One thing I
can never forget with my friend Bernadeth when she was in an unwell state was
when she confided to me about how she really feels about people trying to be of
help, nice and consoling by saying to her, "I understand how you
feel." She said that she doesn't believe them when they say it. According
to her, they don't really know how she feels unless they themselves undergo the
same thing that she went through in which she said that some people have really
no idea. In fact, she said it with so much stress I almost started to doubt the
credibility of this principle relating to Patient Care that I learned way back
in Nursing School
Hebrews 2:14-18
...he had to become like his brothers in every way, that he
might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of
the people. 18 Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is
able to help those who are being tested.
We don't expect a mango fruit if we planted a banana tree.
It is pretty much the same with our lives. If we strive to live up to the
expectations of a child of the Lord by giving Him honor and praise then we will
surely be not disappointed with the outcome. For God inhabits the praises of
His people. Although we have a tendency to forget or become out of focus since
we are surrounded in this world we are in by elements most especially the
physical ones that make us more inclined to pursue worldly things. We become
sidetracked or worse completely off track of the path where God is leading us.
Let us live every single day of our life conscious of the wonderful truth that
we are God's people and He has made a covenant with us. Almost everybody knows
this famous Christian song from kindergarten, “Father Abraham has many
children, some of them are small, some of them are tall, all of them are
beautiful...” We remain beautiful as long as we keep God's covenant and remain
obedient and faithful to God. He is the reason for everything and the source of
all good things. Sometimes morbid thoughts enter into our mind and immediately we'd
think that it is always the devil who does it but whether it is true or not
this thought could be a wake up call and reminder that in worst case scenarios
or life and death situations there is always a God ready to help us at any
time. All we have to do is call on Him. It is indeed good advice to always look
intently on God and find all the joys waiting for us. There is really no doubt
that we need to further explore, know and understand about our faith. In doing
so we have to constantly look to the Lord, seek Him and recall His goodness. Jesus'
name is undeniably powerful and beyond measure. Its worth is more than all the
riches we can gain in this world. There is really nothing we can find even if
we search far and wide, high and low more than what the Lord can offer.
We could go on and on with so many options we are confronted
with daily in our lives. There is an endless list of "To Do Things"
but what comes first and last is always dependent on our priorities. In
deciding on our priorities we have to always involve God in all the things
happening around us. We would be so glad
to discover that as we place Him in the center of our heart, body and soul He never
fails in guiding and directing us. If we live by the word of God which is
perfect and remains forever then nothing could go wrong. Our hearts will abound
with joy and gladness. There is indeed great power in the name of Jesus. He is
worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. Every single day we are confronted with
so many challenges in life and we have to be always hopeful that the
fulfillment of everything that we have been praying for has come. We should
believe that whatever delays or setbacks we are encountering serve as lessons
to be learned that benefit our spiritual journey with Jesus. There is a need to
go through the different seasons throughout the year for there is indeed a time
and a season for everything. Thus, we all go through different situations and
circumstances in life. Some of them do not make any sense if we fail to
acknowledge the power of God moving in it. There are numerous things that we
can think, focus and decide on but there’s only one thing I am sure of. We’ve
got to acknowledge that despite of it all God’s power remains to be above all
things no matter what it may seem to be. We should always keep in mind all the
wonderful things He has done for us. The Lord will never forsake nor abandon
us. In the midst of all the turmoil we inevitably face in our daily lives may
we remain hopeful in the Lord who is Almighty, provides for all means and
prevails now and forever. Whenever we experience difficulties in life we tend
to question God right away and somehow blame Him for what came upon us. Sometimes
we come to a point in our lives when we tend to question the will of God in our
lives. I have plans and you have plans but sometimes things do not fall into
place and ask why things happened the way it did and not the way we planned and
expected. There is a lot to learn from the life of Joseph especially the part
when he kept on with his faith in God when he became a slave and was almost
driven to despair when he was tormented by a lot of trials during that time.
All we need to keep in mind is that our time will come and all we have to do is
just continue to trust God in His goodness and mercy and never let go of our
faith. Just imagine what Joseph had to go through. We will never know of the
physical torture and demand of being a slave nowadays. Thanks to God that
slaves are already a thing of the past and no longer existent in today's world.
But more than anything else is the mental torture of the fact that he was well
loved by his father and would have not been in this kind of situation if his brothers
had not done such a horrible and unfair thing to him. If it were us and not
Joseph who had fallen into this kind of fate we could have responded and
reacted to this situation differently. Are these words familiar to us? I do not
deserve to be treated this way. I did not do anything bad for God to punish me
like this, as if God is a tyrant that is ready to strike us with every wrong
move. Why me and not the others who are a lot more sinful than I am. And all
these kind of things that we say without much thought. If we are to look at the
life of Joseph very closely we would discover that he never let go of his faith
in God despite the seemingly desperate and hopeless situation he went through.
He remained firm in his faith and continued to trust in the word of the Lord. Joseph
was tested and found to be true. In our own lives, we too are called to prove
ourselves worthy before the Lord in order for all of the blessings to flow
freely without any block or hindrance. We just need to always remember the marvels
the Lord has done and always hold on to it. If we live by the word of God which
is perfect and remains forever then nothing could go wrong. Our hearts will
abound with joy and gladness as we further explore, know and understand about
our faith. In doing so we have to constantly look to the Lord, seek Him, recall
His goodness, keep our spirits up and make our hearts rejoice like what today's
psalm is telling us about. There is really nothing we can find even if we
search far and wide, high and low more than what the Lord can offer. We may have
experienced a situation in our life when we encountered a lot of trials and
difficulties. Just when we're about to give up and lose hope, suddenly we came
across a particular incident or inspiration that perfectly fits or matches our
specific problem which gave us this hope and feeling that God knows exactly
what we're going through and promises to see us through it. The Lord is telling
us is in today's psalm and assures us that He remembers what He has promised and
will surely bring about what He said to us that He would do. If God remembers,
so must we. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9
R: The Lord remembers his covenant forever.
1 Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among
the nations his deeds. 2 Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his
wondrous deeds. 3 Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
(R) 4 Look to the LORD in his strength; seek to serve him constantly. (R) 5
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought, his portents, and the judgments
he has uttered. 6 You descendants of Abraham, his servants, sons of Jacob, his
chosen ones! 7 He, the LORD, is our God; throughout the earth his judgments
prevail. (R) 8 He remembers forever his covenant which he made binding for a
thousand generations
It is through our deficiencies, imperfections and
inadequacies that we continue to seek God. For only Him can make us whole.
Today's gospel is a similar version of the one in Matthew 8. It is a figurative
form of telling us the importance to stay within the confines and teachings of
the Church. It is important to study and learn about our faith. We need to see
the plan of God in Jesus. Notice the difference in Matthew 8:14-15, “Jesus
entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a
fever. “ And also in Matthew 13:1, “On
that day, Jesus went out of the house …” Matthew 13 is all about parables of
the Kingdom of God and the people did not understand Him but when He went into
the house of Peter the disciples understood Him. The house of Peter signifies
the Church, and outside the church there is no understanding of Jesus’
teaching. When we stand from outside of the Church and the faith there is no
understanding of Jesus and the plan of God. Just imagine ourselves standing
inside the Church and looking at the stained glass windows. We see the images
in detail and in full color but if we are from outside the Church what we see
is darkness, and kind of shadowy unable to see its full color and detail. This
happens when we stand from outside of the faith. The light illuminates the
window and we see clearly from inside the church and believe as it illuminates
the life of Jesus. Only from within the Church can we understand the mysteries
of the Kingdom of
God
He gives pertinent formulations to the faith but also has a
saintly approach. His book, Summa Theologica has 512 questions and many
articles to each question like a debate. He has a style in his presentation of
the faith. It contains a concentrated reasoning in which the human mind is
applied to the mysteries of the faith. He comments on scripture, on the
writings of the pope fathers and especially knew about St. Augustine ’s work very well. We see how he
champions philosophy and reason well. He makes a distinction between Theology
and Philosophy but very much sees philosophy as the handmaid of theology. He
could see this beautiful relationship how faith corrects and even purifies
reason and how reason helps in the deepening and understanding of the faith.
Pope Benedict XVI in his recent reflection on Thomas’ contribution quoted Pope
John Paul VI asking “Thomas our teacher, what lesson can you give us?” He says,
“Trust in the truth of Catholic religious thought as defended, expounded and
offered by him to the capacities of the human mind.” As we are to receive the
faith fully and receive it, it must be reasonable. We must be able to process
and understand it. It’s a mystery, always infinite and beyond us but must be
able to explore it by reason with much confidence in the truth and revelation.
We must have the capacity to use our reason when unpacking the truth. The 1st
part of the Summa teaches of the knowledge of God. He is the beginning and the
end. He is the last end of all things especially rational creatures. The 2nd
part teaches us of the rational creatures and angelic beings that advance
towards God. It tells human beings, how we are to live the moral principles as
we develop a moral theology. It centers on the teaching on grace and how we
need it to find our way back to God and to be turned and transformed in
holiness to be happy in time and eternity. We need that revelation of God’s law
and we also need His grace to be happy. In this life, to find Him and to live
that blessed eternal happiness in the beatific vision. It also cites teaching
on the virtues, faith, hope and love and also 50 more virtues on how to live a
good life. The last part speaks of the saving mysteries of Christ. It presents
to us Jesus, how He saves, the sacraments and the mysteries. God directs us
from within since we are unique in this sense. We are different from animals
and plants and inanimate objects. He directs us to Himself to God as our last
end with our free will choices to move by grace and desire happiness. We desire
joy and fulfillment and we find that in God. Jesus
was very focused on the mission that God the Father has for Him. In the same
way that we must not be distracted and dissuaded to do otherwise when beset
with problems and difficulties. Today's gospel also speaks of the exact
bible passage which a friend of mine considers instrumental in her healing. She
specifically cited this story while praying fervently to God. She mercifully
pleaded to God and called on Him not to deprive her of the healing she has
bestowed on Peter's mother-in-law. At that time, she was already on the verge
of drinking her sleeping medications but was afraid that she also might develop
dependence since she's been on it for quite some time. She was battling then
with not just one but several other medicines prescribed by her doctor which
are all known to cause drug dependence. She had ready the medicine and a glass
of water on top of the table but it was morning already when she realized that
she was able to go to sleep without having to take any medication. Now, she's
is totally free of all these medications. Amen. Hallelujah!
Mark 1:29-39
29 On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon
and Andrew with James and John. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her. 31 He approached, grasped her hand, and
helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them. 32 When it was
evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by
demons. 33 The whole town was gathered at the door.
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