There are certain issues in our faith that we need to
clarify and be confident of. We need to face them and clear things up rather
than remain unsure about it. When we encounter people who are not well informed
about these things we need to do all in our power to correct them and guide
them to the truth. If we ourselves are not clear about it how can we guide
them? Just like Barnabas in today’s 1st reading we have a responsibility in our
hands that we must not take for granted because it concerns not just them but
all of us. When everything has been said and done then we can be ready to face
our God anytime. Amen. Hallelujah!
Acts 9:26-31
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem
he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing
that he was a disciple. Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the
apostles, and he reported to them how he had seen the Lord, and that he had
spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of
Jesus...The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It
was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation
of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.
An artist works his way through a piece of art like a clay
and marble by molding and shaping it into a masterpiece. It is a painful and
difficult process of change and transformation. Just like clay and marble being
molded and chipped away. When we go
through life and experience its different struggles we become one with Jesus in
His suffering. If we understand the reason for human existence, the older
people get the greater should be the respect they get. Each and every step is
imbued with the power of the Master. We need to walk the way that Jesus walked.
The easiest way is God's way. The pain of the cross is essential. There is no
other way since there is a pedagogical structure in suffering or the cross
wherein only greatness comes forth. Whenever we reach a point where we feel
like we can no longer hold on and about to give up then we must not forget that
our God is always with us ready to help us. If He was able to suffer His only
Son on the Cross for our sake then there is really nothing else He can not do
for us. Our security lies in the knowledge that God is always with us. We
should always have this hope in a God who loves us so much that He sacrificed
His only begotten Son to the point of a humiliating and gruesome death so that
we can start a new life with Him full of joy and prosperity. If we decide for
God in what we say or do in all circumstances then we can surely experience the
joy and happiness that God has in store for His faithful people. If we are all
set and very sure where we are headed then nothing can stop us from being
there. Considering, too that we have a God who has secured a place and our
future for us. John 14:1-3, " Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let
your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my
Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have
told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I
am you also may be." Nothing or no one can prevent us unless we ourselves
decide not to go. The truth is, it's all up to us. If we decide for God in what
we say or do in all circumstances then we can surely experience the joy and
happiness that God has in store for His faithful people. Amen. Hallelujah!
Ps 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32
R. (26a) I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your
people.
All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the LORD;
all the families of the nations
shall bow down before him
I have just started reading this book entitled, “Rediscover
Catholicism” by Matthew Kelly. It has reinforced and confirmed the teachings I
have learned from various resources and references I have access and made me
feel more confident of my faith and in the Catholic Church. I am overwhelmed by
the vast opportunities that come my way and paved the way for my being able to
access these kinds of information like they were being offered to me in a
silver platter. There are so many things that affect our decisions and actions
in life. It is sometimes so difficult to reconcile these things that we ought
to do with the things we are actually doing. There is a need for us to make a
conscious and determined effort to always remain in the Lord. The 1st
reading for today sounds so simple and easy to understand and yet we still end
up at times unable to keep the Lord’s commandments. We have to utilize all
means in order to carry out the task and mission of one who truly belongs to
God. I could never forget when Sister Ester entrusted to me 2 envelopes
containing money and checks for donation to the Immaculate Mary Queen of Heaven
Missionaries (IMQHM) It so happened that I was in a hurry that I did not notice
these envelopes fell from my bag. We already went home, took a bath, got ready to go to church and
were on our way to Sister Marcy's place to hand her over these envelopes when I
found out that the envelopes were gone. I couldn't find them in my bag. I was
relieved to find one envelope on the floor of the car but the other one was
really nowhere to be found. That was then when I realized that I could have
dropped it, as to where, that I still had to figure out. The first thing we did
was rush back home and retraced my steps from the parking to my room but still
it could not be found. My last resort was to go back to the bank but it's been
almost 11/2 hours since I've been there and chances were that if I really
dropped it there somebody could have picked it up already since it is a very
busy street where people frequently walk to and from the bank since it is just
across the parking lot. Another thing is that, the envelope can really attract
people since it is color red, with chinese characters and the name of the bank
on it, and is obviously a money envelope since it is the one that is being used
by people during the holiday seasons to place gifts in the form of money.
Anyway, we just prayed and called on the help and assistance of God through His
mighty choir of angels and saints for we know that only a miracle can help
us. Indeed, God is faithful for the
moment we drove in front of the bank and looked at the spot where I got off,
there it was lying on the road, still sealed and intact, of course with the
money still safely secured. Amen. Hallelujah!
1 John 3:18-24
...our love is not to be just words or mere talk , but
something real and active ; only by this can we be certain that we are children
of the truth...God is greater than our conscience and he knows everything. My
dear people, if we cannot be condemned by our own conscience, we need not be
afraid in God's presence, and whatever we ask Him, we shall receive, because we
keep His commandments and live the kind of life that He wants...
Every tree that bears fruit undergo pruning in order for it
to bear more fruit. The same with our lives there are times when we think that
we are doing what is pleasing to God but we are still beset with a lot of
problems. There seems to be no end to it but we must realize that in order for
us to continue and persevere we have to be tested and stand firm in our faith
in God. We have to be stimulated constantly in order for us to be always on the
go and active for God and inevitably bearing much fruit. Satan, the ruler of
this world is taking over by means of his lies and deception. From the very
beginning he has no power over Jesus Christ. When he has taken over Judas it
was through a lie disguised in a kiss. When Judas lied and said to Jesus,
"Is it I, Lord?" he led Jesus to death by deception with a kiss.
Satan is still in this world but he has no power over Jesus even when it seemed
as if Satan has defeated Jesus. With
Pilate's cynicisms when he asked, "What is truth?" and the existing
government's inability at that time to protect the innocent. Jesus can have
power over us. Satan can have power over us. Will we allow Jesus Christ to have
power over us and defeat the role of evil in our life? That decision between
good and evil, truth and deception, death and life is ours to make. Do we
follow Him or not? Once again, it's all up to us. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 15:1-8
...Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot
bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless
you remain in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me
and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. 6
Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. 7
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and
it will be done for you. 8 By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much
fruit and become my disciples.”
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