FLATTERY

We are flattered oftentimes when some people think highly of us and admire us most especially if they have admirable and highly credible personality. We even sometimes go out of our way just to be affirmed by others. We may not realize this at all times but we should all feel wonderful because there is a God who created us and thinks the world of us. This surpasses all other sincere and noble flatteries we can ever hope to receive from people. Amen. Hallelujah!

Proverbs 8:22-31

...and I found delight in the human race.”

We have to grow deep in our relationship with God for He wants us all to be closer to Him. So when things become unpleasant and we start to feel helpless and feel like we  have no one, then we can look at things like it is all part of God's plan. The tricky question which I guess no one can give a straight answer is, "Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?" Furthermore, if we are to look at creation and all the things that surround us, as in the heavens, the moon and the stars then we will just be filled with awe and wonder at the greatness of God's work. It is a masterpiece of the Greatest Artist. What's most overwhelming is the fact that we have been given the honor of being the highlight of His work and the top of the line. God has bestowed so much love, honor and glory in our beings that we need to be in touch with this reality every single moment of our lives. It is time we become aware of this overwhelming truth that we are worth more than we'll ever come to know.  Just think of the story in the Footprints when God opted to carry us rather than just walk beside us. But recently with a new version of the footprints, we've come to a better understanding of who God is. God's message is that we should become like the Lord in every aspect and know Him more and more each day and as we grow in our knowledge about God we notice that we improve daily in our relationship with the Lord. We learn not just to submit to His will and blend in to His designs for us but most of all to enjoy being one with God for He is an exciting God who can make us smile, laugh and even dance with Him. We have a God who will stop at nothing in revealing His endless love for us in so many ways. We can not confine the attributes of God to anything for unlike any relationship, nothing compares to it, be it the best romance, friendship, parent child relationship we ever knew. Our relationship with God is capable of reaching insurmountable heights for He will always be the Perfect Partner for each one of us. God has created man worth more than anything that He created. We can all say that our beauty surpasses all creatures on earth. As days, months and years go by we must realize how important each and every day for it is an opportunity to discover more things about our Infinite God. If we want to reach the highest pinnacle of God's love then seize each day for His greater glory. This passage from today’s psalm was also instrumental to my being able to discover my authority over all things including a lot of unfounded fears that used to torture me. My family was very over protective of us since we were orphaned when my father died when we were just very young, my grandparents and single aunt were the ones who helped my mother take good care of us. We were sheltered and protected in the most delicate way maybe because they felt sorry for us since we have to grow up without a father. All I know and remember is that I am scared of a lot of things that even the most simple thing like turning on the stove, plugging an electrical cord, seeing a frog, lizard and all those creepy little animals that seem to be very harmless make me nervous.  I don't know if my being the only girl in our family of three contributed to this. I could still remember when I got so scared of a cat who just gave birth. It was lying on a chair right next to the switch of the lights in our chapel in my former office in the Philippines (DOST) and when I approached it, it suddenly growled at me and got so scared. But a sister in the community, Sis Au bravely rebuked the cat and fearlessly approached it and just switched on the lights like the cat never existed. I was so impressed at her and she quoted to me this bible passage that we have rule over all of creation and everything is under our feet which has helped me from then on to overcome a lot of my fears. Those days are gone, we should know who we are and what God made us to be, on top of all His creation. We should be free of all fears.  Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (2a)

R: O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

3 [4] When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,the moon and the stars which you set in place — 4 [5] what is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him? (R) 5 [6] You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 [7] You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet. (R) 7 [8] All sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field, 8 [9] the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea, and whatever swims the paths of the seas.

God has planned it from the beginning of time that we are His and He is for us. It would help if we would always think of what God did for us. We never deserved any of the blessings we are enjoying today but it's all because of God's grace and love. Nothing compares to the love that God has for us. A love that goes beyond measure is what He offers to us. It should be freely accepted without any pressure or force just like the way it was freely given to us through His Son, Jesus. We need to be aware of it every single moment of our lives. We are so blessed that His love for us surpasses all other kinds of love we've ever known and we'll ever come to know. We may keep on searching for the best kind of love but we'll just be disappointed if we look for it in other than God Himself. For His love alone suffices. Everything happens for a reason. Whatever the reason is we can be confident in the truth that God loves us so much and hope that we will never be disappointed. As we continue the process of living, dying and the hope of resurrecting, we the church of God, the triumphant (angels and saints in heaven), militant (the living) and suffering (souls in purgatory) join forces in prayer in the hope that we will all someday be together in heaven. We can not deny the fact that we live in an imperfect world but in it also came forth a glorious array of men and women whom we can look after the example they left behind and ask at the same time their intercession in order for us to truly live the life of Jesus the way they did. Let us no longer be deceived by outward appearances. What seems to be may not what it seems to be. Today's 2nd reading tells us something about affliction that we may not all agree with but we better take God's word for it than anybody else's. The life of the Blessed Mother and the saints although they generally represent a life of sacrifice and sorrow from the world's point of view, is in truth victorious and triumphant. You know why? I believe that they have learned the secret enclosed in today's 2^nd reading. Amen. Hallelujah!

Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access (by faith) to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. ...we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, 4 and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Our knowledge of God comes in stages. We must all start now in our efforts to cultivate and nourish the love of God in our hearts so that a time will come when we can all understand God's word for what it really means. Whatever we're going through right now just consider it as preparation. Jesus said in yesterday's gospel that it is better for Him to go so that the Holy Spirit can come. Jesus meant for the Holy Spirit to come so that all men all over the entire planet can be reached being in the form of Spirit. This is the idea of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Jesus as a human being is limited by time and space unlike the Holy Spirit which is not bound by time and space. This explanation may not sound like a very brilliant idea and could just be a very minor reason out of the so many more relevant ones we can come up with regards to the Spirit of truth. It is just like the so many things in our life that we are unable to understand fully at a certain point in our life and even now at the present moment but in His perfect time we can all be assured that we will all be guided accordingly as God has intended it to be. God knows the limitations of our being and would always deal with all of us with compassion and wisdom in accordance to His All-Knowing nature. If we continuously seek God's will in our lives then we are sure to find it and God will not withhold it from us. Jesus in today's gospel is preparing and orienting His disciples for the work of the Holy Spirit. There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives. There is no question on the part of the Holy Spirit in carrying out the work and having it done. The Holy Spirit is like an artist. A Master Sculptor can work on a hard substance like marble or clay which is malleable. Marble is a hard substance and very difficult to work with. It is chiseled and chipped away in order to form the image. On the other hand, clay is soft, easily shaped and formed. We could choose to be the marble or the clay. The Holy Spirit is the constant and we are the variable. The Holy Spirit can have it done in any way but it is just harder on us if we are not receptive to it. Chipping away is painful. If only we could just be the clay but for some of us, it just doesn't come that easy. Let's take Peter and Judas as an example. They do not differ in a lot of ways. Peter was a very rough man, just imagine a person taking hold of a sword and chipping away the ear of a Roman soldier. He also denied Jesus 3x. The only difference is that Peter did not sin against the Holy Spirit unlike Judas who fell into despair after betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of gold. Judas sinned against the Holy Spirit for imagining that his sins are bigger than God's love and mercy. To lose hope in a loving God is unforgivable. Mary teaches us about this hope in the best way possible. She is not the Spouse of the Holy Spirit for nothing. Mary wants us to be like her Son so that the Father can recognize us. When we have Mary and the Holy Spirit then we have Jesus. It's what really happened from the very beginning (Luke 1:35) and what will happen to us when we are open to the Holy Spirit. Amen. Hallelujah!

John 16:12-15

12 Jesus said to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. 13 But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming...