I could never forget that day when my computer was bugged
down but in less than 24 hours, was restored back to normal and in good running
condition. This happened almost 4 years ago from now and vowed to always share
this for God’s glory. In fact I already did the day before yesterday. Hendrie
is the person I am talking about. He fixed my computer at that time when he was
still residing in Cerritos
which is almost an hour drive from our place. Everything just happened so
quickly because he happened to be online and chanced upon him in the Yahoo
messenger. It was really a blessing that even before my computer totally
crashed he was already there giving me the necessary instructions that helped
me to still keep it functioning even in safe mode. Aside from the fact that
Hendrie is indeed a brilliant and talented computer fixer, I should say he was
just exactly when, where and how I needed him since he was at the right time,
place and situation. He told me that he will be around the area in the evening
of that day it happened and offered to pick up my laptop, was able to fix it
and brought it back to me within 24 hours. Everything just fell into place I
must say. Since it also happened that he had to be in St. Christopher in West Covina because he is
a member of the El Shaddai choir who sang in the healing mass prior to the day
this happened. I must admit that if Hendrie did not come to my rescue at that
particular time then my computer could have had irreversible damages. I could
had been in a total mess. Those people who are close to me know how important
this computer is to me especially as a tool to always keep in touch with my
family in the Philippines .
It all amazingly happened and undeniably worked out by an All Knowing God who
sees every single thing that happens to us. I would like to borrow the words in
today's 1st reading again as I had done in the past and address it to all our
brothers and sisters in Christ most especially to Hendrie. Amen. Hallelujah!
1 Thessalonians 4:9-11
9 Brothers and sisters: On the subject of mutual charity you
have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by
God to love one another. 10 Indeed, you do this for all the brothers throughout
Macedonia .
Nevertheless we urge you, brothers, to progress even more, 11 and to aspire to
live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your own
hands, as we instructed you...
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
P S A L M Psalm 98:1. 7-8. 9
R: The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.
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) 7 Let the sea
and what fills it resound, the world and those who dwell in it; 8 let the
rivers clap their hands, the mountains shout with them for joy
It is just very sad that despite the many times God tries to
convey His love to us, we still sometimes back away. We've got to stand firm,
hold our ground and not give in to the world's pressures. Let us not end up
like Herod who came as close to knowing what is righteousness and holiness but
never really got to the doing and acting part. In the Philippines we have a habit of
calling people names. For someone to be called Herod or Herodes means being
really naughty and bad. We may all claim to know what is right but we have to
realize that we may never be able to come to a point where we can claim to be a
better person than Herod. We may have this impression that we are far better
Christians than any of the others we know but we may be wrong. For all we know
we are not far from being like Herod or much worse. Let us hope not. For there
is really more to being a Christian than what we actually know. As what have
been mentioned in the 1st reading about the sanctity of marriage, it is now
being emphasized once more in today's gospel. John the Baptist paid a great
price for this truth. We sometimes don't realize it, but we may also be guilty
just like Herodias. We may not be committing adultery like her but we too
succumb to the temptation of eliminating the people and circumstances around us
that is a source of inconvenience or simply not conformed to our personal
statement and views. We also make use of other people to camouflage or hide our
true intentions in order for us to carry out our plans without the guilt of
having participated in it. We resort to all kinds of disguise without knowing
that in the process of doing so we are headed for the worst kind of
situation. Let us not further aggravate
it and know in our heart, mind and soul that all areas of our life needs to be
totally surrendered to God not just a part, half but our entire being. In doing so with the gift of free will we
allow ourselves to enjoy life at its fullness because we are not bound or tied
and can exercise this gift as much as we want and never run out. We should not
be too carried away though and forget that it is also because of this free will
that we are also presented with horrible things as in today's gospel that are
products of the wrong use of this gift. It is of prime importance that we
exercise, use and handle this gift with much care. This is the reflection
question and prayer that I read in Didache: What do you do when you are under
pressure? Do you stand up for what is right or you just go with the crowd
because everyone else is doing it? Lord, grant me the wisdom and the courage to
do what is pleasing in Your sight even if the world laughs at me. And in
Companion, Fr. Martin Macasaet said the following words. "Yes, we, too,
are called and challenged to imitate John the Baptist’s courageous act of
witnessing —not necessarily in the form of a bloody beheading, of course.
Today’s Christian martyrdoms are certainly more of a subtle and sophisticated
kind. But perhaps, they are just as compelling and exigent — as when our moral
principles are tested in our workplaces, or when our senses are bombarded by
sexually suggestive images, or when we are scandalized by the bad examples of
our leaders and celebrities, and so on." We all have our own personal
Herod, Salome and worst our Herodias tendencies in life. Only we ourselves know
these and what specific aspect it is in our lives. Unless we acknowledge them,
firmly reject and stand up against it instead of yielding to it then we are no
better than any of them. In today's gospel we are also reminded of our
stubbornness when we insist on doing things our way. We could somehow relate
this to those who insist on wearing something even if it doesn't fit them just
because it is the "in" thing. The same way with our life we end up
looking foolish when we insist on keeping up with the latest trend and fashion
that this world offers when the only thing that is well fitted to us is to
always wear the clothes of Jesus which is fashioned in the passion of the cross
in order to be the best dressed Christian. People may not be able to know it by
just looking at us and we can easily get away with our wrong doings which we
have kept in secret or hidden in our thoughts and feelings which no human
person can see but God does. We’ve got to believe that there is really somebody
watching us as the song says. Sometimes we forget that God can see through us
and knows exactly what's inside our hearts and minds. Let us not wait for the
time when we like the scribes and Pharisees will be spoken to by God in this
manner. Let us choose to hear words of commendation from the Lord rather than
be called a hypocrite. Let us truly be the person that God wants us to be,
whether there are people who can see our goodness or not. Amen. Hallelujah!
...John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to
have your brother's wife."
Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill
him... “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the
Baptist.”26 The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the
guests he did not wish to break his word to her. 27 So he promptly dispatched
an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him
in the prison. 28 He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl.
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