially with something to do on this
earth that no one else can do and we must love ourselves for who we are. We
have to realize the dignity of being a child of God. So we must love our
neighbor for God lives in each one of us. C.S. Lewis said that there are 4
kinds of love, 1st the
love of a mother for a child which is beautiful, 2nd of a man for a woman which is
romantic, 3rd of a
friend for a friend which is inspiring, and 4th is the agape love which tells us to do
good to those who hate us because we are the child of God and Christ is in him.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the person who was robbed and left for
dead has no name and it doesn’t matter. Love is no respecter of persons. We
have to do our task to love beyond the call of duty. God never have to create
us but He created us. He did it and destined us for glory. There are times when
we speak words that we don't really mean or speak words out of anger, desperation
and any other strong emotion which can cloud our judgment. Let us always be
reminded that our words are powerful and we should have a conscious effort to
mirror God in us by always speaking in behalf of our Father in heaven. We are
created by God for a special place in heaven even before we were born and gave
each one of us a name. In fact I have heard a couple of times already that when
we die, God utters our name and so we will fly to Him faster than sound. The
big question that God would ask is not, why aren’t we like Pope JPII, St.
Francis of Assisi
John 14: 1-12
...The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father
who dwells in me is doing his works... ...Philip said to
him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus said
to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me,
Philip?... The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father
who dwells in me is doing his works... Believe me that I am in the Father and
the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. 12 Amen,
amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and
will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.
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