We marvel at the sight of a
field of grain that is fully grown and ready for harvest without even realizing
how it all came to be. There is no doubt that the farmers worked long and hard
to reap the fruits of their labor. It is they who plant and water but the
growth that happens came from the life within. God is the Interior Light and
Strength. The Holy Spirit gives the inner anointing. Christ preaches through
His ministers but the in dwelling of the Holy Spirit gives us the mind and
heart of God that makes us like Him and become His sons and daughters. This is
all due to the working of an Almighty God who makes all things bright and
beautiful. I could never forget what I experienced when I was just new to the
Charismatic Renewal. They were all unforgettable ones and demonstrated the
awesome power of God. There were lots of wonders and miracles that are signs of
God’s power and might. But it is not always a bed of roses because it is also
written that if we want to follow Christ then we have to carry our cross. When
we go through difficult times it is sometimes very hard to still stand by our
convictions and principles for God. Plus the fact that there is a lot of
contradicting moral values being promoted in enticing propagandas and fads
nowadays. It is a constantly grueling battle between good and evil. Let us not
be deceived and be aware on which side we really are. Amen. Hallelujah!
1 John 2:21-28
Let what you heard from the
beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you,
then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise
that he made us: eternal life. 26 I write you these things about those who
would deceive you. 27 As for you, the anointing that you received from him
remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing
teaches you about everything and is true
and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him. 28 And now, children,
remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to
shame by him at his coming.
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 Israel who will dispossess Edom Israel God , Israel
Psalm 98: 1,2-3ab, 3cd-4
R: All the ends of the earth
have seen the saving power of God.
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) 2 The Lord has made his salvation known: in the sight of the
nations he has revealed his justice. 3 He has remembered his kindness and his
faithfulness toward the house of Israel
It is with the same humility
and lowliness of St. John St. John St. John
Amen. Hallelujah!
John 1:19-28
19 This is the testimony of
John. When the Jews from Jerusalem Bethany across the Jordan
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