We’ve got to straighten up some things about God. Who He is
and what He wants for our life. What is our picture of God? It’s not surprising
to know that most of us think that God doesn’t want us to have fun. It’s like
all the things that we want to do with our friends that are interesting and
exciting when we were young was against God’s commandments. It may seem like we
have to settle for less. What’s worse is that all the faithful Catholics get
less out of life. This is part of the propaganda way back in the Garden of
Eden. God gave us a magnificent paradise wherein there is perfect intimacy and
no shame with each other. In the Garden they have everything they need but gave
just one limit, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This
is very interesting because God said, “Don’t do this because you will die.” The
reason why God commands us something is because He is a loving Father who cares
for us. He wants us to have the best. But then came the serpent, he didn’t
create Adam & Eve, nor gave the garden or anything at all. All the serpent
gave was a lie and told Adam & Eve not to listen to God or they’ll lose out
and won’t become like God. They were made to believe that God is holding out
something from them and is actually their rival because God doesn’t want them
to have what He has. So instead of trusting the one who gave them everything,
they trusted a stranger. They doubted and disobeyed God. Instead they listened
to the liar. They were hooked into a downward spiral of destruction. This is
what sin is all about. It is a trap. It is disguised as an apparent good
because the fruit looks good and desirable but it ends in disaster. The
relationship with God is messed up and so creation turned against them, thorns
and thistles appear and things in life become hard. This is what sin does, it
seemed small but it gets out of control. Things get worse and worse and there
are broken lives everywhere. This is the reality about sin. We are draining
life out of ourselves unless we recognize the One, True and Living God. God is
so good that He gave everything we ought to follow and do for our own welfare.
All we have to do is really be faithful to Him and His commandments and
everything will surely go well with us. Amen. Hallelujah!
Book of Exodus 20,1-17.
Then God delivered all these commandments:
"I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt
You shall not have other gods besides me...
It always pays to be watchful and alert at all times.
Although we sometimes fail to measure up due to our own shortcomings or could
be the doing of another, God assures us in today's psalm that if we fall into
the trap of the enemy we can always repent with a deep remorse for our sins and
resolve to make the precepts of the Lord the joy of our hearts. In doing so, we
find ourselves naturally restrained from sin and maintain our innocence. It is
so hard to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord if we do not know exactly
how to go about with it. It's just like when we have to comply to certain
requirements in school and follow the standard set by it. We need to have a
pattern or outline from which we can base our work. Just as it is so in other
things, the more we are all in need of God's precepts. The absolute bedrock of
spiritual life is to follow the 10 commandments. We are sometimes misled into
thinking that when we have a type of prayer then we think that we already have
a spiritual life. We’ve got to have the humility to admit that God is smarter
than we are and we need to follow and obey what we are told in the 10
commandments. We should be totally and absolutely convinced that He knows best.
Satan uses half truths and half lies in his devilish tricks. Satan’s claims
seem to come true in one level. Take the example of our 1st parents
after eating of the forbidden fruit their eyes were opened and did become in one
sense like God. The fallen angels made their free choice by radically and
irrevocably rejecting God so in turn they seduce and mislead Adam & Eve. It
was through sin that humanity was afflicted by death. Because of one man’s
disobedience many were made sinners. When tempted in the Garden, Adam failed to
remain faithful to God and His commands. Jesus, the New Adam, is God’s servant
totally obedient to the Divine will. Jesus is the devil’s conqueror and takes
back the plunder. What the devil has stolen from us, Jesus has recovered for
us. Pope Benedict XVI commented about what the Lord experienced in the desert
and said that at the heart of all temptations is the act of pushing God aside
because we conceive Him as secondary. It is an act of constructing our world
with our own lights and building our own foundation and setting God aside as an
allusion. Temptations come in many varied forms but one thing is sure, it does
not invite us to directly do evil because it is too blatant and would outright
turn us off. It is very subtle and yet an act of pushing God’s commands aside
and placing the devil’s temptation as primary. If we want to remain victorious
throughout life, we have to keep Him in the center of our life and hold on to
His words which are Spirit and life. God’s ever present help can be found in
the scriptures. It's just like a soldier going to battle wearing the armor of
God. It never fails and always there to defend and protect from the snares of
the evil one. So always take up our sword which is the word of God. God's
perfect word can refresh the soul. Have you ever wondered really how it feels
to be refreshed? Whenever we take a shower or a warm bath and put on clothes
that are well fitted and comfortable it refreshes our body. It could also be
whenever we go to a place where we can unwind, relax, be away from the
tensions, stresses, noise and turmoil of the fast paced lives that we lead and
just appreciate the beauty of nature that surrounds us and the peace and quiet
it offers to our tired bodies in order to be more in touch with God's voice in
us. It is so refreshing it gives our minds and hearts a better view and
perspective of how to live our lives. The same thing with our souls, we should
always keep it clean, healthy and clothed with maximum security, protection but
comfortable enough we don't even know it's there. Like it has become fused in
us, there's nothing more right than following and obeying the law of God.
Today's psalm reading guides us on how we should go about with our lives by
always keeping in mind God's laws. None of us is perfect but through our
imperfections we can always run to God for help and guidance. He will never
refuse nor forsake us for He can only love and care for us. There are people
who have alienated themselves from God and we can’t just force them to go back.
God does not do that, it’s not how the Lord works, instead we pray and pray for
them. If we wait long enough and adhere to God’s precepts then we will finally
obtain joy in our hearts. As water prevails over the rock throughout the course
of time so does the Holy Spirit that is continuously flooding or washing over
the man’s heart. The Holy Spirit moves
in and continues to work upon us and tenderizes us. The song entitled, "Your
Words Are Spirit and Life" by Bernadette Farrell was impressed to me. It
is a beautiful song that I have always loved to sing and I just realized that
the words of this song are taken from this psalm which made me start singing
it. Well, we just have to fully discover what the words of God can make us do.
When things get out of hand we have no one to blame but ourselves for God is
surely not lacking in everything that He has given us for our own welfare.
We've got everything we need because there's nothing more that God could and
should do for us that He has not done. All we have to do is completely trust
and obey the judgments of the Lord. GOD'S LAW MAKES US LIVE A VIRTUOUS LIFE
(CCC 1803 "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any
excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these
things.") May we truly recognize the genuine and precious treasures that
we should all strive to achieve and work for which is none other than these
things spoken of in today's psalm. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 19,8.9.10.11.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
7 [8] The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. (R) 8 [9]
The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the command of the
LORD is clear, enlightening the eye. (R) 9 [10] The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true, all of them just. (R) 10
[11] They are more precious than gold, than a heap of purest gold; sweeter also
than syrup or honey from the comb.
There is really nowhere to go but to God for He has
unsurpassed wisdom and strength. In Him alone can we depend. Amen.
Hallelujah!
First Letter to the Corinthians 1,22-25.
...For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
We are God's temple in other words the house of God so we
have to refer to ourselves as a holy dwelling of God. Let us say we start
examining ourselves and find out whether God would be pleased to reside in us
or would He be angered at what He would see in us. This is the critical
question we all have to answer honestly. Have we turned ourselves into a
marketplace like that of the one being spoken of in today's gospel. Have we
become so materialistic and commercial that all we ever hold on to and treasure
in this life are the things like wealth, power, pleasure and fame. These are 4
dangerous things that can make a person bad if not handled properly. It's
important we put our moral values in check. Let us be aware of the fact that
God will not hesitate to drive out all these ungodly residents in His temple.
What kind of God's temple are we? We ought to realize that He is God, Most
Holy. Just like what we repeatedly say in our Divine Mercy prayer, Holy God,
Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, this is who He is and could not be anything
other than that. If there's anything in us that goes against this holy
attributes of God then it's time to do as Jesus did in today's gospel. It's
time to clean up though it is not an easy thing to do but we've got to do what
we have to do. We've got to make this very clear if we truly want to be with
and for God rather than against God. Jesus' disciples have witnessed all His
wondrous deeds. Just like them, let's try to look at the things God has blessed
us with and we'll find ourselves believing without a single doubt. There is
nothing impossible with God. We have a lot of sayings about time like, time
heals all wounds, only time can tell, and can it stand the test of time. We
really need to subject ourselves to these wise and tested recommendations
regarding time. Today's gospel illustrated to us how the apostles of Jesus at a
certain period of time were unable to understand fully some of the things that
Jesus is telling them. This reminds about the secret of the gospel of Mark
which is found several times in his book. It is written, "Don't go tell
anyone." Why in the world will Jesus stop them from telling others about
the miracles that he had done like healing the leper and restoring the sight of
the blind. The explanation given is found in today's gospel because the
apostles had to witness the entire thing, the passion, death and resurrection of
Jesus before they were able to fully understand its full meaning and
implication. The same way in our own very lives, we need to go through a
certain process or experience within a period of time before we can gain a
clear picture of what our life is all about. Jesus' disciples have witnessed
all His wondrous deeds. Just like them, let's try to look at the things God has
blessed us with and we'll find ourselves believing without a single doubt. We
should always recall, remember and never forget what Jesus did for us so that
we will always be in touch with Him. There is nothing impossible with God. So
if at the present moment we encounter some things in our life that we don't
understand very well why it happened or is happening all we have to do is
completely trust that God is able to clear things up and make it beautiful in
His perfect time. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 2:13-22
13 Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to
Jerusalem . 14
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as
the money-changers seated there. 15 He made a whip out of cords and drove them
all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of
the money-changers and overturned their tables, 16 and to those who sold doves
he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a
marketplace.” 17 His disciples recalled the words of scripture, “Zeal for your
house will consume me.” 18 At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What
sign can you show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered and said to them,
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews said,
“This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will
raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his
body. 22 Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered
that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word
Jesus had spoken.
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