We may have known a lot of things already about the Lord God
but the limited capacity of our mind or brain to hold and process this
information is only able to do this much. We need to totally surrender our
will, mind and memory, all for the greater glory of God. Only then can we
acquire knowledge which unfolds before us every step of the way. For quite
sometime we have been planning to go on a trip but just couldn't get our number
right. At first there were 5 of us then it appeared that 2 people would be
joining us but it didn't work out then we were back to 5 but one of us backed
out and then we were only 4. A few days ago, the 4th person begged off and
requested for another date. After so much talking and deliberation we finally
got our number right or so we thought. Recently there have been some
developments and what was planned ahead of time may still be subject to change.
This incident makes me think again of the song, "...how I love to be in
that number when the saints go marching in..." We really couldn't be too
sure of anything at all. But come to think of a place with endless joy and
singing as in today's 1st reading where there is perfect peace and harmony then
it should make all the difference. Instead of having second thoughts or backing
out we surely have to be in that number. Amen. Hallelujah!
Revelation 15:1-4
...They were holding God’s harps, 3 and they sang the song
of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful
are your works, Lord God almighty. Just and true are your ways, O king of the
nations. 4 Who will not fear you, Lord, or glorify your name? For you alone are
holy. All the nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts
have been revealed.”
Is there any other place we would like to be other than in
the loving presence of God? This, I'm sure we can and should have a straight
answer without delay. No one should ever claim that they haven't heard or known
about God since it is our prime duty to spread and make it known throughout the
whole world. There is no denying to the truth that all of us are given the
chance to know who our God is and it is also our duty and responsibility to
take part in this mission of spreading the good news and make known to everyone
to the best of our ability the saving power of God. We should consider each day
as an opportunity to know and learn more about our God. Whether it be an
ordinary or special day in our life nothing should be amiss and should be spent
in giving glory to God our Savior and Master. We can never ever deny the
greatness of our God even just by looking at the simplest part of God’s
creation like the tiniest grain of sand to the largest ocean in the world. As
in Jeremiah 5:22, “Will you not tremble before me who set the sand as limit to
the sea, as an everlasting barrier it can not pass? Its waves may toss but not
prevail, they may roar but can not pass beyond.” We ask ourselves how in the
world can a tiny grain of sand hold the vastness of the ocean in the same way
we know that we have a God whose saving power is known throughout the earth. It
is our duty to ourselves to aim for the ultimate good which is the will of God
in our lives. This is not something that we still have to search and look for.
It is already programmed in us and made known to us by the Lord. If by any
chance this is not the case especially for those people who have not heard or
known about our Lord Jesus since birth then the Lord Himself knows how to deal
with them in accordance to His Divine Wisdom and Mercy. For us who have been
blessed and endowed with the privilege of hearing and knowing about Jesus, this
is coupled with a responsibility. The principle that to those who have been
given much, much is also expected definitely applies to it. We have a
responsibility in our hands to make known to everyone we meet about this vital
truth that could spell the difference between life and death. It is always for our
good to attend activities that nourish our soul. We are enlightened and
inspired because of the many good things we can learn from it. Whenever we hear
words of wisdom it could always help us make sense of the things happening
around us even suffering. It gives a feeling of special joy and gladness in
every person’s heart. If we continue to stand by the principles of God then we
will come to know that there is no truth in the saying that faith is against
reason. We can truly appreciate the relevance of the truth as explained by Pope
John Paul II that true faith come together with true reason. It is the same
thing as saying that Theology tells us that God created the world while Science
tells us how God created the world. 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. We, Catholics believe
that God gave human beings reason although it sometimes gets darkened by sin
but still human reason can figure out some things. One of the things that human
beings figure out without God having to reveal it, is that human beings need to
meet 4 qualities to be deemed a human being. The philosopher, before even
Plato, Aristotle and Socrates, had this figured out. We find it mentioned in
Wisdom 8:7, the 4 virtues or qualities are also called the hinge virtues
because it is where all the other virtues or qualities of good people would
hinge. The word cardinal means hinge. The Cardinals who surround the Pope are
the doorway to the Pope. They are also the ones whom he rely the most for
advice. Everything else depends on the cardinal virtues. (Prudence or wisdom,
justice, temperance and courage or fortitude) We can also find all the cardinal
virtues, like justice which means giving each person his or her due in the Book
of Proverbs, Sirach, Ecclesiastes and all the wisdom literature in scriptures.
We all know even as kids instinctively how important justice is. The first
thing that a kid cries out as soon as he learns how to talk if he has brothers
and sisters is “Not fair, he got more than I did” or “You ask me to do more
than what that person is doing.” This is because we have instinctively or natively
offensive justice. Each person has rights and ought to get their due. There’s
also another part of justice that we forget, that is, we have obligations and
duties to everyone. A person who is unjust is not a good person. To be just, we
need to control our passions. Temperance is a virtue that balances and controls
our passions. It is like controlling our desire for that last piece of cake if
we know that it belongs to our sister. In order to be just, we’ve got to
control our appetites. Make our appetites come into line with justice, truth
and goodness. We’ve got to have that balance in our life in order to be a good
and effective person. Temperance makes this happen. We also have to be
courageous. If we are not courageous then every time a difficulty arises we’re
going to shrink back. If there’s any danger involved in doing the right, just
and wise thing then we’re just going to crack out and find an excuse because
we’re afraid. Courage or fortitude helps us to master fear and not let fear
keep us from doing what’s right. In the same way that we want justice to
prevail always since it is very frustrating when we encounter situations that
are very unjust. We are reminded in today's psalm that we can all be assured of
the truth that the Lord rules the earth and He rules with justice there is no
doubt. We've got to take hold of the marvelous things that God has done.
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. God revealed to us
Himself in various different ways. In the gospel of Mark: "the gospel of
Jesus Christ, the son of God" (Mk 1:1) is summarized by the phrase - The
person of Jesus, and the gospel of Luke:"The gospel of glory to God in
high heaven and peace on earth to those on whom his favor rest (Lk 2:14) is
summarized by the phrase - Joy to the world, while the gospel of John:"the
gospel of the Word that became flesh and made his dwelling among us and we have
seen his glory" (Jn 1:14) is summarized by the phrase - Eternal life then
the gospel of Matthew is where all this happened to fulfill what the Lord had
said through the prophet (Mt 1:22) and is written almost 55x in this gospel and
summarized by the phrase - The Coming of the Kingdom. God's saving power is manifested
in this treasury of books that have been preserved and handed to us from
generation to generation. No one can deny the fact that to all God has been
gracious and loving with no exception at all. God's faithful love should compel
us to do the best we could ever do. There was a time when my computer got
bugged down and happened to be the same time that I heard and was touched by
the homily of Fr. Joseph Magdaong in the healing mass at St. Christopher where
Hendrie who fixed my computer was serving as a member of the choir. It had been
several years since I heard about this story of a tailor and his needle but I
would never forget and always remember it especially the perfect timing and
situation when I heard it. This tailor who was about to die spoke his last and
they were these words, "Give me my key to heaven." At first those
people who were there and heard him did not understand what he was talking
about until they realized that he was asking for his needle. In the same way we
must have our own keys in heaven as we try to examine ourselves and find out
what is it in our life that can be compared to that needle in a tailor's life
or our special talents that we can offer to God. I could still very well
remember that I was on the verge of tears upon hearing that because I
immediately thought of this computer that I am using to spread the word of God
through my everyday reflections on the word of God that I write and share to
others through e mail. I am just full of gratitude and joy in my heart for all the
amazing things that God had done especially of the fact that this computer
which I consider the needle in my life remained in perfect condition since that
time on. There is a need for us to respond to God's call to each one of us to
become channels of His blessings as His power is revealed in us. We will just
run out of excuses and alibis why we should not give honor and praise to God.
There is really nowhere to go but to God and that we would have to realize not
sooner or later but right now and act on it. But we have to trust, hope and
rely on God rather than our own power. Let's face it we sometimes rely too much
on ourselves and too little on God. We are troubled about a lot of things when
sometimes there's really no cause for it. There are levels of anxiety.
Exaggerated anxiety and discouragement are one of the greatest obstacles to
holiness. There is a level of anxiety that we just have to trust in God's Grace
and Goodness. We should not disturb our inner peace not even momentarily. Life
on earth is a great struggle indeed for God's Kingdom. A lot of things can
bother and bring us down but we do not have to stay that way. We have to
exercise our minds and wills to put our confidence in God. He is the one whom
we can totally trust and depend on to save us. Our life is much about the daily
revelations of God to us through all the circumstances that surround us which
points to only one truth, He is victorious. Victory is surely in our hands once
we've made the right move and choice. Let us take our stand and know that God's
grace is sufficient for us. We will not be put to the test beyond our strength.
Things are bound to get better for as long as we hold on to God's promises.
Today's psalm, kind of remind me of this preaching about this wise man from the
East in the Old Testament (OT), he is a prophet named Balaam and served an evil
and wicked king. King Balak wanted Balaam to exact a curse upon Israel
but from his mouth came forth a blessing. He prophesied in Numbers 24:15,18
that there shall come a Star out of Jacob and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel who will dispossess Edom . A star and a scepter
signifies kingship. In parallel, it was also the 3 wise men in the New
Testament (NT) during the time of King Herod an Edomite who were looking for a
star that would direct them to the newborn King of Israel, Jesus. He is truly
our King and the fulfillment of God's promise. We are all called to respond
with gratitude to the Lord who has revealed His saving power to us. There is no
doubt that the God of the house of Israel is still the same one true
God of today. The same privilege is handed over to us as the chosen people of God , Israel
Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 7-8, 9
R: Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty 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. R. The LORD has
made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. He
has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel .
R. Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it; Let the rivers clap
their hands, the mountains shout with them for joy. R. Before the LORD, for he
comes, for he comes to rule the earth; He will rule the world with justice and
the peoples with equity.
It doesn't mean that if we have surrendered everything to
God then we can be rest assured that all things will work out well for us. We
must always be prepared for the worst since our faithfulness to God will always
be put to the test. As the bible says, gold is tested through fire and so is
our faith. No matter what happens, we have God's assurance that if we persevere
then not a hair on our heads will be destroyed. I have a thick hair and it has
become very long already because I haven't had a haircut for a long time
already. I guess this is one of the things that distinguish me from other
people. I am suddenly reminded of someone who told me that when she was looking
for me from a multitude of people, it was my hair that set me apart and helped
her recognize me from the others. You can already imagine how long and thick it
is, it has become so distinct. This is why every time I encounter a bible
reading that says something about the hair, I've always considered it very
personal and especially meant for me. This hair thing is very personal to me.
Every time I encounter a bible passage about hair it really strikes me owing to
the soft spot it holds in my heart. Some
people may find it very strange when we make certain decisions in life that may
not conform to their own personal beliefs. Life is like that, we encounter
circumstances that tend to pull our spirits down and we can only hope that
things will get better. There are times when we get bombarded by criticisms
left and right for certain decisions that we make to the point of feeling
insulted. We can not blame these people since they may be voicing out their opinion
from a different point of view and do not understand specifically from where we
are coming from. There are times when we think of one thing and thought it to
be the right thing but turned out to be the other. These things that come our
way, that could be related or in confirmation to it or could be other things,
sometimes we can never really tell or have no way of knowing at all. Today's
gospel assures us that whatever comes our way, for as long as we try our very
best to our utmost ability to persevere in the Lord then we will surely be
secured. As we aim to be great before God, trials and difficulties may come our
way, the way people in trial are experiencing right now, that none could ever
imagine. Let us continue to hold on to God's promise that if we are faithful to
Him then He is also faithful to us amidst all the difficulties we are facing as
written in today’s gospel, “.... but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives...” The word perseverance is
defined in the dictionary as - steadfast, faithful 1 a: firmly fixed in place :
immovable b: not subject to change 2:
firm in belief, determination, or adherence : loyal. When we decide to always
be in the loving presence of God it means we stay away from sin. This is not an
easy thing to do in fact it is written in Mt. 18:21-22, "Then Peter
approaching asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often
must I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus answered, "I say
to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. Our faith demands a great deal
from us even to the point of being hated by all. Our focus should not be on
what seems to be the downside of it because God assures us that not a hair will
be destroyed and our perseverance will secure our lives. This, we could
definitely count on. I believe that all of us will be given ample time to
prepare for the day of judgment but there is a need to recognize that the time
and the hour is at hand so as not to miss our appointment and always be ready
for it. We really have to prepare well, that's the message. Have you heard of
athletes preparing for a competition like Manny Pacquiao having to train
rigorously before a boxing fight. God is urging us to do the same for our
faith. Take every possible means of enriching our faith and love for God so
that we can always withstand whatever is coming our way. When we go beyond our
limits we also exercise our endurance so that we not only benefit physically
but spiritually as well. We are the
children of God and we are born to be winners so let us always train hard to
maintain that wonderful physique that God has given us for His greater glory.
Strong and mighty is our God and so are we! There are several things happening
in our life one after another and sometimes we are overwhelmed by it that we
tend to be sidetracked and distracted as to what we are supposed to do. We see
and hear a lot of things around us and we come to a point when we are no longer
sure which one to follow. If there's one sure thing that we can be assured of
that is we should not be terrified despite the enemy's deceptions for as long
as we are able to live our lives according to the truth of God which we all
have a responsibility to know and uphold. There is a vast source of information
and knowledge that we need to learn about our Infinite God and sometimes we
make the mistake of rushing and go in strides but with our limited human
capacities we always fall short and come up inadequate. Once again my vision of
a ladder is coming to view as if telling me that God will always be with us
every single step of the way, guide us through by showing us every facet of
life from the 1st or easiest to the succeeding and more difficult steps and
finally to the highest level. Today's gospel tells us of the certainty that
this world will come to an end but when it is going to happen, nobody knows.
Whether it is going to happen sooner or later should be the least of our
concerns. What's most important is that we are always ready. It is easy for us
to say, "Do not worry." or "I am not worried." but are we a
picture of what we say we are. Our actions speak louder than the words we say.
We ought to make a firm stand on this and really mean it. It is not like we
just believe in something then that's it. It will require more than that in
order for us to truly be a reflection of what we believe is true. If we think
that we can just go along with the majority or we have won over the support of
many and we are safe already then we are wrong. It is more of a personal conviction
on our part to really stand by it no matter what. What's worse is that when we
don't know what we really believe in then the worst happens. As the gospel
says, we should not be deceived. We've got to grow in wisdom and understanding
not as the world may put it but as the Holy Spirit of God fills and empowers
us. It is especially important that we build confidence on the One True God,
the source of our strength and courage. As in Ephesians 6:10-18, "Finally,
draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of
God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For
our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the
powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits
in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to
resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So
stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a
breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all
circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all (the) flaming arrows of
the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God. With all prayer and supplication, pray at every
opportunity in the Spirit. To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and
supplication for all the holy ones..." These are the things we ought to
focus on rather than be bothered of the frightening things that are being said
about the end times. I heard from a priest's homily that there are just 3
things we need to do instead of being bothered by these end of the world
predictions. They are: 1. Do no harm to others. 2. Do good to others. 3. Spread
the word of God. It may not be as simple as just 1,2 and 3 but it is definitely
worth doing for it can surely secure our lives on that final day. No one can
really say when it is going to happen but one thing is sure we all have to
prepare and be ready for it right now. Amen. Hallelujah!
Luke 21:12-19
12 Jesus said to the crowd: “They will seize and persecute
you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will
have you led before kings and governors because of my name. 13 It will lead to
your giving testimony. 14 Remember, you are not to prepare your defense
beforehand, 15 for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your
adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. 16 You will even be handed
over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of
you to death. 17 You will be hated by all because of my name, 18 but not a hair
on your head will be destroyed. 19 By your perseverance you will secure your
lives.”
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