BE INTIMATE

One thing I can never forget with my friend Bernadeth when she was in an unwell state was when she confided to me about how she really feels about people trying to be of help, nice and consoling by saying to her, "I understand how you feel." She said that she doesn't believe them when they say it. According to her, they don't really know how she feels unless they themselves undergo the same thing that she went through in which she said that some people have really no idea. In fact, she said it with so much stress I almost started to doubt the credibility of this principle relating to Patient Care that I learned way back in Nursing School. One of the exercises we usually do in Psychiatric Nursing is to identify which of the following communication patterns that frequently or commonly takes place in a Nurse-Patient environment is therapeutic or not. This, "I understand how you feel." statement has been declared as an effective tool for therapeutic communication since it shows empathy. In fact it has become a common by word that everybody has gotten used to saying it all the time even outside our clinical rotations. Though, Bernadeth may be an exemption to this rule, I can now very well understand what she meant back then most especially with today's 1st reading. Jesus went through the ultimate suffering and could surely be very well in the position to say that statement. I got this horrible thought of a person fleeing from fire but got trapped in a bathroom and sought relief from the heat by opening the showers but ended up even more scorched due to the hot water that came out of it. I just shivered at the thought of somebody dying this way. Just imagine if we are trapped in a place like a fiery furnace and we have nowhere to escape. It gives us consolation that we have a God whom we can always run to even at the point of death since Jesus knows exactly what we had been and have been going through because He had been through the worst even death. God became man. What a great privilege that our God came down from the Most High and Heavenly place to live and be among us. We have on our side the strongest force there is in heaven and in earth. He can win all our battles and we are in a sure win, no lose situation with God We just have to pray and trust that God who stooped down to our level is always here for us. We sometimes miss the point and go through life without realizing that the meaning of our existence is all about communion with God. We are so caught up in our lives and forget that there is a need to be still and know that He is God with the big G. We should strive for a life of prayer and contemplation and experience mutual presence.  Think of our closest friends when we relate things in our life to them. We develop an intimate sharing that binds our relationship. When we share in God's life and we share to Him our own then God draws near to us. There is mutual presence of two who are in love and be intimate. We sometimes experience dryness or longing that makes us feel like God has abandoned us. We thirst for God like a deer yearning for the streams. We long to be at home with the Lord. They are parts of the gift that God is giving to us in order for us to draw near to Him. It is not for us to understand everything right now. Everything will be made clear for us in heaven. Amen. Hallelujah!

Hebrews 2:14-18

...he had to become like his brothers in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

We don't expect a mango fruit if we planted a banana tree. It is pretty much the same with our lives. If we strive to live up to the expectations of a child of the Lord by giving Him honor and praise then we will surely be not disappointed with the outcome. For God inhabits the praises of His people. Although we have a tendency to forget or become out of focus since we are surrounded in this world we are in by elements most especially the physical ones that make us more inclined to pursue worldly things. We become sidetracked or worse completely off track of the path where God is leading us. Let us live every single day of our life conscious of the wonderful truth that we are God's people and He has made a covenant with us. Almost everybody knows this famous Christian song from kindergarten, “Father Abraham has many children, some of them are small, some of them are tall, all of them are beautiful...” We remain beautiful as long as we keep God's covenant and remain obedient and faithful to God. He is the reason for everything and the source of all good things. Sometimes morbid thoughts enter into our mind and immediately we'd think that it is always the devil who does it but whether it is true or not this thought could be a wake up call and reminder that in worst case scenarios or life and death situations there is always a God ready to help us at any time. All we have to do is call on Him. It is indeed good advice to always look intently on God and find all the joys waiting for us. There is really no doubt that we need to further explore, know and understand about our faith. In doing so we have to constantly look to the Lord, seek Him and recall His goodness. Jesus' name is undeniably powerful and beyond measure. Its worth is more than all the riches we can gain in this world. There is really nothing we can find even if we search far and wide, high and low more than what the Lord can offer.

We could go on and on with so many options we are confronted with daily in our lives. There is an endless list of "To Do Things" but what comes first and last is always dependent on our priorities. In deciding on our priorities we have to always involve God in all the things happening around us. We would  be so glad to discover that as we place Him in the center of our heart, body and soul He never fails in guiding and directing us. If we live by the word of God which is perfect and remains forever then nothing could go wrong. Our hearts will abound with joy and gladness. There is indeed great power in the name of Jesus. He is worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. Every single day we are confronted with so many challenges in life and we have to be always hopeful that the fulfillment of everything that we have been praying for has come. We should believe that whatever delays or setbacks we are encountering serve as lessons to be learned that benefit our spiritual journey with Jesus. There is a need to go through the different seasons throughout the year for there is indeed a time and a season for everything. Thus, 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 despite of it all God’s power remains to be above all things no matter what it may seem to be. We should always keep in mind all the wonderful things He has done for us. The Lord will never forsake nor abandon us. In the midst of all the turmoil we inevitably face in our daily lives may we remain hopeful in the Lord who is Almighty, provides for all means and prevails now and forever. Whenever we experience difficulties in life we tend to question God right away and somehow blame Him for what came upon us. Sometimes we come to a point in our lives when we tend to question the will of God in our lives. I have plans and you have plans but sometimes things do not fall into place and ask why things happened the way it did and not the way we planned and expected. There is a lot to learn from the life of Joseph especially the part when he kept on with his faith in God when he became a slave and was almost driven to despair when he was tormented by a lot of trials during that time. All we need to keep in mind is that our time will come and all we have to do is just continue to trust God in His goodness and mercy and never let go of our faith. Just imagine what Joseph had to go through. We will never know of the physical torture and demand of being a slave nowadays. Thanks to God that slaves are already a thing of the past and no longer existent in today's world. But more than anything else is the mental torture of the fact that he was well loved by his father and would have not been in this kind of situation if his brothers had not done such a horrible and unfair thing to him. If it were us and not Joseph who had fallen into this kind of fate we could have responded and reacted to this situation differently. Are these words familiar to us? I do not deserve to be treated this way. I did not do anything bad for God to punish me like this, as if God is a tyrant that is ready to strike us with every wrong move. Why me and not the others who are a lot more sinful than I am. And all these kind of things that we say without much thought. If we are to look at the life of Joseph very closely we would discover that he never let go of his faith in God despite the seemingly desperate and hopeless situation he went through. He remained firm in his faith and continued to trust in the word of the Lord. Joseph was tested and found to be true. In our own lives, we too are called to prove ourselves worthy before the Lord in order for all of the blessings to flow freely without any block or hindrance. We just need to always remember the marvels the Lord has done and always hold on to it. If we live by the word of God which is perfect and remains forever then nothing could go wrong. Our hearts will abound with joy and gladness as we further explore, know and understand about our faith. In doing so we have to constantly look to the Lord, seek Him, recall His goodness, keep our spirits up and make our hearts rejoice like what today's psalm is telling us about. There is really nothing we can find even if we search far and wide, high and low more than what the Lord can offer. We may have experienced a situation in our life when we encountered a lot of trials and difficulties. Just when we're about to give up and lose hope, suddenly we came across a particular incident or inspiration that perfectly fits or matches our specific problem which gave us this hope and feeling that God knows exactly what we're going through and promises to see us through it. The Lord is telling us is in today's psalm and assures us that He remembers what He has promised and will surely bring about what He said to us that He would do. If God remembers, so must we. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9

R: The Lord remembers his covenant forever.

1 Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds. 2 Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds. 3 Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD! (R) 4 Look to the LORD in his strength; seek to serve him constantly. (R) 5 Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought, his portents, and the judgments he has uttered. 6 You descendants of Abraham, his servants, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones! 7 He, the LORD, is our God; throughout the earth his judgments prevail. (R) 8 He remembers forever his covenant which he made binding for a thousand generations

It is through our deficiencies, imperfections and inadequacies that we continue to seek God. For only Him can make us whole. Today's gospel is a similar version of the one in Matthew 8. It is a figurative form of telling us the importance to stay within the confines and teachings of the Church. It is important to study and learn about our faith. We need to see the plan of God in Jesus. Notice the difference in Matthew 8:14-15, “Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. “  And also in Matthew 13:1, “On that day, Jesus went out of the house …” Matthew 13 is all about parables of the Kingdom of God and the people did not understand Him but when He went into the house of Peter the disciples understood Him. The house of Peter signifies the Church, and outside the church there is no understanding of Jesus’ teaching. When we stand from outside of the Church and the faith there is no understanding of Jesus and the plan of God. Just imagine ourselves standing inside the Church and looking at the stained glass windows. We see the images in detail and in full color but if we are from outside the Church what we see is darkness, and kind of shadowy unable to see its full color and detail. This happens when we stand from outside of the faith. The light illuminates the window and we see clearly from inside the church and believe as it illuminates the life of Jesus. Only from within the Church can we understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God which is actually what Jesus is teaching us. St. Thomas Aquinas a well known saint and scholar draw us heavily upon philosophers, especially Aristotle and even Plato.

He gives pertinent formulations to the faith but also has a saintly approach. His book, Summa Theologica has 512 questions and many articles to each question like a debate. He has a style in his presentation of the faith. It contains a concentrated reasoning in which the human mind is applied to the mysteries of the faith. He comments on scripture, on the writings of the pope fathers and especially knew about St. Augustine’s work very well. We see how he champions philosophy and reason well. He makes a distinction between Theology and Philosophy but very much sees philosophy as the handmaid of theology. He could see this beautiful relationship how faith corrects and even purifies reason and how reason helps in the deepening and understanding of the faith. Pope Benedict XVI in his recent reflection on Thomas’ contribution quoted Pope John Paul VI asking “Thomas our teacher, what lesson can you give us?” He says, “Trust in the truth of Catholic religious thought as defended, expounded and offered by him to the capacities of the human mind.” As we are to receive the faith fully and receive it, it must be reasonable. We must be able to process and understand it. It’s a mystery, always infinite and beyond us but must be able to explore it by reason with much confidence in the truth and revelation. We must have the capacity to use our reason when unpacking the truth. The 1^st part of the Summa teaches of the knowledge of God. He is the beginning and the end. He is the last end of all things especially rational creatures. The 2^nd part teaches us of the rational creatures and angelic beings that advance towards God. It tells human beings, how we are to live the moral principles as we develop a moral theology. It centers on the teaching on grace and how we need it to find our way back to God and to be turned and transformed in holiness to be happy in time and eternity. We need that revelation of God’s law and we also need His grace to be happy. In this life, to find Him and to live that blessed eternal happiness in the beatific vision. It also cites teaching on the virtues, faith, hope and love and also 50 more virtues on how to live a good life. The last part speaks of the saving mysteries of Christ. It presents to us Jesus, how He saves, the sacraments and the mysteries. God directs us from within since we are unique in this sense. We are different from animals and plants and inanimate objects. He directs us to Himself to God as our last end with our free will choices to move by grace and desire happiness. We desire joy and fulfillment and we find that in God. Jesus was very focused on the mission that God the Father has for Him. In the same way that we must not be distracted and dissuaded to do otherwise when beset with problems and difficulties. Today's gospel also speaks of the exact bible passage which a friend of mine considers instrumental in her healing. She specifically cited this story while praying fervently to God. She mercifully pleaded to God and called on Him not to deprive her of the healing she has bestowed on Peter's mother-in-law. At that time, she was already on the verge of drinking her sleeping medications but was afraid that she also might develop dependence since she's been on it for quite some time. She was battling then with not just one but several other medicines prescribed by her doctor which are all known to cause drug dependence. She had ready the medicine and a glass of water on top of the table but it was morning already when she realized that she was able to go to sleep without having to take any medication. Now, she's is totally free of all these medications. Amen. Hallelujah!

Mark 1:29-39

29 On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. 31 He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them. 32 When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. 33 The whole town was gathered at the door.