2 Corinthians 11:18.21b-30
Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast.
To my shame I say that we were too weak! But what anyone
dares to boast of (I am speaking in foolishness) I also dare.
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are
they descendants of Abraham? So am I.
Are they ministers of Christ? (I am talking like an insane
person.) I am still more, with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, far
worse beatings, and numerous brushes with death.
Five times at the hands of the Jews I received forty lashes
minus one.
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three
times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day on the deep;
on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from
robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city,
dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers;
in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, through
hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings, through cold and exposure.
And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure
upon me of my anxiety for all the churches.
Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led to sin, and I am
not indignant?
If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my
weakness.
Our God indeed is a perfect God and we must entrust
everything to Him without questioning
believing that He knows what's best. We must be aware of the truth that it is
by His power that we exist in this
world, it is only fitting for us to do exactly as the psalm reading tells us
today. Amen. Hallelujah!
The considered powerful and mighty of this world is what
appear to be the blessed and favored ones as far as human logic and reason are
concerned. The exact opposite of what Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount
and Plain (Beatitudes) in the gospels. A lot of people find it difficult to
really understand the beatitudes since it contradicts the values of this world
we live in. The poor, weak, hungry and sorrowing are called blessed. This may
not sound acceptable for everybody and would even go around its meaning to get
away with the real issue that Jesus wants us to face. Whatever it may be that's
still stopping us from grasping the wisdom of God let us pray to God that we
will always hold on to His word as He assures daily. Our God indeed is a
perfect God and we must entrust everything to Him without questioning believing
that He knows what's best. We must be aware of the truth that it is by His
power that we exist in this world. We’ve got to have the right heart, mind and
attitude. Be poor in spirit and receptive to the Word of God. It doesn't make
sense that despite these truths that are ever before us we still reject Jesus.
Let's admit that we do it one way or another, knowingly or unknowingly. Pope
John Paul II narrated a story when he was in the hospital for his operation.
Just before the surgery, he went out of his room unnoticed and visited a very
sick boy on the verge of dying. His mother was so depressed that no amount of
words was able to console her. She told the Pope to tell God to go away. The
Pope answered her that he did tell God to go away but He wouldn't listen. He
embraced the inconsolable mother and told her that God knows exactly the place
where He needs to be and that is none other than with her. We should realize
that God never leaves nor forsakes most especially in times of despair. He is
always there for us. Our God indeed is a perfect God and we must entrust
everything to Him without questioning believing that He knows what's best. We
must be aware of the truth that it is by His power that we exist in this world.
Have you heard of blind obedience? Following without knowing exactly why you
follow. Take the example of suicide bombers, who willingly die to spread
terrorism. What courage! We should know that it is always worth it to obey God,
obeying and knowing fully well that it is for our own good. We all have fears
in life and sometimes they drive us to the point of despair. This should not be
the case. If we truly believe with all our mind, heart and soul what today's
psalm tells us then there is no reason for it. We may have encountered
situations wherein we were not able to plan ahead and totally placed us in a
very unexpected, uncertain and insecure position. They just happen suddenly that we have no time
to prepare and really caught us off guard. This has caused us to feel at a loss.
Just imagine how it feels to be blind not knowing where to go and groping in the
dark. But we can be assured that God will rescue us from all distress and deliver
us from our troubles. The wickedness and the hatred may persist but let us not
lose hope and despair because we have a mighty Savior and Redeemer in our Lord
Jesus. This truth stated in today’s psalm reading should keep us going and do
exactly what we are told. The Light of the World already came and judgment day
is coming soon. In fact, judgment is happening even now. In Deuteronomy 30:15
"Here, then, I have today set before you life and prosperity, death and
doom..." God asked us to choose. It's got to be one way or another. There
should be no mingling or ambiguity. It is all up to us. We can be assured that
if we take God’s side then we’ll definitely taste and see His goodness. If we
will just seek God at all times then we surely find Him. Let us not turn to
anything or anyone else but to God alone. Let us be firm and wise in our
dispositions to really stick to God's ideals and principles alone instead of
the suggestions and insinuations of the so called wise and learned of this
world's standard. For if we do, we'll find ourselves rescued, saved and truly blessed. We should always keep our
hopes up in the Lord no matter what our situations are because it can never
change the fact that He is God and always in charge and in control. There are
times when we feel forsaken or abandoned but we must always hold on to the
truth that He loves us so much. He would never leave us in misery. Let us
remove all doubts and fears. Nothing should make us feel afraid for God hears
our cry. He will surely carry out what is clearly for our own good and the
best. All we need to do is allow God to work in our lives and stop hindering
His grace to flow in our lives. If there's one big obstacle that is blocking
this flow then it is surely not God. It is time we analyze the things in our
life that continue to build up and shut out God. We don't want that happening
and it's all up to us for the Lord hears and saves us. Although there are times
when we do not have to sweat at all and things just come and fall into place we
also have to know that our life is mostly a product of the choices we make. Our
choices must always be responsible and carefully decided on. We've got to have
a reliable standard for it. One without fail and is sure to work. Actually
there is only one thing that we can surely depend on and that is the goodness
of the Lord. If we always have this in mind then nothing should stop us to
always look at God, listen and follow Him. We should not care so much about
gaining the approval and admiration of men rather than God. Our focus first and
foremost should be to please God and everything else will follow. Even if it
sometimes does not work the way we expected and planned things to be. We can be
assured that the Lord heard, hears and will hear all our prayers and surely has
the best answer at hand in His most perfect time. In guarding our faith the
bible passage from Ephesians 6:10-11 which is about the armor of God is an
important tool. If we read it we will find the only weapon mentioned in the
said bible passage is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. We
should check it once again and be aware of this important information as
Catholic Christians. In the gospel about the temptation of Jesus the devil also
demonstrated his knowledge of the scriptures. As it is written, we need to
stand firm against the tactics of the devil. We are undoubtedly engaged in this
battle every single day that's why we are in need of a weapon. This reminds us
of the importance of knowing the word of God by heart since it is our only weapon.
God never fails. He would always make things work for our good and rescue us in
our distress. I have always believed in angels even before I got this petal
from a healing service with the image of a cherubim miraculously imprinted on
it. It's been a while since I got it and has served as a testimony of God’s
abiding love. I have no doubt in my mind that God will always deliver me from
all my fears. I always keep my rose petal with me and show it to almost
everyone I meet, as a way of propagating God's goodness to me. I can still
remember and will never forget how my mother used to narrate to us how I was
miraculously saved by my angel several times. First was when I was about 2
months old, and I fell from a height of 2-3 ft countertop when the nanny after
giving me a bath left me for only a second to get something and upon returning
found me already unconscious and lying on the hard, ceramic tiled floor. I was
rushed to the doctor but he told them that if I fail to regain consciousness
within an hour then he said I am gone. To everybody's surprise I started to cry
even before the time is up. Another one was when I was barely 2 yrs old when I
almost got hit by a speeding jeepney. My parent's house is right beside my
grandparent's house which is right in front of the school where my mother used
to be a public school teacher. She said she was standing in the center of the
stage of the school that was why she had a good view of the things around her
even the terrace of my grandparent's house so she got the shock of her life
when she saw me there alone running very fast heading toward the open gate
while a speeding jeepney was coming and looked as if I would really get hit and
it would be too late even if somebody was there to stop me. She was already
screaming from afar together with the other teachers who saw it and was trying
to call the attention of the driver but to no avail for he didn't even slow
down because their screams were of no match to the loud engine of the
jeep. It was just a miracle that the moment
I stepped on the side of the road, I suddenly stopped and stood very still as
if someone was holding me back. She said it was my guardian angel who held me
and prevented me from getting hit by the jeep.
I don't remember personally any of those experiences it was only through
my mother's stories that I came to know about them. But when I was older like
in 4th grade I could already remember how I was spared again from being hurt
seriously when the fluorescent lamp right on top of my head fell on my desk a
split second after I stood up and left my chair. My classmates were really shocked and were
hovering around me and told me that it was really close. One of my bestfriends,
Myrsa got me even more scared of what could had happened when she said that fluorescent
lamps are laden with poison that once it gets broken, the poison is released
and if the broken glass cuts your skin open the poison will get in and the
wound caused by it will never dry up or get healed. From then on I developed
this childlike trust in God and thanked God for saving me from death. There was
another instance in my life as a child when Myrsa and I were left all alone in
school while waiting for our ride home and the deafening sound of lightning and
thunder got me very scared. Myrsa played the role of my guardian angel when she
tried to calm and stop me from crying by telling me that I should not be afraid
because the lightning is the flash bulb of God's camera. She continued by
saying that I should not cry but instead smile for God was just taking our
picture. Myrsa's legendary stories played a role in my developing a great faith
in God. Another funny story was what she told me about the needle. She said
that we must be careful with needles because it will find its way into our
bodies and once it's inside it will go to our bloodstream and very quickly end
up pricking our hearts which can cause us to die right away. There was one time
when I lost a needle and couldn't find it anywhere. I went to bed very early
that day which surprised my mother and was asking me if there was anything
wrong. I decided to myself that I would just wait for my death silently and not
tell anybody. I was praying to God not to give me a painful death and let me
not feel it once the needle pricks my heart. When I woke up the next day I was
so glad that I was still alive and thanked God for sparing me from death. Those
were the early formative years of my faith which started out in a funny, amusing
but definitely amazing way. We all have fears in life and sometimes they drive
us to the point of despair. This should not be the case. If we truly believe
with all our mind, heart and soul what today's psalm tells us then there is no
reason for it. If we will just constantly nourish and fill ourselves with the
words of God in scriptures then there is really no reason for us to fear rather
be always filled with joy. He will never allow us to be defeated and conquered
for He is always there to rescue us. Amen, Hallelujah!
Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 (9a)R: From all their distress God rescues the just.
1 [2] I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. 2 [3] Let my soul glory in the LORD; the lowly will hear me and be glad. (R) 3 [4] Glorify the LORD with me, let us together extol his name. 4 [5] I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. (R) 5 [6] Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. 6 [7] When the poor one called out, the LORD heard, and from all his distress he saved him.
In today's gospel, Jesus is giving us a sound advice of how
we can be truly rich. I have always
admired Sis Ester for her faith and dedication to God. She is a picture of a
person who closely resembles the description in the gospel. She is indeed storing
up treasures in heaven that neither moth nor decay can destroy and not even
thieves can steal. She has lived up to this model so well that God in His
goodness has been blessing her tremendously in ways and means that can not be
measured nor equaled in human and worldly standards. It is only right that we
focus on building up wealth and investment wisely and become truly rich in the
eyes of man and God. Amen. Hallelujah!
Matthew 6:19-23
19 Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not store up for
yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break
in and steal. 20 But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay
destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there
also will your heart be. 22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is
sound, your whole body will be filled with light; 23 but if your eye is bad,
your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how
great will the darkness be.”
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