OVER ALL

It is always nice to look forward to something good and have this confidence that it will come to pass. This gives us the hope and the strength to carry on in whatever we are going through. We may be experiencing a difficulty but it makes all the difference when we know that our backs are covered or we are safe and secure in the care of reliable and trustworthy friends who would risk their necks for us. It gives us a nice feeling knowing that someone is there for us. Even though we do not feel this kind of assurance we've got to realize that we are not alone. We have a Mighty and Immortal God who is over all, in all and for all. We are very blessed that nowadays prayer meetings, bible studies and fellowship gatherings of all kinds are available and at our disposal. If we find joy in these activities then we can surely be overwhelmed by the concern and care that every member of this community has for each member. In such caring groups we are spared from the “to each his own” attitude and find good accommodation. God is good indeed. Everyday is God’s declaration of His great love. A loving community is a gift from God and could find a reflection of God in each member’s genuine and sincere commitment to really serve. It is a blessing to be part of such a community. Just being there, enjoying the presence of every person is already a tremendous blessing from the Lord. The grace of God abounds in each and every person. We just continue to pray that God will always hold all of us in His loving embrace so that we too can embrace other people’s lives. To God be the glory, Amen. Hallelujah!

Isaiah 4:2-6

On that day, The branch of the LORD will be luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor for the survivors of Israel...For over all, his glory will be shelter and protection shade from the parching heat of day, refuge and cover from storm and rain.

Today's psalm reminds me of this popular game called, "Trip to Jerusalem" I guess, everybody's familiar with it. We may all have played this game when we were young or even when we're older. The fastest, quickest, most alert person who gets the last seat wins. If we are not paying attention or are too slow then we are bound to lose. We have to put up a good fight in this game in order to win because the chairs are always lacking so every round there is always one person who doesn't get a seat and gets eliminated. It is just a game but people have a lot of fun doing their best so as not to be eliminated and win. People who engage themselves in this kind of game and want to win exert a lot of effort. It is so tiring and can exhaust one's energy in the game. And to think that after all our efforts only one person gets to win. Isn't it a relief that we can go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.  We need not worry that all our best efforts would just be wasted because God has reserved a seat for each one of us. If we are all set and very sure where we are headed then nothing can stop us from being there. Considering, too that we have a God who has secured a place and our future for us. John 14:1-3, " Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.  In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be." Nothing or no one can prevent us unless we ourselves decide not to go. The truth is, it's all up to us. We are confronted with a lot of things every day and if there is one thing we should choose and decide for then peace is one of them. It is important that we work and pray for peace to always reign in our midst. If we have peace that passes understanding always safeguarded in our hearts then we can rejoice in the Lord at all times. We should always be confident of the truth that we are blessed and secure in the knowledge and truth that we are where we are right now, doing what we are doing right now at the exact time God has provided for us, for with God there is always a perfect time for everything. When we are feeling tired from all the day's work all we want to do is just go home. Nothing could be more rewarding than coming home to a place where we find rest and peace. Our life here on earth could be compared to something like this. It is nice to know that at the end of the day or our life's journey we can go rejoicing to the house of the Lord and find ourselves welcome there. Ideally, there should be no other place we want to be, more than a place where there is peace and prosperity. It is a choice we have to make but sometimes we make the wrong choices and choose to be just anywhere but in a place such as this. We have all the time to be in different places that is fun and exciting. There is nothing wrong with being in these places for as long as we know our limitations but do we get the same joy and fulfillment when we go into the house of God. We should be balanced human beings. We should not just seek to satisfy our physical but spiritual needs as well. Let us tap our dormant souls that are left unattended for so long and revive it to really feel what the psalm tells us today. As much as we are confronted by the fact that we are still inhabitants of this imperfect world we are in we can not live as if it does not exist. We might as well make the most of what we can do while we are part of it. We’ve got to set goals in order to achieve this and keep our eyes focused on it. It helps go through our daily life if we have set goals that we want to achieve and fulfill. The SMART acronym tells us that our goals should be S for specific, M for measurable, A for attainable or achievable, R for realistic or relevant and T for timely or time based. This is very effective in helping us improve as a person especially at times when we can't get our acts together. We can always set SMART goals from time to time in order to keep track of our performance in whatever field we want to work on and excel. It helps a lot in assessing ourselves in order for us to make an evaluation on how we our doing with our life. After each SMART goal we set for ourselves and have achieved it gives us a sense of fulfillment knowing that we have accomplished something. Little by little everyday we step up the ladder of our SMART goals. All of these should eventually come up to rejoicing with what we have made of our life. These we continue to do until it all sum up to bring us to that ultimate SMART goal. It should all lead us and point to our final destination when we go up to the house of the Lord. There is no greater joy than being with the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4b, 4cd-5, 6-7, 8-9

R: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

1 I rejoiced because they said to me, “We will go up to the house of the LORD.” 2 And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem. (R) 3 Jerusalem, built as a city with compact unity. 4 To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD. (R) According to the decree for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD. 5 In it are set up judgment seats, seats for the house of David. ...May those who love you prosper! 7 May peace be within your walls, prosperity in your buildings...

The gospel speaks of one's love and concern for a fellow human being no matter who that person is. God also sees the love we have for each and every member of our household/family and He will always come to save and heal us just like in the gospel. It also serves as a reminder to us that just like that centurion we should have that unwavering faith in the word of God and seek to follow His lead always. It is very overwhelming to know that such power and authority of God is existent in all people, places, time and circumstances. There is no limit in what God can do for our lives. All we have to do is have faith, never doubt and just believe and it will be done for us. Just like this Gentile Roman centurion who did not belong to the race of the Chosen People and yet was reached by the power of God we, too should develop in ourselves this great faith in God no matter what. In fact, the words of this Roman Centurion resound up to this moment and time as it is being recited in the Communion Rite every time there is Holy Mass being celebrated all over the world. Jesus has defied the cultural barriers of faith and demonstrated in today's gospel that He is indeed over all, in all and for all. It is good to examine ourselves if we have the same humility and faith like the centurion right before we accept Jesus in Holy Communion. The centurion knows that Jesus can heal his servant. He humbly asked the Lord and showed Jesus an act of faith. St. Jose Maria Escriva once wrote, "We are going to receive our Lord on this earth, when we receive an important person in our home we bring out the best, food, lights, music and formal dress. How should we prepare to receive Christ in our souls? Have we ever thought of how we must behave if we should ever receive Him only once in a lifetime who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords? Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 8:5-11

5 When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” 7 He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 8 The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven.”