How we live our life in each passing day is a testimony of
how we follow the will of God in our lives. There is a need to constantly and
regularly connect to God everything that we do. If we make a conscious effort
to do this everyday then we'll surely find it easier to obey the things that
God wants us to do and be more sensitive in knowing the will of God in our
lives. If we will just honestly and sincerely seek God then we will surely find
Him. As we do this we will eventually discover a lot of things that we need to
know in order to live our faith in accordance to God's will and be able to
overcome all trials and difficulties that come our way. It is really important that we know and follow
the instructions of God as in today's 1st reading when God rained down bread
from heaven and tested whether the Israelites will follow or not. In the same
way when we, like the Israelites believe after witnessing in our lives God's
Almighty Power to provide for our need but sometimes still fail to follow
instructions given to us by God through the Church and insist on our own
perverted thoughts and beliefs. It is our duty to know more about our faith and
follow what it teaches us through the Catholic Church. Amen. Hallelujah!
Exodus 16:1-5. 9-15
... “I will now rain down bread from heaven for you. Each
day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test
them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not...“This is the bread
which the LORD has given you to eat.”
The Lord has already given us everything we need but we
still crave for something else. We sometimes doubt and question God's ability
to get us through it all. We tend to resort to means that is of our own and not
of God. Our rationalizing mind gets the
better in us when we exclude in the equation the awesome truth of who really
God is and what He is capable of doing in our life. Today’s psalm tells us not
to forget the works of the Lord. What better way to do that than to keep our
eyes focused on the price that God paid for us on the cross and the eternal
benefits it has brought upon us. In order to attain this we need to constantly
listen to the teachings of the Church. We have to familiarize ourselves to the
words of God in scriptures and the mysteries they hold. We have seen and
witnessed so much already to even doubt God's goodness. We hope and pray that
we will always remember and never forget. Our minds are limited and can not
comprehend beyond what can be explained by reason. God gave up His only
begotten Son, Jesus and allowed Him to be sacrificed on the cross. This could
never be explained by our logical and rational minds especially if we are
parents ourselves and have only one child. Who would give up an only child to
die a cruel and humiliating death for the sake of another and sinners at that?
But God did that and the only reason is His immeasurable and unfathomable love
for all of us. Today's psalm teaches a very important lesson and guideline that
we should always live by. If we want to maintain our strength and not be
susceptible to captivity in the hands of the enemy then we should always
remember and not forget the wonderful things that God has done to us. This
makes sense because God's works are holy and perfect we can surely rely on it
for everything. When the Israelites decided to follow Moses when they were led
out of Egypt
to the Promised Land and traveled a long time through the desert they
discovered that it was not an easy but a wearying and tedious journey. In the
same way when we travel through life we encounter challenges that sometimes
drive us to despair. However, we can draw inspiration from the readings today.
Just like the Israelites we should always have the hope of a new and better
life and be assured of the fact that with God on our side we will never be
defeated in battle, nor will we be allowed to starve and be fed with bread from
heaven. We easily forget things and become preoccupied with so many other
things. This happens to most of us and we tend to neglect what is truly
essential. Let us not focus on the lesser things but on what should dominate
our consciousness and awareness. We should always be alert and not easily
distracted and dissuaded by what is going on around us. Nowadays, we tend to
just rely on our own strength and understanding because we are living in a very
materialistic and advanced world and forget what's most important is to focus
on how God can be fully at work in our lives. We have seen and witnessed so
much already to even doubt God's goodness. We hope and pray that we will always
remember and never forget the works of the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!
P S A L M
Psalm 78:18-19. 23-24. 25-26. 27-28
R: The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
18 They tempted God in their hearts by demanding the food
they craved. Yes, they spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in
the desert?” R. Yet he commanded the skies above and the doors of heaven he
opened; He rained manna upon them for food
and gave them heavenly bread. R. Man ate the bread of
angels, food he sent them in abundance. He stirred up the east wind in the
heavens, and by his power brought on the south wind. R. And he rained meat upon
them like dust, and, like the sand of the sea, winged fowl, Which fell in the
midst of their camp round about their tents. R.
May we all have a transforming experience all the days of
our lives brought and effected by the truth of the victory of Jesus'
Resurrection from the dead. Jesus has taken away the obstacle and hindrance for
us to enter into new life with Him by His resurrection. Let us not forfeit this
benefit and truly believe with the heart and soul of our faith. It seems
impossible for somebody to rise from the dead that is why Mary of Magdala got
confused despite her being able to witness with her own very eyes the many
wonders that Jesus did when He was still with them. There are some instances
when we just can't get it. But we should never doubt the truth that God is all
powerful and able to do beyond our imagination even though at times we fail to
grasp the meaning of some things happening in our lives. Through His
resurrection we are able to enter into new life with Him. I can still remember
very vividly what Fr. James de Souza preached when I attended his seminar way
back in the Philippines
more than 20 years ago when the gospel for today was the focus of his teaching.
He commended St. John
for being the most intimate and affectionate to Jesus. From that time on, I
always have this constant hope and prayer that I will grow more daily into that
overwhelmingly deep affection of St. John for Jesus to always see and believe
Him in order to run and go to Him first. John is the only apostle who did not
leave Christ and stayed beside Him all the way to the foot of the cross. He was
also the beloved apostle who rested his head at the chest of Jesus during the
last supper. It is him who Jesus
entrusted His mother with at the foot of the cross. This bible passage from
today's gospel has left a remarkable impression in my memory. He ran as fast he
could to be closest to the Lord. It made me think of our attitude towards God.
Do we also have the same enthusiasm and fervor as John? And yet he still
hesitated and got a hold of such strong emotions and still acted accordingly as
dictated by the virtue of prudence. He was full of love and devotion for the
Lord but he did not let it get in the way or disrupt the proper order of things
that needs to be followed. He outran
Peter in the rush to the tomb where Jesus was buried, but he let the more
superior leader of the Twelve enter the tomb first. We can follow the example
of St. John’s
humble deferment to someone higher, his self-sacrificing and humble disposition
vis-à-vis seniority. We should learn from him in the way he conducted himself
in such situations, full of love and abounding in grace. He definitely acted
the right thing at the right time in all the right places. We should focus and
hold on to things that are from heaven above rather than the things of this
world. We cling to temporary and material things without realizing that what
matters most is the permanent or the gift of eternal life. Mary of Magdala was
a woman of the world but she was restless until she found Jesus. The same way
with us, we could be experiencing some unexplainable emotions that make us
anxious but if we continue to see and experience God in our lives then we are
always assured that we are never alone and He will always be with us. All we
have to do is follow the example of Mary Magdalene by making a complete turn
(180 degrees) from our old ways and decide for Jesus. Let us get this straight,
apart from God we are nothing. We must
be able to connect, completely trust and surrender to God every single aspect
about us especially those that we are strongly holding on to and consider very
important and vital in our lives. We may be clinging on to something for the
wrong reasons. Our motivation and underlying reasons whether evident or not
should always have something to do with God. Whether it is a minor or major
thing it is always wise to align it to God. Our wills should no longer be our
own but of God our Father. Let us keep in mind that no matter how imperfect and
unlimited our capacities and capabilities are for as long as we put God first
in everything we say, think or do in the midst of trials and difficulties then
we can surely experience God's resurrection. We have dreams, desires and
longings that drive us to action. We sometimes get stuck with the idea that
life here on earth is all there is to it. We must look on and move forward to
the one ultimate goal that can make all things perfect and beautiful. It is
important that we all come to the realization that the fullness of all things
is in heaven. Mary Magdalene was in deep grief. She is one of the witnesses
that stood by the cross, watched and observed Jesus died and laid in the tomb.
Mary was not focused on the resurrection and did not recognize Jesus. Her mind
was focused on her assumption that someone has taken Jesus’ body. Whenever we are
gripped by grief, anxiety or any strong emotion it has a way of obscuring our
vision of God and blinds us from seeing His blessing or presence. When we
encounter moments when we are on the verge of weeping and depression we can
always remind ourselves that it doesn’t help at all rather we have to stay
calm. She did not expect the resurrection, only in the calling of her name that
she recognized Jesus. She was warned by Jesus not to cling or hold on because
she is being sent to spread the word as Greeks refer to her as the female
apostle to the Apostles. She did as she was told, went and announced to the
disciples that they too believed and came to faith. Thinking about these things
is like we are being given a picture and scenario to broaden our perspective
and understanding of the things that are happening in our life. Learn from the
experience, be imaginative and creative for better appreciation of the Word of
God as we reflect on it. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 20:1-2. 11-18
1 On the first day of the week, Mary
of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and
saw the stone removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and
to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the
Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”
...Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not
yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to
my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary of Magdala went
and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her.
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