Baruch 4:5-12. 27-29
...Fear not, my children; call out to God! He who brought this
upon you will remember you. 28 As your hearts have been disposed to stray from
God, turn now ten times the more to seek him; 29 for he who has brought
disaster upon you will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy.”
The mention of the watery depths in today's psalm reading
should remind us of our own personal experiences. We are never alone. It is
undeniable that God is good. We must realize that He is present in each and
every person we meet. The earth is really full of the goodness of the Lord. God always send us the right people at the
right time and the right situation. Although there are also some setbacks and
we are still experiencing the ups and downs of our faith we just have to
consider everything as a part of our daily walk in the shore of the Sea of Galilee with Christ at our side. Here are some
pointers for review to strengthen our faith in God
I. Man needs to be saved because of his fallen nature. (Rom
7:21-24 & CCC 1949)
-Man is dominated by
greed, pride and lust (CCC 407 & 1 Jn 5:19 ) The devil has acquired a
certain domination (Gal 5:19) and we are engaged in a battle that has been won
but does not stop there since we have to always put on our guard for the enemy
does not rest. He called the whole process of being saved as "justification"
.
II. "Man is
saved by God's grace alone based on CCC 1996.
-The question is how does the grace of God become an active
part of our life or "by what are we justified?" The example he gave
here was a newborn baby who is baptized. A baby has not merited anything yet
but is saved by the mere act of being baptized. He mentioned about Martin
Luther's despair about his salvation which led him to formulate the doctrine of
justification by "Faith alone"
He misunderstood the Bible passage Rom 3:28 which mentioned faith alone apart
from works of the law. Paul in this letter to the Romans was pertaining to the
Jewish Law which is being practiced during their time like circumcision,
washing of the hands and the like which are practices that can not really
justify a person. Faith alone doctrine states that justification simply means
being "declared righteous" We can not just be declared righteous but
be made righteous by not continuing to sin.
III. Justification actually means being "made
righteous" i.e. it entails the sanctification of his whole being (CCC
1989, 1990, &1995) We are justified not by faith alone nor by works alone.
Justification has its stages i.e. initial and progressive. Initial
justification takes place at our baptism. We still have a tendency to backslide
and during the hour of death is the period of intense spiritual battle over our
soul. That is why we need to mature in our faith.
IV. Certainty of Salvation
"Once saved, always saved?" If we believe in this it tends to put off our
guard. (1 Jn 5:13-14) We should say instead "I know I am saved, still
being saved and will continue to be saved." Justification is a life long process as
stated by Paul in 1 Cor. 4:3-5, 9:27. In Phil 2:12 Paul also encouraged us to
work out our salvation with fear and trembling. For the enemy is waging war on
us and we need to be very aware of this and claim God's protection over us at
all times. (Eph.6:11-12)
V. Epistles against works?
I guess there have been some misunderstanding here of the
following bible verses:
Rom. 3:28 (Obedience of faith) Martin Luther based his
belief on faith alone on this specific verse he failed to see that Paul in
addition to what was mentioned earlier was attacking the Jews with regards to
their ceremonial laws and that it not enough to just hear the law but to
observe it. (Rom 4:5 Total adherence) An example he gave was attending the mass
not just as an obligation but with the heart. Consider it a privilege and do it
for the love of God. He said we are saved by grace not by works but we obtain
the grace of God by good works and the motive is mercy (Eph. 2:8-9 and Titus
3:5)
VI. Epistles supporting "Works"
Here are several bible passages cited to us by Atty Moya
that support the need for us to cooperate and work with God. James 2: 14-22
& 24 say that faith without action is dead. From the gospel of Matthew:
What must I do to be saved? (Mt. 19:16-21) When the rich man asked this
question he was told to keep the commandments and he said he already did so
Jesus told him to sell all his possessions and give to the poor for he is very
attached to his possessions that he has to let go of all attachments. We are
also called to keep our fire burning for the Lord so that we don't end up like
the 5 virgins in the Parable of the Ten Virgins in Mt 25:1-13. The same
principle applies with the Parable of the Talents or Silver pieces that we have
to cultivate the goodness in ourselves and let it grow. It is also very clear
from Mt. 25 31-46 which mentions about the last judgment that we can not just
accept the Grace of salvation but needs to do our part, too since it
specifically stated here that whatever we have failed to do will go to eternal
punishment. Also it is stated in Mt 7:21-27 that we need to live His words
because not everybody who says "Lord" will enter the kingdom of
heaven for there is a need to turn away from our wrongdoings. He said that
there is no dichotomy between Christ and His doctrine. If we really believe in
God then we also need to do what He teaches. The will of God will never take us
to where the grace of God will not protect us. God knows exactly and with
perfection what is being allowed to happen to us in our lives at this precise
moment. God's purpose for us is simply perfect. He wants to show us things that
only we can understand by living what we are living and by being in the place
we are now. In the midst of all these unsightly things there should always be a
burning flame of hope that God will never forsake nor abandon. We should always
maintain our confidence in God and never lose hope and courage in the great
love that God has for us. The ignorance of our faith is ignorance about Jesus.
We may sometimes think that evangelization is just work for the priests and the
religious. It is not limited to them but anyone who is baptized should take on
this responsibility. JFK said, "Here on earth, God's work must truly be
our own." Nothing should ever stop us from being part of the work of God.
God made man in His own image and likeness. (Gen 1:26) In this context we need
to define personhood well and know the perils of limited definition. It could
be classified into 2 definitions, nominal and real. Nominal definition of
personhood is decided by man. It is approaching something that we don't know
but we already have the answer. We make decisions and play God. The dangers of
this definition of a person are:
1. nominal- when we deny to identify a person as a real person. Example is
abortion, when doctors deny the fact that at the moment of conception a person
already exists. 2. real but limited - We do not deny but identify them as persons but with lesser worth like the sick and terminally ill. Just because they are old, weak and sick they deserve to die as in the case of euthanasia.
3. full and real but limited - Kills people as in the Holocaust.
The whole principle involved here is discovery and deciding. When our approach is discovery then we are being lead to the events in our life with a sense of total surrender, trust and faith in the Lord's
We should ascribe to the real definition of personhood. It answers the question what, how and what is it meant to be. Our approach in life to achieve faith and righteousness is by discovery and through an authentic Christian life. It is discovery in the sense that we are open to the intention and purpose of God for us. With a seeking and expectant faith we should allow God to lead us in discovering what is ahead of us and prepared by God. The approach should be in a manner of discovering what God's intention is and respecting it. Checklist of Evangelization.
1. Do we see God as the Primary agent?
God is the Primary Agent of Evangelization. It is not about us but about God.
2. Do we see Evangelization as everyone's responsibility?
We must not end up like the
3. Do we communicate God's love?
4. Is total human betterment part of the ministry?
5. Do we respect other traditions?
God does not take sides. There is an equal opportunity for all but we have to make sure that we are on God's side. We need to rid ourselves of any triumphant or arrogant attitude towards people of other faith. The Abrahamic religion has a common denominator which is belief in God. We are not the sole professor of truth. We need to listen for God's revelation from others, too not only from us.
6. Does our love go beyond Catholic borders?
The
7. Is our approach ecumenical?
We do not have the monopoly of God because the Good News has no border and dealt with a common faith.
8. Do we use all available media?
The best media is our own life, no need for TV. The example of how we live our life is the best means to evangelize. Walk the talk.
9. Do we fully utilize existing groups?
Ministries that renew and energize members.
10. What is our total image?
We've got to maintain a wholesome image unlike the Crusaders, though they were able to convert many to the faith, the spread of the Good News was carried out using the sword.
We must take extra care in projecting the right image as
Good Messengers of the Good News. We should not have
any fear or hesitation in carrying out the task that the Lord has given us. In
our commitment to follow the Lord there are times when we encounter
disappointments. We can say that serving God is not lying on a bed of roses,
though God rewards those who obey Him we have to realize that we too must share
in the passion of Christ if we truly are His followers. For we know that the Lord in His great love, is always there for us. What
matters most is that we always call on God and allow His saving power to rescue
us. Amen. Hallelujah!
P S A L M
Psalm 69:33-35. 36-37
R: The Lord listens to the poor. 32 [33] “See, you lowly
ones, and be glad; you who seek God, may your hearts revive! For the LORD hears
the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not. Let the heavens and the
earth praise him, the seas and whatever moves in them!” R. For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah . They shall dwell in the land
and own it, and the descendants of his servants shall inherit it, and those who
love his name shall inhabit it. R.
We are blessed to have a line up of brilliant and anointed
preachers who share their knowledge and zeal for the word of God in EWTN
(Eternal Word Television Network). But there are only a few people who take on
this mission of spreading the word of God because we don't fully realize this
as baptized Christians, we are all sent by Christ on this mission. We should
accept God's invitation and receive the word of God by living its message. We
have a great responsibility in our hands and should respond to His Word for
indeed the harvest is abundant but the laborers are few. The time is now to
become part of this great harvest. Jesus knows exactly the kind of life we are
headed to if we heed His call. What He expects from us is courage to go on and
He will do the rest. Let us trust that God is truly the Good Shepherd who never
abandons nor forsakes the lambs in the midst of the wolves. 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) Prudence is the ability to make
right decisions in complex situations. They are decisions that lead to the best
and right thing. Without this we can be in big trouble. We’ve got to be able to
decide in a situation that we’re in what the right thing to do which is the
best thing to do. How do we get something done? There are some folks who
probably just can’t figure out what to do. There are other folks who look at
the problem and they can figure out a solution. It’s a core and they execute
that core. It’s practical wisdom. We’ll find in the Book of Proverbs a lot of
things about wisdom even in Sirach, Ecclesiastes and all the wisdom literature
in scriptures. We can also find all the other 3 cardinal virtues, like justice
which means giving each person his or her due. 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. We’ve got have all these things but here’s the problem. When Adam &
Eve decided to sin they let loose a weakness into our race and nature that
impacts all of us. We call it original sin. Sin is not so original, we just
copy what other people have done. There’s nothing creative about sin. Adam &
Eve’s sin was the only original sin. What they did has an impact on us. By
weakening their own nature, sin weakened man’s nature. They passed on to us a
weakened nature. They separated themselves and the whole human race from
friendship with God and were born into that. There’s a tendency in our nature
to go on a downward drift, a drift off course and a tendency to a great degree
is dealt with through grace. How do we get grace? Through the death and
resurrection of Jesus, God has made possible for us, healing of our humanity.
He gives us other gifts, faith, hope and charity that make it possible for us
to really have wisdom, justice, temperance and courage. Without faith, hope and
charity in this life, no one can really become truly wise. All throughout human
history we see people who exercise these gifts. They may not be Christians,
deeply spiritual people, or in a state of grace and can exercise some of these
potentials here and there. But ultimately original sin means we are going to
sin seriously and mess up. We need God’s grace for those 4 great virtues to be
perfected. Faith, hope and charity are supernatural. These are things that
human beings would never know that they need or could have without God giving
them supernaturally that’s why they are called the theological virtues. We only
know about them through divine revelation and we couldn’t know about them by
reason. We can only have them through God’s grace. The theological virtues,
faith, hope and charity are the crown of the first 4 cardinal virtues that
transform and make them possible. God doesn’t want us just to be whole human
beings and restore us to what Adam & Eve were when they blew it in the
Garden. God wants us to be more than that. He wants to elevate our human nature
and divinize it. He wants us to share in His own Divine nature. Charity is all
about loving with God’s love. Loving as the 3 persons of the Holy Trinity love
each other and sharing in that goes way beyond human nature. This is an
incredible thing and call. It was only possible because God became man and we
can share in his virtue. This is what the real Catholic life is all about. It’s
not just about making it or going to heaven by the skin of your teeth after
struggling. It’s about growing in holiness and becoming like Jesus all throughout
our life, a champion not without struggles. As a matter of fact without the
struggles we can never become a champion. It is possible with victory and
excellence not with hopelessness, despair and frustration. This is God’s desire
for us which is a fantastic calling. The power to do this is given to us. We
are never alone because God is always with us. We should be so thankful to God
for all the wonderful things He allowed us to think, feel, see and hear. Not
only for the things that are visible but also the invisible. God has given us
everything that we need, the love, care and protection that a child needs from
a Father who loves us so much. The readings for today from the 1st, psalm to
the gospel all speak of the importance of our senses. Sometimes we have this
tendency to overlook these things and dwell more on the less important things.
We must train our minds and hearts to know the top priority which is everything
that connects us to God at all times. All we have to do is be aware that God
reveals Himself in a very mysterious way that we have to continuously work for
a heart and mind that is focused on the Lord, remove all distractions in our
life so that He will reveal Himself to us. God is infinite and unlimited in
nature and our minds can only comprehend as far as our limited brains allow.
Let us seize every moment and opportunity in order to daily grow in our
knowledge of the Lord. Let us all come to our senses. Once we've seen, heard,
smelled, tasted, touched, felt and experienced who the Lord is in our lives
then we are really blessed in the truest sense of the word. Although we can
only come to the full understanding and knowledge of God when we die, we can
still work our way to knowing God using the best of our abilities for it is
written, if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. Have you ever
experienced talking to someone but it seems that he/she is not paying
attention. Let us not miss a single detail about our Lord and always be
attentive to Him. If we are caught up in our own personal lives then we have a
tendency to misunderstand the messages sent our way. Let us develop an attitude
of total surrender to God and He in His goodness will make known to us things
beyond our understanding. When we're on the phone we sometimes fail to hear
what's being said to us on the other line. We can always hear this being said,
Hello are you still there? It may be due to a low signal, our lack of attention
and other things that disrupt the communication. We are reminded by God through
the gospel to remove all hindrances and be able to hear him loud and clear. It
is imperative that we heed his call and the time is now. Sometimes we end up
doing things that we are not supposed to do and we get confused and that's
because we are not attuned to our Life Coach, who is God and no one can lead us
to the right direction only Him. We need to sharpen and make our senses very
keen so that we will not miss out on anything. Some people who lack one of the
senses like for example the blind people develop a keen sense of hearing,
feeling and smelling. The blind have mastered well their other senses that they
can hear, feel and smell the slightest sound, touch and scent that can be
unnoticeable for some. We should say
from this point of view that the lack of one sense can enhance the other
senses. We can also say that there are moments in our life when we have to shut
out one of our senses, too. There are a lot of things being presented to us day
in and out. We should know that some things are better left unsaid and ignored.
In times like these we need to know exactly what we need to take in and which
of our senses do we need to pay attention to and focus on in order to see and
hear what the Lord is showing and telling us and be truly blessed. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Luke 10:17-24
...Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon
serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will
harm you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to
you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”...
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