WE ARE NOT ALONE

We should have an attitude and impression that everything is bound to fall into place if we strive to attain the enrichment of our spiritual life. We would just be surprised and overwhelmed by the various opportunities that come our way that manifest that we are truly blessed as God is equipping us with the necessary things for the growth and strengthening of our faith.  We should be asking ourselves the same question in today's 1st reading. The Holy Spirit is the one who gives us the special strength to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Jesus Christ, in order to confess the name of Christ boldly and never to be ashamed of the cross.  And to put into word and action, the way that we live our faith. Amen. Hallelujah!

Acts 19:1-8

...“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” ...He said, "How were you baptized?" ...And when Paul laid (his) hands on them, the holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied...

I grew up without a father because he died when I was barely 3 years old. My nanay (mother) was the only one who practically raised us up when we were still very young then. With all that we've been through, I can never ask God for more, for He was with us every step of the way just as nanay had said and believed when she was still living always emphasizing God's special care to orphans and widows. This should remind us why we must always be hopeful in His divine providence. Aren't we all blessed to have a God and Father who is our Savior and Redeemer. There are still more to be thankful about and it made me realize that if we will only be focusing more on the goodness and blessings that God send our way then there is really no more reason for us to be afraid or be discouraged. There is no doubt that God will always come to our rescue and will never forsake nor abandon. We all go through different situations and circumstances in life. Some of them do not make any sense. if we fail to acknowledge the power of God moving in it. There are numerous things that we can think, focus and decide on but there’s only one thing I am sure of. We’ve got to acknowledge that God’s power remains to be above all things no matter what it may seem to be. These experiences we have been through should bring our faith to greater depths, heights and lengths that we never could have thought or imagined possible. We can associate today's psalm with the first beatitude which is, "Blessed are they who are poor in spirit theirs is the kingdom of God." We can always find solace and consolation in the words of God but more than these is the truth that His words go beyond these feelings and emotions. Our God is able to bring into reality what He said He would do. The Holy Spirit is invisible but we can see its effects. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, peace, joy, kindness, goodness, patience, self control, humility and faithfulness. We should all be reflecting these fruits in our lives. We may still have a long way to go but we can start now. We need to make these effects visible by making the Holy Spirit work through our lives. Whether it be in the face of hardship, embarrassment, ridicule and always under the scrutiny of the self righteous judgments of other people, if we know that we've ran the race, finished to the end and fought a good fight of faith at all cost we can be assured of God's abiding presence. The Lord pours down His blessing on us. We have a task to do for the greater glory of God.

In our Catholicism study in St. Martha the speaker cited an example why we Catholics look up highly and venerate Mama Mary. He took Monalisa the famous and considered one of the masterpieces if not the greatest work of art of Leonardo Da Vinci. He said that Mama Mary is a reflection of God's greatness and His greatest masterpiece or creation. He explained further by citing another example of the moon getting its brightness from the sun. That's the true basis of Mary's greatness that some people even us Catholics do not realize so well. Our veneration and devotion to Mary is a way of worshipping God since we confess to the power of God manifested in the Blessed Mother. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 68:2-3ab, 4-5acd, 6-7ab

R: Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.

1 [2] God arises; his enemies are scattered, and those who hate him flee before him…3 [4] The just rejoice and exult before God; they are glad and rejoice. 4 [5] Sing to God, chant praise to his name, whose name is the LORD. (R) 5 [6] The father of orphans and the defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling. 6 [7] God gives a home to the forsaken; he leads forth prisoners to prosperity. 

Upon reading today's gospel all the more did I get convinced that God knows exactly what each one of us is going through. These nice words that He said are all very reassuring and encouraging that if we will only take seriously what He is telling us everyday then we would realize that not even the PDA (public display of affection) that boyfriends and girlfriends do will ever be enough to show God how much we should appreciate and love Him. It is good to know that we can be totally attached and cling to Him without any fear of being dumped for another when a better one comes along. He is a dependable, reliable, trustworthy and faithful God. God became man and this means that He thinks the whole world of us. He would never leave nor forsake us. We need to realize always that we are never alone because we have God our Father. It's important for us to remember that we have been given the Holy Spirit. As St. John Mary Vianney puts it, it is much like a horse carriage that will lead us to heaven. But we have to allow ourselves to be carried to that place and unless we truly commit to it then we may never get there. Or a rifle that needs to be fired in order to serve its purpose, in other words we have to pull the trigger.  The Spirit cries within us, Abba Father. If we sometimes feel lonely and depressed we ought to realize that the Holy Spirit rouses the hearts of the weary. Let us focus on Jesus in today's gospel when He himself knew that He will be abandoned. He said we will have trouble but we have to take courage because He has overcome the world. Amen. Hallelujah!

John 16:29-33

...Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. 33 I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”