OUR NATURE

One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we should all desire to have is discernment. This is the gift of the Holy Spirit that is being spoken of in today's 1st reading. Let us think about it and ask ourselves who would not like to know God's counsel and conceive what He intends. If we truly ask from the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul then He will surely not withhold it from us. The problem lies in our failure to realize the importance of this gift and tend to neglect and take it for granted. It is available for those who ask as it is written in Matthew 7:7, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Amen. Hallelujah!

  

Wisdom 9:13-18b

13 Who can know God’s counsel, or who can conceive what our LORD intends? 14 For the deliberations of mortals are timid, and unsure are our plans. 15 For the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns. 16 And scarce do we guess the things on earth, and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty; but when things are in heaven, who can search them out? 17 Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given Wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high? 18 And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight.

We are destined for much greater things that we can see right now. Thus we should set our goals higher than what people normally aim for in this life. Let us not reach the end of our lives regretting what we should have done or not and do what we have to do right now. We marvel at the capability of the human mind to function the way it was made to be but how much more can we not be amazed at how the mind of the Lord works from whom all things come. As humans we can not even go past a hundred years old and too lucky to be able to make it to that age nowadays. Everything passes away but what we can depend on to last for a lifetime through eternity is to fortify our soul with wisdom of heart. Time will come when there is no more room for sadness once we've decided for happiness for we have a God who prospers those who offers all his/her work for the Lord. God is Almighty and Powerful. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He has the final say on all things. Nothing is beyond His power and might. Isn't it a very nice thing to know that this very same God has also been our refuge and strength in every age. Learning of this story about an atheist who fasts for the destruction of the world should make us realize that we should not take things sitting down. The enemy does not rest until it snatches away our inheritance. We should keep our banners raised on high and never lose heart or be discouraged as the battle rages on we can be assured that we have a God whom we can always rely on and take refuge. We’ve got to be firm in our beliefs but things will always be easier said than done. Spiritual integrity is hard work but it surely is worth all of it. Today's psalm tells us how short our life here on earth can be compared to a life of eternity with God our Creator, refuge and strength. It is always never easy to picture matters of the faith and life after death. It is through the people who continue to be a source of inspiration and blessing for the community of God that we can gather the strength and courage to keep on fighting a good fight of the faith. Today’s psalm reading somehow captures the essence if not its entirety. Nothing else in this world matters more than this truth. God gave us life and to Him we all must return. The problem lies in the fact that we don’t really know when will that day be. We’ve got to be prepared at all times. What’s at stake here is eternity and is nothing compared to 100 years life span of happiness and prosperity, the most for healthy and active individuals. We can’t allow ourselves to live life carelessly and just cram at the last minute. I’ve seen quite a number of elderly people who have fallen into senility. Although nothing is too late, I still think that we are able to prepare as best as we could if we are still in our prime and high functioning mind and body than with such a condition. Let’s not wait long enough and keep procrastinating. May we all realize the importance of  numbering our days aright. Our first parents were the original sinners and we are just the copy cats. In a way we are better off than Adam & Eve in the sense that we have their example of disobedience set before us. We can choose to follow their lead or footsteps by giving in to deception which we know is a bad idea or we can learn the moral lesson of this story and gain wisdom of heart. The wisdom of heart can make us truly see and appreciate the things the Lord has done for us that bring prosperity, joy and gladness. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17

R: In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

You turn man back to dust, saying, “Return, O children of men.” 4 For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, now that it is past, or as a watch of the night. (R) 5 You make an end of them in their sleep; the next morning they are like the changing grass, 6 which at dawn springs up anew, but by evening wilts and fades. (R) 12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. Return, O LORD! How long?

Have pity on your servants! R. Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days. And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours; prosper the work of our hands for us! Prosper the work of our hands! R.

Let us not get ahead of people and rob them of the opportunity to do good on their own without being robbed of the dignity and respect that is due to a Christian in word and deed. We've got to allow each person to make decisions on their own without any imposition or undue pressure coming from others. Let us hold fast to the belief that we are all capable of doing what's good and right because it is in our nature and not because we were just influenced or forced to do so. Amen. Hallelujah!

Philemon 9-10, 12-17

...but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.

If we will take the literal meaning of today's gospel passage we'll find that another difficult task is at hand. Just imagine hating our own life and family just to be a disciple of Jesus. Whether we should take it literally or figuratively is beside the point what matters here is that we are 100% convinced that we have an Almighty and Loving God who wants what is best for us beyond our imagination and would not wish for us to end up miserable. He is able to make all things possible, nothing is too difficult for Him and we are in the palm of His hands. The Lord is not being unreasonable when he said this statement from the gospel. He is simply stressing a point with regards to making God the center and driving force of everything that we do. In this respect there should be a balance in everything we do and know the art of detachment. Life of detachment is the pathway to a simple life. There is a Jewish expression found in Luke 9: 57-62  "Let the dead bury the dead!" which can be interpreted in English as the dead being the "slow pokes and half hearted people"  in Filipino are the so called " mga papatay-patay" This can also be related to God's call to us in in the Book of Revelation 3:14-19 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea, write this: " ...I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth..." This is a picture of hypocrisy and duplicity which the Lord rejects. Also in Luke 12:32-34- store treasures in heaven, let go of possessions as spoken of in the gospel today (Luke 14:25-35) and Luke 16:13 which is about God and mammon. Money is not evil in itself but the love of money. Resources not shared is greed and talents not shared is lust.  Whatever may be our situation in life we've got to know how to let go of it and trust God who makes all our efforts worthwhile. Before we expect to benefit from the gifts and reap the fruits there is a need to respond and take full responsibility in a manner that is comparative to God's tremendous blessing to all of us. True enough, today's gospel calls us to always be prepared and not just embark on something without much thought. Whatever we're going through and wherever we are now, there is no doubt that there is a reason for everything. God has a lot in store for us just consider everything as preparation for He is just waiting whenever we are truly ready. Today's gospel also reminds me of this story about a newly wed couple who were asked to choose their wedding present. They can only choose one out of the three which are love, health and wealth. It took some time before they finally decided to make a choice. It was something they both thought about and chosen carefully before they came up with a decision. They should both agree and unanimously vote for only one thing. Just like in today's gospel, Jesus said, "Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’” It was almost like it, in the sense that they too sat down and calculated the impact of the values of the wedding presents in their life. Upon careful scrutiny they finally decided to set aside health and wealth and choose love instead. If we ourselves are to be asked, we would find that it wasn't an easy decision to make. If we know the key to the answer then it would be easier to decide. The married couple knew of it, God is love and where there is love, there is health and wealth. They made the right choice because when they invited love to come into their home, health and wealth followed. The wisdom of God is folly to the world but in the end God will always prevail thus we look forward to His deliverance. Amen. Hallelujah!

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 14,25-33.

Great crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and addressed them, If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? ...In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.