Today's 1st reading tells us of the murder of Stephen, a
holy and righteous man. What a way to die! Stephen did not have the slightest
trace of anger and is full of forgiveness for those who stoned him. We should
long to have this kind of disposition in life that even at the point of death
he still begged for mercy and forgiveness not on his own behalf but for the
very people who caused his death. It is an act of forgiving people even if they
don't ask for it. The memory of Stephen's great love, faith and devotion to God
has become a legacy to us, Christians. May our lives become an inspiration too
for others to draw strength and courage the way Stephen did for Christians and
non believers like Paul. Most especially for Saul who was later on called Paul
since he was not a believer of Jesus yet during that time, in fact he was one
of the feared persecutors of Christians. St.
Paul or Saul as he was called originally was a part of
it. It must have been a sight, just imagine he was being stoned to death and
yet he visualizes and shouts of the glory of God. We have a lot to learn from
the example of the life of Stephen especially during times when we encounter
trials and hardships that may not even get close to losing our lives and dying
a very cruel death like what happened to Stephen. We can learn a lot from our
Church and Salvation History. In fact 1/2 of the people who became Catholic
converts have delved into the study of History. It is His story, her story and
our story. It has patterns, though it surprises really well. We have to
discover the past, learn from what happened and be open to it. We need to know
the faith and not be susceptible to lie. We are witnesses of what evil can do
to people but behind all of those things, God is behind it. The gates of hell
did not prevail, the Church remains protected. We have to know what can be
learned from this to prevent similar things from happening again. Paul was a
persecutor of Christians but he became a saint. His life progressed with his
testimonies because he admitted to the killing of Christians and repented. He
bore witness to Jesus Christ and revealed how great a Savior we have in Him. Have
you ever seen anybody so peaceful and undisturbed even in the face of
adversity? We still need to learn a lot from Stephen from today's 1st reading.
He has shown us a perfect example of
total trust in God. He did not just speak the works of God, he also worked with
great wonders and signs. His entire being shows forth the glory of God that no
one can deny. This reminds me of Fr. Arnel Celis whom I showed him my petal
with the face of a cherubim, he said that I look like it. Whether it's true or
not, is no longer important. What matters most is that we should all strive to
be like Stephen who reflects the glory of God in his face. This makes me think
that we should not only be conscious of our physical appearance which most of
us are too concerned about. Although it is also right that we care for our
temporal needs while we are still residents of this temporary world, all the
more should we be conscious of looking after our spiritual needs to nourish and
sustain our souls which is lasting and will enter into eternity. We wouldn't
want to look deformed or ugly permanently when we come face to face with God
our Creator. Physical beauty is fleeting
and can only last for a lifetime or while still young whereas the beauty of our
souls can withstand endless lifetimes and last for eternity. It should be our
goal that someday people who look at us will be drawn to us because we have
become living models of Christ before our fellowmen, beautiful inside and out.
I pray that just like Stephen we will be filled with God's grace and power,
show forth great wonders and signs and resemble the face of an angel. If we go
through a lot of trouble just to look beautiful and handsome in the eyes of men
how much more in the eyes of God. Amen. Hallelujah!
Acts 7:51-8:1a
Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great
wonders and signs among the people...filled with the holy Spirit, looked up
intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right
hand of God, 56 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of
Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out in a loud voice,
covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. 58 They threw him out of the
city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet
of a young man named Saul. 59 As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell to his knees and cried out in
a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”; and when he said this,
he fell asleep. 8: 1 Now Saul was consenting to his execution.
God the Almighty has the power and final verdict over all
things. Let us just trust God to allow things to happen in our lives whatever
He deems best for us. Though the cross in Mt. Calvary Philippines
as Pabasa give a sense of unexplainable joy. It made me realize that we are all
so blessed to have a rich tradition to express our faith, hope and love in God.
Although none of these things can ever be enough for a God who gave up His only
Begotten Son to die on the cross. It helps develop a deeper faith just by being
able to take part in such activities and see people still hold on to these
practices to enrich their faith despite the cultural differences and the hectic
schedules that so often get in the way. All of these devotions are done in the
desire to honor God for what He suffered for our sake. The confidence of the
martyrs in God did not waver up to the end. They stood firm in their faith and
remained steadfast. I have read that the most critical point in our life is
during the time of death because it is when a battle between good and evil is
being waged over our soul. We might have heard of different stories of people
about to die who were reported to have seen all sorts of vision. As we read the
psalm for today may we find ourselves truly internalizing and believing the
words thus visualizing the glory of God the way the saints and martyrs
demonstrated for us during the critical hour of their life. We are a work in
progress and we need to acknowledge our sins, mend our ways and surrender our
life to the Lord. The world believes that it is foolish to believe what we can
not see but we have to believe in what we do not see and face them all with
faith, this is according to St. Thomas Aquinas. The testimony of those who
believe help to build up our faith and the more witnesses we have the more
solid it becomes. We look to the Gospel and see that there are so many
witnesses and testimonies with very little variation. They speak of the truth
of the life of Jesus. We have to accept everything that the Gospel tells us.
With this great love that He offered to all of us, there is no doubt that God
will make all things beautiful in our lives in His time. Our persistent cries
and tears to God are always heard. God has given us very clear instructions
from the very start. If only we will stick to it then we can be assured of a
life lived to the full. We’ve got to have faith that of Abraham who believed
even though his wife is with age that the one who made the promise is
trustworthy. What God says is true and He does not lie. Padre Pio said that the
most beautiful act of faith is one made with sacrifice and effort even in the
presence of darkness. We have to believe that God has the best things in mind
for us. If He allows some things that are not pleasant in life this is only to
bring about the best. Although faith is not the best of the virtues, it is the
rarest. Real faith inspires all actions and reveals God in everything. How rare
is real faith next to danger. We sometimes feel that we do not see so much
evidence of the reality of God. God does not give us so much light so that we are
not forced to accept Him nor does He give too little that we can not find Him.
He gives us just enough light so as to put to practice our faith. Nothing can
ever frighten or scare us not even death if God is our stronghold. We can rely
on so many things in this world like wealth, fame, power and success but only
in the Lord can we find true security and satisfaction. There is no denying to
the truth that we have a God who is always there for us whether in good or bad
times. We can be assured that we can take comfort and hope in the Lord. Our
enemies may be lurking from every side but we don't have to worry or be afraid.
God is our refuge and strength. He can rescue us from the clutches of our
persecutors and set us free. We should never have any doubt that God is able to
do all things for our good for there is nothing more that He could do that He
has not done. We should always be praising and thanking God in all
circumstances knowing that God will always be there for us. He knows and sees
all things much more than our limited points of view and angles of reference.
God can view things in a multidimensional level while we can only see a single
or at most double dimension. If we are looking at a not so pleasant view trust
that God can see a better view than what is before us. If we have experienced
an almost dangerously impossible situation wherein escape and deliverance
seemed to be farfetched then we are in a worst case scenario. Believe it or
not, this kind of situation could drive anyone to panic. Even the most
steadfast in the faith community could succumb to anxiety and fear with regards
to such situation. In fact, it could even come to a point where the most
steadfast may go to a certain extent of negotiating for the sake of the lesser
evil. It is this type of experience that could turn out to be unforgettable and
could forever be etched in our mind not only because of the trouble and
difficulty we went through but most of all the love and concern we experienced
and witnessed from people in the community. Although it could indeed be a
frightening experience when we could have just chosen to give up and succumb to
the obviously convenient option for the sake of getting it over and done with
but didn't for the sake of the truth of God. If we do then we would find that
it is all worth it even though we have to learn some lessons in life the hard
way. It is evident that the harder the situation we are in all the more could
we feel God's ever reliable and strong hands secured all around us. We can not
deny it and should always believe that God's truth and saving power prevails at
all times. We look to God always in the midst of all the turmoil. No matter how
long and hard we try to search for happiness outside God we can only find it in
Him as St. Augustine
says, “My soul is restless until it rests in Thee." Only with Him do we
find rest, fulfillment and satisfaction. Let us trust God in His divine
providence and goodness that He will never abandon nor forsake us. He will
rescue us at all times for He can turn back or fast forward the hands of time
for everything is right on time with God. He is the God of the eternal now. With
this great love that He offered to all of us, there is no doubt that God will
make all things beautiful in our lives in His time. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 31:3cd-4, 6, 7b, 8a, 17, 21ab
R: Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
2 [3] Be my rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety.
3 [4] You are my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake you will lead and
guide me. (R) 5 [6] Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, O
LORD, O faithful God. 6 [7] My trust is in the LORD; 7 [8] I will rejoice and
be glad of your mercy. (R) 16 [17] Let your face shine upon your servant; save
me in your kindness. 20 [21] You hide them in the shelter of your presence from
the plottings of men.
What Jesus said in today's gospel is very true. If we always
draw near Him, seek Him and come to Him then He in turn draws near to us, makes
Himself available to us and stays with us. If this is so then there is nothing
more we need for we will never thirst nor hunger for anything else. It is just
like we are sitting at the right hand of God and someday we will. Only Jesus
can satisfy our souls. He is fortified with all the essential things we ever
need in our lives for everything that we long for can only be fulfilled by Him.
He who has God wants nothing. Every human heart longs and desires for something
that can satisfy us. A sick person follows what the doctor says in order to
prolong his or her life. Fr. Leo Clifford in his reflections in EWTN narrated
the story of "My Fair Lady" or the famous play "Pygmalion".
Pygmalion is the legendary Greek story of a sculptor who fell in love with his
sculpture which was turned into a play and inspired George Bernard Shaw to
write a similar story. It was about a young lady named Eliza who was taken out
of the rut and placed in a pedestal. We should realize that like Eliza we have
also been taken out of the rut and made partakers of the Divine Nature of God in
Baptism. God created us and fell deeply in love with us. If there's one truth
that should never leave our minds then this is it. We are placed in a pedestal
and sharing God's own life through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The
nature of Jesus’ death on Calvary is a
sacrifice. All Christians recognize this sacrifice as a mystery. That Jesus
offered His life on the cross as a supreme sacrifice but most Christians don’t
realize how difficult it would have been for 1st century Jewish
Christians to come to that conclusion. Why? If we were there on Calvary on Good Friday even the most devout Jewish
disciples would have been unable to describe that experience as a sacrifice
because for them there’s really nothing more to it than a Roman execution. It
took place outside of the walls of Jerusalem ,
far from the place where there were no burnt offerings, odors and no priests
and thus there is no sacrifice. And yet in one generation all Christians came
to conclude that indeed what Jesus suffered on the cross was the supreme
sacrifice. How did they reach such a conclusion? Only by looking at Good Friday
in a light of what Jesus did on Maundy Thursday. When He instituted the
Eucharist He didn’t simply celebrate the feast of the Passover He established
the Passover of the New Covenant and it was more than just words. He took bread
and said, this is my body which is given up for you and then he took the
chalice and spoke about how His blood of the new and everlasting covenant will
be poured out for the remission of sins as we do this in remembrance of Him.
Was this just a rhetoric and ritual or is there a reality and truth to what
Jesus said and did? The proof that Jesus really gave us His body and allowed
his blood to be poured out for the remission of sins is precisely given to us
there on the cross. But the nature of Jesus’ death on the cross is illuminated
as a sacrifice only by retracing and looking at it in the light of the Passover
of the new covenant. The Eucharist and Calvary
are inseparable. There are 2 sides to
the same sacrifice. Jesus shows us that in His death He did not lose His life
for in the Eucharist He already made His life a gift of love. This love is what
conquers death and the conquest of death is what occurs on Good Friday. As
Catholics we have a lot to teach other Christians who do not understand the
mystery of the Mass.
For indeed it’s the Eucharist that illuminates the mystery of Jesus’ death as a
sacrifice just as Jesus’ death shows us that the Eucharist is more than just
mere ritual but is the mystery of Jesus high priestly act of self giving
love. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 6:30-35
...So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was
not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread
from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and
gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread
always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me
will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
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