Acts 5:17-26
17 The high priest rose up and all his companions, that is,
the party of the Sadducees, and, filled with jealousy, 18 laid hands upon the
apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night, the angel of
the Lord opened the doors of the prison, led them out, and said, 20 “Go and
take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this
life.”...
The considered powerful and mighty of this world is what
appear to be the blessed and favored ones as far as human logic and reason are
concerned. The exact opposite of what Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount
and Plain (Beatitudes) in the gospels. A lot of people find it difficult to
really understand the beatitudes since it contradicts the values of this world
we live in. The poor, weak, hungry and sorrowing are called blessed. This may
not sound acceptable for everybody and would even go around its meaning to get
away with the real issue that Jesus wants us to face. Whatever it may be that's
still stopping us from grasping the wisdom of God let us pray to God that we
will always hold on to His word as He assures daily. Our God indeed is a
perfect God and we must entrust everything to Him without questioning believing
that He knows what's best. We must be aware of the truth that it is by His
power that we exist in this world. We’ve got to have the right heart, mind and
attitude. Be poor in spirit and receptive to the Word of God. It doesn't make
sense that despite these truths that are ever before us we still reject Jesus.
Let's admit that we do it one way or another, knowingly or unknowingly. Pope
John Paul II narrated a story when he was in the hospital for his operation.
Just before the surgery, he went out of his room unnoticed and visited a very
sick boy on the verge of dying. His mother was so depressed that no amount of
words was able to console her. She told the Pope to tell God to go away. The
Pope answered her that he did tell God to go away but He wouldn't listen. He
embraced the inconsolable mother and told her that God knows exactly the place
where He needs to be and that is none other than with her. We should realize
that God never leaves nor forsakes most especially in times of despair. He is
always there for us. Our God indeed is a perfect God and we must entrust
everything to Him without questioning believing that He knows what's best. We
must be aware of the truth that it is by His power that we exist in this world.
Have you heard of blind obedience? Following without knowing exactly why you
follow. Take the example of suicide bombers, who willingly die to spread
terrorism. What courage! We should know that it is always worth it to obey God,
obeying and knowing fully well that it is for our own good. We all have fears
in life and sometimes they drive us to the point of despair. This should not be
the case. If we truly believe with all our mind, heart and soul what today's
psalm tells us then there is no reason for it. We may have encountered
situations wherein we were not able to plan ahead and totally placed us in a
very unexpected, uncertain and insecure position. They just happen suddenly that we have no time
to prepare and really caught us off guard. This has caused us to feel at a loss.
Just imagine how it feels to be blind not knowing where to go and groping in the
dark. But we can be assured that God will rescue us from all distress and
deliver us from our troubles. The wickedness and the hatred may persist but let
us not lose hope and despair because we have a mighty Savior and Redeemer in
our Lord Jesus. This truth stated in today’s psalm reading should keep us going
and do exactly what we are told. The Light of the World already came and
judgment day is coming soon. In fact, judgment is happening even now. In
Deuteronomy 30:15 "Here, then, I have today set before you life and
prosperity, death and doom..." God asked us to choose. It's got to be one
way or another. There should be no mingling or ambiguity. It is all up to us.
We can be assured that if we take God’s side then we’ll definitely taste and see
His goodness. If we will just seek God at all times then we surely find Him.
Let us not turn to anything or anyone else but to God alone. Let us be firm and
wise in our dispositions to really stick to God's ideals and principles alone
instead of the suggestions and insinuations of the so called wise and learned
of this world's standard. For if we do, we'll find ourselves rescued, saved
and truly blessed. We should always keep
our hopes up in the Lord no matter what our situations are because it can never
change the fact that He is God and always in charge and in control. There are
times when we feel forsaken or abandoned but we must always hold on to the
truth that He loves us so much. He would never leave us in misery. Let us
remove all doubts and fears. Nothing should make us feel afraid for God hears
our cry. He will surely carry out what is clearly for our own good and the
best. All we need to do is allow God to work in our lives and stop hindering
His grace to flow in our lives. If there's one big obstacle that is blocking
this flow then it is surely not God. It is time we analyze the things in our
life that continue to build up and shut out God. We don't want that happening
and it's all up to us for the Lord hears and saves us. Although there are times
when we do not have to sweat at all and things just come and fall into place we
also have to know that our life is mostly a product of the choices we make. Our
choices must always be responsible and carefully decided on. We've got to have
a reliable standard for it. One without fail and is sure to work. Actually
there is only one thing that we can surely depend on and that is the goodness
of the Lord. If we always have this in mind then nothing should stop us to
always look at God, listen and follow Him. We should not care so much about
gaining the approval and admiration of men rather than God. Our focus first and
foremost should be to please God and everything else will follow. Even if it
sometimes does not work the way we expected and planned things to be. We can be
assured that the Lord heard, hears and will hear all our prayers and surely has
the best answer at hand in His most perfect time. In guarding our faith the
bible passage from Ephesians 6:10-11 which is about the armor of God is an
important tool. If we read it we will find the only weapon mentioned in the
said bible passage is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. We
should check it once again and be aware of this important information as
Catholic Christians. In the gospel about the temptation of Jesus the devil also
demonstrated his knowledge of the scriptures. As it is written, we need to
stand firm against the tactics of the devil. We are undoubtedly engaged in this
battle every single day that's why we are in need of a weapon. This reminds us
of the importance of knowing the word of God by heart since it is our only
weapon. God never fails. He would always make things work for our good and
rescue us in our distress. I have always believed in angels even before I got
this petal from a healing service with the image of a cherubim miraculously
imprinted on it. It's been a while since I got it and has served as a testimony
of God’s abiding love. I have no doubt in my mind that God will always deliver
me from all my fears. I always keep my rose petal with me and show it to almost
everyone I meet, as a way of propagating God's goodness to me. I can still
remember and will never forget how my mother used to narrate to us how I was
miraculously saved by my angel several times. First was when I was about 2
months old, and I fell from a height of 2-3 ft countertop when the nanny after
giving me a bath left me for only a second to get something and upon returning
found me already unconscious and lying on the hard, ceramic tiled floor. I was
rushed to the doctor but he told them that if I fail to regain consciousness
within an hour then he said I am gone. To everybody's surprise I started to cry
even before the time is up. Another one was when I was barely 2 yrs old when I
almost got hit by a speeding jeepney. My parent's house is right beside my
grandparent's house which is right in front of the school where my mother used
to be a public school teacher. She said she was standing in the center of the
stage of the school that was why she had a good view of the things around her
even the terrace of my grandparent's house so she got the shock of her life
when she saw me there alone running very fast heading toward the open gate
while a speeding jeepney was coming and looked as if I would really get hit and
it would be too late even if somebody was there to stop me. She was already
screaming from afar together with the other teachers who saw it and was trying
to call the attention of the driver but to no avail for he didn't even slow
down because their screams were of no match to the loud engine of the
jeep. It was just a miracle that the
moment I stepped on the side of the road, I suddenly stopped and stood very
still as if someone was holding me back. She said it was my guardian angel who
held me and prevented me from getting hit by the jeep. I don't remember personally any of those
experiences it was only through my mother's stories that I came to know about
them. But when I was older like in 4th grade I could already remember how I was
spared again from being hurt seriously when the fluorescent lamp right on top
of my head fell on my desk a split second after I stood up and left my
chair. My classmates were really shocked
and were hovering around me and told me that it was really close. One of my bestfriends,
Myrsa got me even more scared of what could had happened when she said that
fluorescent lamps are laden with poison that once it gets broken, the poison is
released and if the broken glass cuts your skin open the poison will get in and
the wound caused by it will never dry up or get healed. From then on I
developed this childlike trust in God and thanked God for saving me from death.
There was another instance in my life as a child when Myrsa and I were left all
alone in school while waiting for our ride home and the deafening sound of
lightning and thunder got me very scared. Myrsa played the role of my guardian
angel when she tried to calm and stop me from crying by telling me that I
should not be afraid because the lightning is the flash bulb of God's camera.
She continued by saying that I should not cry but instead smile for God was
just taking our picture. Myrsa's legendary stories played a role in my
developing a great faith in God. Another funny story was what she told me about
the needle. She said that we must be careful with needles because it will find
its way into our bodies and once it's inside it will go to our bloodstream and
very quickly end up pricking our hearts which can cause us to die right away.
There was one time when I lost a needle and couldn't find it anywhere. I went
to bed very early that day which surprised my mother and was asking me if there
was anything wrong. I decided to myself that I would just wait for my death
silently and not tell anybody. I was praying to God not to give me a painful
death and let me not feel it once the needle pricks my heart. When I woke up
the next day I was so glad that I was still alive and thanked God for sparing me
from death. Those were the early formative years of my faith which started out
in a funny, amusing but definitely amazing way. We all have fears in life and
sometimes they drive us to the point of despair. This should not be the case.
If we truly believe with all our mind, heart and soul what today's psalm tells
us then there is no reason for it. If we will just constantly nourish and fill
ourselves with the words of God in scriptures then there is really no reason
for us to fear rather be always filled with joy. He will never allow us to be
defeated and conquered for He is always there to rescue us. Amen, Hallelujah!
Psalm 34:2-3. 4-5. 6-7. 8-9
R: The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
1 [2] I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall
be ever in my mouth. 2 [3] Let my soul glory in the LORD; the lowly will hear
me and be glad. (R) 3 [4] Glorify the LORD with me, let us together extol his
name. 4 [5] I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my
fears. (R) 5 [6] Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces
may not blush with shame. 6 [7] When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him...The angel of the LORD encamps around
those who fear him, and delivers them...
God in today's gospel proclaims the summary of His great
love that is being conveyed in the bible. If God suffered His only Son for our
sake. I do believe that everything is possible with Him and there is really no
doubt that He can move the heavens and the earth that even the simplest task of
sending His angels to guard and protect is something that God is really able to
do. Father Fernando taught us the acronym HEALS. H stands for hope, E =
experience God's love and express to others, A= adore God, L= love, S=
sacrifice. When will we allow this truth to get through our thick heads and
really sink deep into our system. So that we will no longer doubt His great
love for us. Who among you parents would be willing to sacrifice their own
child for the sin of another? God did that and shed very precious blood for our
salvation. When people experience genuine and sincere love despite all of their
imperfections then we can somehow get the picture of what today's gospel is
trying to convey. Although not the fullness of its meaning and depth, this
reminds me of a movie entitled, "The Cutting Edge". It is about a
young lady who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She practically had
everything a young lady like her would wish for. Despite of it she remained to
be rude, selfish and stubborn until that eventful night when this man professed
his love to her even after all the things he found out about her. It only took
a minute or less for her to realize it and changed everything which also led to
their winning the gold medal in the Olympics. Those who have seen the movie
might know what I’m talking about. This is a very shallow comparison I should
say to the tremendous love of God for us to suffer His Only Begotten Son to die
on the cross for our sake. Since we are still bound to the physical dimension
of this world there is only partial understanding of the spiritual and all
other aspects that define love. We could only hope to grasp its meaning within
the context of our limited capacities. We look forward that someday when we
finally come to the final and appointed day in our life when our soul separates
from our physical body and thus attain the fullness of this understanding we
find ourselves in the safety of His love and not very far from it to enjoy this
gift of eternal life. Hoping too, on that day that the word "might"
in today's gospel passage which I quoted below will be omitted and finally make
eternal life a reality for all of us. We are just set to discover wonderful and
marvelous things that are beyond our imagination if we let God. We pray that if
we were skeptics may we eventually become believers. The gospel today contains the most famous
words of Jesus in the Gospel of John, “For God so loved the world that he gave
his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might
have eternal life.” The purpose of this gospel is stated in Jn. 20:31: “These
things have been written so that you may go on believing that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God and that believing you may have life in His name.” Everything comes through God’s grace in the
form of the scriptures as it is written from of old and revealed right before
our very eyes and within our hearing. We owe everything to God and nothing else
can ever be enough for a God who loves us with such impact and intensity. The
gospel is an evidence of the concrete relationship of the scriptures in the Old
Testament with the New Testament. They are interconnected in a very amazing
way. If there's one thing that amazes me even more, it is the thousands of
years apart in terms of BC (Before the time of Christ) and AD (Anno Domini/During
and after Christ) that separates these events and the tremendous power of God
that defies the length of time by connecting them and allowing every single
thing in the entire history of mankind to fall into its perfect place and
pattern. According to Dr. Scott Hahn, the nature of Jesus’ death on Calvary is a sacrifice. All Christians recognize this
sacrifice as a mystery. Jesus offered His life on the cross as a supreme
sacrifice but most Christians don’t realize how difficult it would have been
for 1st century Jewish Christians to come to that conclusion. Why?
If we were there on Calvary on Good Friday
even the most devout Jewish disciples would have been unable to describe that
experience as a sacrifice because for them there’s really nothing more to it
than a Roman execution. It took place outside of the walls of Jerusalem Calvary
are inseparable. There are 2 sides to
the same sacrifice. Jesus shows us that in His death He did not lose His life
for in the Eucharist He already made His life a gift of love. This love is what
conquers death and the conquest of death is what occurs on Good Friday. As
Catholics we have a lot to teach other Christians who do not understand the
mystery of the Mass.
John 3:16-21
...16 God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so
that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal
life...
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