“Ruah" is the Hebrew word for Spirit of God; breath of
God. We were told to always listen to the "ruah" since it is during
these times when there is something big happening. Signs and wonders always
follow the ruah. In Acts 5:12 the apostles were empowered by "ruah"
during Pentecost and became bold and full of courage to spread the good news.
Right after empowerment the Church is formed and brought about the birth of the
Body of Christ, built on the blood of those who believed in the
"ruah" and martyred as in Acts 7. In the same as when God breathe
life in Genesis 2:7 and brought about Creation. People are so impatient that
they do not try Christianity all the way. In today's 1st reading we are being
encouraged to persevere as a Christian and go all the way. We should listen to
the "ruah" because those who will not, will only fail because there
really is no other way. Amen. Hallelujah!
2 Corinthians 6:1-10
1 Brothers and sisters: As your fellow workers, we appeal to
you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says: “In an acceptable
time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.”...through much
endurance, in afflictions, hardships, constraints, 5 beatings, imprisonments,
riots, labors, vigils, fasts; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in a
holy spirit, in unfeigned love, 7 in truthful speech, in the power of God; with
weapons of righteousness at the right and at the left; 8 through glory and
dishonor, insult and praise.
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, 3cd-4
R: The Lord has made known his salvation.
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) 2 The LORD has
made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his
justice. 3 He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house
of Israel .
(R) All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. 4 Sing
joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; break into song; sing praise.
All the readings for today are beautifully linked. It
conveys the message about loving our fellowmen, enemies included and forgiving
them. The idea of forgiveness does not tell us justify, overlook, excuse and
not to hold a person accountable for any wrong doing. In fact, legitimate self
defense is not considered bad. We have to love our enemy, our neighbor and
everyone without exception. We have to rule over our feelings. We may not feel
like doing good but we must not equate forgiveness with the feelings but with
right thing to do. We need to go the extra mile. We are called to action, to
love even the most unlovable. It may seem exaggerated and unnatural but we have
to put goodness into the society rather than respond and react in an
unchristian way. As the gospel tells us today, the sun rises on everyone and
His love and mercy is for all. It is
just natural that our love is proportional to what we get in return. We must
remember that God Himself as written in Romans 5:7-8, Indeed, only with
difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one
might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we
were still sinners Christ died for us.
We have to love and radiate this grace and forgiveness that we’ve been
given. Even while we were enemies of God, He sent His son to offer us His
forgiveness. Thus, we are called to supernatural love through God’s grace. This
is given to us in the sacraments during mass when Jesus offers Himself to us.
We all have opportunities to live this great call of charity. In prayer we call upon that grace to love and
see what it does. This is the perfection
that the gospel calls us today. It is a challenge to true faith come together
with true reason and somehow reinforces the faith against reason mentality. I
firmly believe that goodness and evil once it is started can go a long way and
the start of an endless cycle. If you decide for evil then be ready for the
things that will follow. It is better to
suffer once and for all than to retaliate and resist and regret its
consequences for the rest of our lives throughout eternity. Let us always be
wise and decide for God in all our actions than to be easily dissuaded and get
carried away by the "spur of the moment" and the tempting lure of
this world which can lead to eternal damnation. My mother always says that love
begets love and you sow what you reap. Anger, hatred and vengeance should find
no room in our hearts. These are things that do not reflect the holiness and
perfection of God. We might think that it is an impossibility to exist in this
world without ever having to succumb to these things but as God our Father in
heaven is perfect and holy so must we strive to be like Him. Sometimes we
gather all our strength and abilities to do something very difficult but in the
end our best intentions and efforts aren't just enough. Everything will amount
to nothing in the end even if we seem to be succeeding at first because we will
eventually run dry, become empty and totally out if we fail to draw strength,
fortitude and courage from the ever flowing and unending well of God's Grace.
We must remember that it is not through our own power that we can do it but
through Jesus Christ our Lord who strengthens us. Nothing is hidden from God
and everything we do if offered to God as a form of sacrifice will always work
out for good. (Rom 8:28)Although it may not be instant and will take time we
should always keep in mind that if we do everything in Jesus name and for His
greater glory then when we are sure to be rewarded according to God's promises,
riches and glory. Let us always be an ever ready servant of the Lord who will
not refuse an opportunity to shine for the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!
Matthew 5:38-42
38 Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was
said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, offer
no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one to him as well. 40 If anyone wants to go to law with you
over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. 41 Should anyone press you into
service for one mile, go with him for two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks of
you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”
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