In the beginning God created everything to be in harmony,
man, the land and all creatures. But man sinned leading to a rupture with God,
one’s self and others. We have to go back to where God had intended it to be.
If everything happened by chance there is a tendency for us to wane in our
resolution and our responsibility is deemphasized. The understanding that a
Creator made the world leads to a fundamental responsibility to it.
When we watch these movies about the end of the world it
gives the impression that our world exists by random and we look upon the
universe as a product of chance. Everything that exists comes through Jesus.
Everything in the universe came through Christ. He is the foundation of all
reality. Creation is existent and made through and for Him. It does not exist
by chance and is ruled by God and His plan.
Colossians 1:15-16 He is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on
earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. God
does not present to us a confusing maze that is impossible to figure out. Come
to think of it, God communicates to us through our very lives and daily
circumstances. It may not be as plain and simple as it may appear to be but we
can be sure that nobody knows what's going on in our lives more than ourselves.
If we will just stop for a while and try to ask, seek and knock at the door of
God's heart then we'll surely receive, find and discover God's door opened for
us. Thus it will pave the way for us to quickly see God in everything. We have
to always focus our gaze on the Lord, sober up and we'll see!. How can we not,
everything around us is a testimony of God's goodness.
We are capable of reason because of our mind. God gives
choices but we also have a free will we can go beyond instinct and go against
the will of God. We are the image of God and we have a unique personality
because of the dignity of a person. We are unrepeatable which makes us
distinctive and like God. Man and animals have some similar gifts like emotions
and body but what distinguishes us is reason. Our freedom to choose what is
right and wrong is conscience. We choose good and avoid evil. It is easier said
than done. How many people want to lose weight but it is not easy to lose
weight because there are a lot of temptations aside from food. The same is true
with our conscience. In Romans 7:18 it is stated, For I know that good does not
dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the
good is not. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. The
natural law is humanizing, but it is dehumanizing when we don’t obey the
natural law. Human beings should make a decision to accept Christ as the one
mediator so we can go to heaven not in hell.
The speed of light is constant throughout the universe, even gravity is
a constant and because it applies in the universe that is why we can apply
science. There are laws, human beings have reason and discover these laws. God
made us distinct from all animals to be able to do these things. Psalm 33:6 By
the LORD’s word the heavens were made; by the breath of his mouth all their
host. This is a radical statement. All the pagans believe that God created the
world through sex and violence. God created the world by His word and it came
to be. All reality came to being by God’s word. Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare
the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the works of his hands. Christians
should study Science not to be a skeptic but to be able to discover the beauty
of creation and God’s wisdom in its order to display the wonders of God. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Wisdom 13:1-9
For all men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of
God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is,
and from studying the works did not discern the artisan;But either fire, or
wind, or the swift air, or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water, or
the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods. Now
if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods, let them know how far
more excellent is the Lord than these; for the original source of beauty
fashioned them...for they indeed have gone astray perhaps, though they seek God
and wish to find him. 7 For they search busily among his works, but are
distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair. 8 But again, not
even these are pardonable. 9 For if they so far succeeded in knowledge that
they could speculate about the world, how did they not more quickly find its
LORD?...
It always pays to be watchful and alert at all times.
Although we sometimes fail to measure up due to our own shortcomings or could
be the doing of another, God assures us in today's psalm that if we fall into
the trap of the enemy we can always repent with a deep remorse for our sins and
resolve to make the precepts of the Lord the joy of our hearts. In doing so, we
find ourselves naturally restrained from sin and maintain our innocence. It is
so hard to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord if we do not know exactly
how to go about with it. It's just like when we have to comply to certain
requirements in school and follow the standard set by it. We need to have a
pattern or outline from which we can base our work. Just as it is so in other
things, the more we are all in need of God's precepts. The absolute bedrock of
spiritual life is to follow the 10 commandments. We are sometimes misled into
thinking that when we have a type of prayer then we think that we already have
a spiritual life. We’ve got to have the humility to admit that God is smarter
than we are and we need to follow and obey what we are told in the 10
commandments. We should be totally and absolutely convinced that He knows best.
Satan uses half truths and half lies in his devilish tricks. Satan’s claims
seem to come true in one level. Take the example of our 1st parents
after eating of the forbidden fruit their eyes were opened and did become in
one sense like God. The fallen angels made their free choice by radically and
irrevocably rejecting God so in turn they seduce and mislead Adam & Eve. It
was through sin that humanity was afflicted by death. Because of one man’s
disobedience many were made sinners. When tempted in the Garden, Adam failed to
remain faithful to God and His commands. Jesus, the New Adam, is God’s servant
totally obedient to the Divine will. Jesus is the devil’s conqueror and takes
back the plunder. What the devil has stolen from us, Jesus has recovered for
us. Pope Benedict XVI commented about what the Lord experienced in the desert
and said that at the heart of all temptations is the act of pushing God aside
because we conceive Him as secondary. It is an act of constructing our world
with our own lights and building our own foundation and setting God aside as an
allusion. Temptations come in many varied forms but one thing is sure, it does
not invite us to directly do evil because it is too blatant and would outright
turn us off. It is very subtle and yet an act of pushing God’s commands aside
and placing the devil’s temptation as primary. If we want to remain victorious throughout
life, we have to keep Him in the center of our life and hold on to His words
which are Spirit and life. God’s ever present help can be found in the
scriptures. It's just like a soldier going to battle wearing the armor of God.
It never fails and always there to defend and protect from the snares of the
evil one. So always take up our sword which is the word of God. God's perfect
word can refresh the soul. Have you ever wondered really how it feels to be
refreshed? Whenever we take a shower or a warm bath and put on clothes that are
well fitted and comfortable it refreshes our body. It could also be whenever we
go to a place where we can unwind, relax, be away from the tensions, stresses,
noise and turmoil of the fast paced lives that we lead and just appreciate the
beauty of nature that surrounds us and the peace and quiet it offers to our
tired bodies in order to be more in touch with God's voice in us. It is so
refreshing it gives our minds and hearts a better view and perspective of how
to live our lives. The same thing with our souls, we should always keep it
clean, healthy and clothed with maximum security, protection but comfortable
enough we don't even know it's there. Like it has become fused in us, there's
nothing more right than following and obeying the law of God. Today's psalm
reading guides us on how we should go about with our lives by always keeping in
mind God's laws. None of us is perfect but through our imperfections we can
always run to God for help and guidance. He will never refuse nor forsake us
for He can only love and care for us. There are people who have alienated
themselves from God and we can’t just force them to go back. God does not do
that, it’s not how the Lord works, instead we pray and pray for them. If we
wait long enough and adhere to God’s precepts then we will finally obtain joy
in our hearts. As water prevails over the rock throughout the course of time so
does the Holy Spirit that is continuously flooding or washing over the man’s
heart. The Holy Spirit moves in and
continues to work upon us and tenderizes us. The song entitled, "Your
Words Are Spirit and Life" by Bernadette Farrell was impressed to me. It
is a beautiful song that I have always loved to sing and I just realized that
the words of this song are taken from this psalm which made me start singing
it. Well, we just have to fully discover what the words of God can make us do.
When things get out of hand we have no one to blame but ourselves for God is
surely not lacking in everything that He has given us for our own welfare.
We've got everything we need because there's nothing more that God could and
should do for us that He has not done. All we have to do is completely trust
and obey the judgments of the Lord. GOD'S LAW MAKES US LIVE A VIRTUOUS LIFE (CCC
1803 "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever
is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence,
if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.") May we
truly recognize the genuine and precious treasures that we should all strive to
achieve and work for which is none other than these things spoken of in today's
psalm. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 19:2-3. 4-5ab
R: The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
1 [2] The heavens declare the glory of God, and the
firmament proclaims his handiwork. 2 [3] Day pours out the word to day, and
night to night imparts knowledge. (R) 3 [4] Not a word nor a discourse whose
voice is not heard; 4 [5] through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the
ends of the world, their message.
Then again we may ask ourselves after reading these passages
from today's gospel, isn't it just the luck that one will be taken, the other
left. No, it isn't. Like what Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it
will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood
came and destroyed them all. Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were
eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left
Sodom , fire and
brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the
Son of Man is revealed." Luck in this case won't bring us anywhere we
would like to be on that final day. We have to be perfectly aware of this and
not leave any of these things to chance nor should we take it for granted for
what’s at stake here is our final destiny and salvation. It is very fascinating
and inspiring if we will really take time to always connect to God through the
daily scriptural readings in the mass then we'll often find that they match our
daily circumstances very well. Like what usually happens when we are in a
situation wherein somebody has to choose someone. And we ended up being the one
chosen. Or it may be just something that is not really worth paying attention
to for some people but it still is something, no matter how trivial it may
seem, that reminded me that God makes Himself known to us whether in big or
small things. Not everybody will be saved that is a fact and we really have to
run the race well. Sounds scary, huh? This gospel is a challenge if we choose
to be in Noah's and Lot 's side of the boat.
From the story that we hear way back when we were still kids, Noah's family was
spared in the great flood but the bible also says that Lot 's
very own wife was not spared, why? Because she looked back, the Lord is urging
us to always focus our gaze on Him and not get distracted no matter what
happens around us. It is not an assurance that if we belong to a certain group
or family then we are guaranteed of being saved, it will always depend on our
response to God's offer of salvation if we want to accept it wholeheartedly or
not. How can we not believe in a God who constantly makes His presence known to
us all? God responds to us in the sweetest and most personal way. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Luke 17:26-37
26 Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of
Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; 27 they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the
ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Similarly, as it was in the
days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building;
29 on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to
destroy them all. 30 So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On
that day, a person who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house
must not go down to get them, and likewise a person in the field must not
return to what was left behind. 32 Remember the wife of Lot .
33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will
save it. 34 I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one
will be taken, the other left. 35 And there will be two women grinding meal
together; one will be taken, the other left.” 36 37 They said to him in reply,
“Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures
will gather.”
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