THE SPIRIT LIVES ON

These past few days we've been getting very valuable information from Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. What he said in today's 1st reading makes a lot of sense and we should give credit and spend some time thinking about seriously. We are all aware of our natural body and could easily comprehend its presence through the 5 senses we got. It is our spiritual body that we have a hard time being aware of. We simply tend to neglect, overlook or worse ignore its existence. We've got to be aware of the fact that our spirit has power over our physical bodies more than we ever know. As the song goes, "a joyful heart is good medicine but a broken spirit dries up the bones". As years pass by, we come to realize that we are not getting any younger and what we used to do before is no longer applicable to us now. We may have started drinking vitamins already but we still encounter some imbalances in us that we need to pay attention to and give remedy. There are some things we have to modify as we go on with our lives if we want to maintain a healthy body and avoid sicknesses. It is perfectly alright to be health conscious and do everything to maintain a good body but it is of prime importance that we attend to our spiritual needs. Our physical bodies will eventually rot away when we die. Our body grows old, weak and dies but the spirit lives on. The same is true with our spiritual life. We just can't go on doing the same thing over and over again. We need to improve and become better each day if we want to maintain a healthy spirit. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49

...If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one...Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one...

We only rely on people whom we can depend and whom we know are trustworthy. We are just setting ourselves for a disappointment if we risk trusting people whom we know can not deliver. Even if they are dependable enough there are some instances when things still do not work out the way it should. We just can't get total control and charge of everything no matter how perfect things may seem to be. This is because we have limited knowledge, capacities and resources no matter how hard we push ourselves to our maximum level. Our limitations show how imperfect we are and we can only make all things perfect and beautiful if we walk in the presence of God. He has gifted us with so many wonderful things in this world. We have the gift of friends and the company of our fellow brothers and sisters who all belong in this great and big family that God has provided us. If those people close to us and even those whom we don't know can intercede and pray for us then there is nothing we should be afraid of. Not even the scariest thing, person or element in this world should make us doubt that God is over and above all things in this world. Let us be firm in our belief that no harm can come before us if we stay on God’s side. If God is with us who could be against us? Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 56:10c-12, 13-14

R: I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.

9 [10] Now I know that God is with me. 10 [11] In God, in whose promise I glory, 11 [12] in God I trust without fear; what can flesh do against me? (R) 12 [13] I am bound, O God, by vows to you; your thank offerings I will fulfill. 13 [14] For you have rescued me from death, my feet, too, from stumbling; that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

I used to experience shoulder pains when I was in the Philippines and it recurred again here in the US. Due to this I have been traumatized by the experience that I never want it to happen again. The only thing that the doctors could offer at that time was pain relievers. I tried to do some research about it and there have been some wrong information, too that I got but as I continue to study more and after several trial and error I guess I finally found the right cure and the appropriate regimen for my condition. What I'm trying to say here is that we should not just sit and wait for things to happen. We've got to be like the ones referred to in today's gospel who took the right course of action. We find that there are people who don’t go to the doctor or they continue to ignore the signs unless their symptoms have become so severe. Some people refuse to go to the doctor unless they discover the truth. This is surely the way we react to the word of God. The truth for us is that we are the children of God. We are here on earth for only a few fleeting years. Our names have already been written down in the palm of God’s hand before we were born but we refuse to think about it. Our instinct tells us of these things but we refuse to listen. The word of God never penetrates our minds. The devil tempts us by saying there is no heaven or hell but our instincts tell us that there is indeed heaven and hell. We say instead there is still time, there is no need to hurry the world is at my feet, when I’m old and sick then I will have time to think about it. All we have is today, yesterday and tomorrow is a word. This is the sacrament of the present moment, our lives are given to us moment by moment in love. We only have the present moment to be aware of who we are. Our good resolutions are not good enough. What are we doing today? Today is all we have. The seed that fell on hard ground grows but was choked. How easily it happens to us whenever we are preoccupied, worried and distracted. The words of God and their idealism are stunted when we never become what God intended us to be. The seed that falls on good ground brings forth a great harvest. Every one of us can love. We must learn to love a person that is demanding and unlovable. We must learn to understand that every human being has their own problem. We have not walked in their shoes and must learn to love them right at this moment. Today it is all we have. Living is giving and giving is living. We must go on living and giving again. We only stop giving when God stops giving. We all know that God speaks to us in many unique and different ways through circumstances and people we meet everyday. These should inspire us always, though it may have been a long time ago, our experiences with people like whom we can consider an instrument of God in placing the seed in our hearts during that planting season should always remain there, continue to grow and nurture whether in or out of season as in seed planted in rich soil. It may be a bit confusing at first. Jesus says, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” Then after a few statements he said,"...‘they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.’" He first asks us to hear his words and then later on say we could not understand. Isn't it contradictory why would He ask us to listen if He knows we can't understand. Which of these are true, we might say or think. They are both Jesus' words and they are both true and correct. In fact both are not contradicting the other. We are all called to open our ears to God's words, there is no doubt. As to the understanding we are warned as if saying that we may not understand right away but it doesn't mean that we should stop there. Can we remember the times when we fail to grasp the meaning of the things that are happening to us at first. Only after experiencing and going through some things did we come to a better understanding. Jesus simply tells us not to give up so easily rather we should put up a good fight. We simply have to trust God and have a firm faith. No matter how confusing things may seem to be or how difficult it is for us to understand the things that are happening to us we just ought to walk on and put our best foot forward. God will not put us through something without seeing us through it. This is based on the truth and knowledge that we can always count on God 100% of the time. Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 8:4-15

...“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” 9 Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. 10 He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that ‘they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.’ ...“This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God...But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.”...